1 Chronicles 28-29

Contemporary English Version

David Gives Solomon the Plans for the Temple

28 David called a meeting in Jerusalem for all of Israel's leaders, including the tribal leaders, the government officials, the army commanders, the officials in charge of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, and the brave warriors.

^2 (A) After everyone was there, David stood up and said:

Listen to me, my people. I wanted to build a place where the sacred chest would be kept, so we could go there and worship the Lord our God. I have prepared all the supplies for building a temple, ³ but the Lord has refused to let me build it, because he said I have killed too many people in battle.

⁴ The Lord God chose Judah to be the leading tribe in Israel. Then from Judah, he chose my father's family, and from that family, he chose me to be the king of Israel, and he promised that my descendants will also rule as kings. ⁵ The Lord has blessed me with many sons, but he chose my son Solomon to be the next king of Israel. ⁶ The Lord said to me, “Your son Solomon will build my temple, and it will honor me. Solomon will be like a son to me, and I will be like a father to him. ⁷ If he continues to obey my laws and commands, his kingdom will never end.”

⁸ My friends, you are the Lord's people. And now, with God as your witness, I want you to promise that you will do your best to obey everything the Lord God has commanded us. Then this land will always belong to you and your descendants.

⁹ Solomon, my son, worship God and obey him with all your heart and mind, just as I have done. He knows all your thoughts and your reasons for doing things, and so if you turn to him, he will hear your prayers. But if you ignore him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ The Lord has chosen you to build a temple for worshiping him. Be confident and do the work you have been assigned.

¹¹ After David finished speaking, he gave Solomon the plans for building the main rooms of the temple, including the porch, the storerooms, the rooms upstairs and downstairs, as well as the most holy place. ¹² He gave Solomon his plans for the courtyards and the open areas around the temple, and for the rooms to store the temple treasures and gifts that had been dedicated to God.

¹³ David also gave Solomon his plans for dividing the priests and the Levites into groups, as well as for the work that needed to be done at the temple and for taking care of the objects used for worship. ¹⁴ He told Solomon how much gold and silver was to be used in making the sacred objects, ¹⁵ including the lampstands and lamps, ¹⁶ the gold table which held the sacred loaves of bread, the tables made of silver, ¹⁷ the meat forks, the bowls and cups, ¹⁸ the gold incense altar, and the gold statue of a chariot for the winged creatures which were on the lid of the sacred chest.

¹⁹ David then said to Solomon:

The Lord showed me how his temple is to be built. ²⁰ But you must see that everything is done according to these plans. Be confident, and never be afraid of anything or get discouraged. The Lord my God will help you do everything needed to finish the temple, so it can be used for worshiping him. ²¹ The priests and Levites have been assigned their duties, and all the skilled workers are prepared to do their work. The people and their leaders will do anything you tell them.

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 ^(B) David told the crowd:

God chose my son Solomon to build the temple, but Solomon is young and has no experience. This is not just any building—this is the temple for the Lord God! ² That's why I have done my best to get everything Solomon will need to build it—gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, turquoise, colored gems, all kinds of precious stones, and marble.

³ Besides doing all that, I have promised to give part of my own gold and silver as a way of showing my love for God's temple. ⁴ More than 100 tons of my finest gold and almost 240 tons of my silver will be used to decorate its walls ⁵ and to make the gold and silver objects. Now, who else will show their dedication to the Lord by giving gifts for building his temple?

⁶ After David finished speaking, the family leaders, the tribal leaders, the army commanders, and the government officials voluntarily gave gifts ⁷ for the temple. These gifts included more than 170 tons of gold, over 340 tons of silver, 620 tons of bronze, and more than 3,400 tons of iron. ⁸ Everyone who owned precious stones also donated them to the temple treasury, where Jehiel from the Levite clan of Gershon guarded them.

⁹ David and the people were very happy that so much had been given to the Lord, and they all celebrated.

David Praises the Lord

¹⁰ Then, in front of everyone, David sang praises to the Lord:

I praise you forever, Lord! You are the God our ancestor Jacob^[a] worshiped. ^11 (C) Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are king of the entire world, ¹² and you rule with strength and power. You make people rich and powerful and famous. ¹³ We thank you, our God, and praise you.

¹⁴ But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours. ¹⁵ We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were. And we will soon be gone, like a shadow that suddenly disappears.

¹⁶ Our Lord God, we have brought all these things for building a temple to honor you. They belong to you, and you gave them to us. ¹⁷ But we are happy, because everyone has voluntarily given you these things. You know what is in everyone's heart, and you are pleased when people are honest. ¹⁸ Always make us eager to give, and help us be faithful to you, just as our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob faithfully worshiped you. ¹⁹ And give Solomon the desire to completely obey your laws and teachings, and the desire to build the temple for which I have provided these gifts.

²⁰ David then said to the people, “Now it's your turn to praise the Lord, the God your ancestors worshiped!” So everyone praised the Lord, and they bowed down to honor him and David their king.

Solomon Is Crowned King

²¹ The next day, the Israelites slaughtered 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, and they offered them as sacrifices to please the Lord,^[b] along with offerings of wine. ²² The people were very happy, and they ate and drank there at the Lord's altar.

That same day, Solomon was again crowned king. The people celebrated and poured olive oil on Solomon's head to show that he would be their next king. They also poured oil on Zadok's head to show that he was their priest.

^23 (D) So Solomon became king after David his father. Solomon was successful, and everyone in Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ Every official and every soldier, as well as all of David's other sons, were loyal to him. ²⁵ The Lord made Solomon a great king, and the whole nation was amazed at how famous he was. In fact, no other king of Israel was as great as Solomon.

David Dies

²⁶ David the son of Jesse was king of Israel ^27 (E) for 40 years. He ruled from Hebron for 7 years and from Jerusalem for 33 years. ²⁸ David was rich and respected and lived to be an old man. Then he died, and his son Solomon became king.

²⁹ Everything David did while he was king is included in the history written by the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ³⁰ They wrote about his powerful rule and about the things that happened not only to him, but also to Israel and the other nations.