Old/New Testament
Preparation to Build Yahweh’s House
22 Then David said, “(A)This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
2 So David said to gather (B)the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, and (C)he [a]appointed [b]stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. 3 And David (D)prepared large quantities of iron [c]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more (E)bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for (F)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 And David said, “My son (G)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh shall be highly exalted, for a name and beauty throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
Solomon to Build Yahweh’s House
6 Then (H)he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon, “(I)My son, [d]I had it within my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. 8 But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ‘(J)You have shed much blood and have [e]waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and (K)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for (L)his name shall be [f]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 (M)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, (N)Yahweh be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of Yahweh your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 (O)Only Yahweh give you insight and understanding, and give you command over Israel, so that you may (P)keep the law of Yahweh your God. 13 (Q)Then you will succeed, if you are careful to do the statutes and the judgments which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. (R)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, [g]with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh (S)100,000 [h]talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and (T)bronze and iron beyond weight, for [i]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover, there are many of those who do the work with you, hewers of stone and craftsmen of stone and wood, and all men who are [j]wise in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no number. Arise and work, and may (U)Yahweh be with you.”
17 (V)David also commanded all the officials of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is not Yahweh your God with you? And (W)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before Yahweh and before His people. 19 Now (X)give your heart and your soul to seek Yahweh your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, (Y)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built (Z)for the name of Yahweh.”
Solomon Made King over Israel
23 (AA)Now David became old and full of days, (AB)and he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.
The Work of the Levites
3 (AC)And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and (AD)their number by [k]census of men was 38,000. 4 Of these, 24,000 were (AE)to direct the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6,000 were (AF)officers and judges, 5 and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and (AG)4,000 were praising Yahweh with the instruments which [l]David made for giving praise. 6 And David divided them into divisions (AH)according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The Sons of Gershon
7 Of the Gershonites were [m]Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three.
9 The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three.
These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan.
10 The sons of Shimei were Jahath, [n]Zina, Jeush, and Beriah.
These four were the sons of Shimei.
11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one [o]unit.
The Sons of Kohath
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
13 (AI)The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And (AJ)Aaron was separated in order to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, (AK)to offer offerings up in smoke before Yahweh, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever.
14 But as for (AL)Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The [p]son of Gershom was [q]Shebuel the chief.
17 The [r]son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 The [s]son of Izhar was [t]Shelomith the chief.
19 The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
The Sons of Merari
21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them up as wives.
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
The Service of the Levites
24 (AM)These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were [u]counted, in the number of names by their [v]census, doing the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, (AN)from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, (AO)has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 Also, (AP)the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. 28 For their station is to be on hand for the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts and in the chambers and in the cleansing of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, 29 (AQ)and with the showbread, and (AR)the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or (AS)what is made on the griddle, or (AT)what is well stirred, and (AU)all measures of volume and size. 30 And they are to stand every morning to thank and to praise Yahweh, and likewise at evening, 31 and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, (AV)on the sabbaths, the new moons and (AW)the appointed times in the number set by the judgments concerning them, continually before Yahweh. 32 Thus (AX)they shall keep responsibility of the tent of meeting, and responsibility of the holy place, and (AY)responsibility of the sons of Aaron their [w]relatives, for the service of the house of Yahweh.
Divisions of Levites
24 Now the divisions of the sons of Aaron were these: (AZ)the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 (BA)But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no [x]sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests. 3 And David, with (BB)Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their assignments for their service. 4 And more chief men were found from the [y]sons of Eleazar than the [z]sons of Ithamar, so they divided them thus: there were sixteen heads of fathers’ households of the [aa]sons of Eleazar and eight of the [ab]sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ households. 5 (BC)Thus they were divided by lot, the one as the other; for they were leaders for the sanctuary and leaders for God, both from the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. 6 Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, from the Levites, wrote them down in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, (BD)Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one father’s household taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.
7 Now the first lot came out for Jehoiarib,
the second for Jedaiah,
8 the third for Harim,
the fourth for Seorim,
9 the fifth for Malchijah,
the sixth for Mijamin,
10 the seventh for Hakkoz,
the eighth for (BE)Abijah,
11 the ninth for Jeshua,
the tenth for Shecaniah,
12 the eleventh for Eliashib,
the twelfth for Jakim,
13 the thirteenth for Huppah,
the fourteenth for Jeshebeab,
14 the fifteenth for Bilgah,
the sixteenth for Immer,
15 the seventeenth for Hezir,
the eighteenth for Happizzez,
16 the nineteenth for Pethahiah,
the twentieth for Jehezkel,
17 the twenty-first for Jachin,
the twenty-second for Gamul,
18 the twenty-third for Delaiah,
the twenty-fourth for Maaziah.
19 (BF)These were their assignments for their service when they came in to the house of Yahweh according to the legal judgment rendered to them by the hand of Aaron their father, just as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20 Now for the rest of the sons of Levi:
of the sons of Amram, [ac]Shubael;
of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.
21 Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the first.
22 Of the Izharites, [ad]Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath.
23 The sons (BG)of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.
24 The sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir.
25 The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.
26 The sons of Merari, Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Jaaziah, Beno.
27 The sons of Merari: by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.
28 By Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 By Kish: the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel.
30 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.
These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.
31 (BH)These also cast lots alongside their [ae]relatives the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, (BI)Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites—the head of fathers’ households alongside those of his younger brother.
28 So Jesus said, “When you (A)lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that [a](B)I am He, and (C)I do nothing from Myself, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; (D)He [b]has not left Me alone, for (E)I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He was speaking these things, (F)many believed in Him.
The Son Will Make You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(G)If you abide in My word, then you are truly My (H)disciples; 32 and (I)you will know the truth, and (J)the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “(K)We are Abraham’s seed and have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (L)everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 (M)And the slave does not remain in the house forever; (N)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (O)makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are (P)Abraham’s seed; yet (Q)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [c]has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen [d]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from (R)your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is (S)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “(T)If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But now (U)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has (V)told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of (W)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality; (X)we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, (Y)you would love Me, (Z)for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have (AA)not even come of Myself, but [e](AB)He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand [f](AC)what I am saying? It is because you cannot (AD)hear My word. 44 (AE)You are of (AF)your father the devil, and (AG)you want to do the desires of your father. (AH)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because (AI)there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks [g]a lie, he (AJ)speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of [h]lies. 45 But because (AK)I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If (AL)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 (AM)He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
48 (AN)The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a (AO)Samaritan and (AP)have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not (AQ)have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But (AR)I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone (AS)keeps My word he will never (AT)see death—ever.” 52 (AU)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (AV)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone (AW)keeps My word, he will never (AX)taste of death—ever.’ 53 Surely You (AY)are not greater than our father Abraham who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “(AZ)If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; (BA)it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and (BB)you have not known Him, (BC)but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be (BD)a liar like you, (BE)but I do know Him and (BF)keep His word. 56 (BG)Your father Abraham (BH)rejoiced [i]to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 (BI)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, (BJ)I am.” 59 Therefore they (BK)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus [j](BL)hid Himself and went out of the temple.
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