Offerings for the Temple

29 Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, (A)is still young and inexperienced, and the work is great; for (B)the [a]temple is not for mankind, but for the Lord God. Now (C)with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. In addition, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy [b]temple, namely, (D)three thousand [c]talents of gold, from (E)the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the [d]buildings; gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work [e]done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing [f]to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Then (F)the rulers of the fathers’ households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds, with (G)the supervisors of the king’s work, offered willingly; and for the service of the house of God they gave five thousand talents and ten thousand [g](H)darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. [h]Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, [i]in care of (I)Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord (J)wholeheartedly, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

10 So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 (K)Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 (L)Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and (M)in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

14 “But who am I and who are my people that we should [j]be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given to You. 15 For (N)we are strangers before You, and temporary residents, as all our fathers were; (O)our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. 16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and everything is Yours. 17 Since I know, my God, that (P)You put the heart to the test and (Q)delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 18 Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the [k]intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts to You; 19 and (R)give my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your statutes, and to do them all, and (S)to build the [l]temple for which I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” And (T)all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and (U)bowed down and paid [m]homage to the Lord and the king.

Sacrifices

21 On the next day (V)they [n]made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank that day before the Lord with great gladness.

Solomon Again Made King

And they made Solomon the son of David king (W)a second time, and they (X)anointed him as ruler for the Lord and Zadok as priest. 23 Then (Y)Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of his father David; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 And all the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David [o]pledged allegiance to King Solomon. 25 (Z)The Lord highly honored Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and (AA)bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been bestowed on any king before him in Israel.

26 Now (AB)David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 (AC)The period which he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years and [p]in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

Death of David

28 Then he died at (AD)a good old age, (AE)full of days, riches, and honor; and his son Solomon reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from the first to the last, are written in the chronicles of (AF)Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of (AG)Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of (AH)Gad the seer, 30 with all of his reign, his power, and the circumstances which came upon him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit palace
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:3 Lit house
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:4 A talent was about 75 lb. or 34 kg
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Lit houses
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit by the hand of the craftsmen
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit to fill his hand
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:7 A coin weighing about 0.25 oz. or 7 gm
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit Those with whom were found
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit on the hand of
  10. 1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit keep strength
  11. 1 Chronicles 29:18 Lit intent of the thoughts of
  12. 1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit palace
  13. 1 Chronicles 29:20 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
  14. 1 Chronicles 29:21 Lit sacrificed
  15. 1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit put a hand under Solomon
  16. 1 Chronicles 29:27 Lit he reigned in

29 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:

The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?

Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

10 Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

11 Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

16 O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

19 And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

20 And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.

21 And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:

22 And did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.

23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

25 And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

27 And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

28 And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,

30 With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

29 Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said: “My son Solomon, whom God has chosen to be the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced, and the work ahead of him is enormous; for the temple he will build is not just another building—it is for the Lord God himself! Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building it—enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and marble. And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of God, I am giving all of my own private treasures to aid in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected. 4-5 These personal contributions consist of millions of dollars of gold from Ophir and huge amounts of silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings. It will also be used for the articles made of gold and silver and for the artistic decorations. Now then, who will follow my example? Who will give himself and all that he has to the Lord?”

6-7 Then the clan leaders, the heads of the tribes, the army officers, and the administrative officers of the king pledged huge sums of gold, silver, and foreign currency, also 675 tons of bronze and 3,750 tons of iron. They also contributed great amounts of jewelry, which were deposited at the Temple treasury with Jehiel (a descendant of Gershom). Everyone was excited and happy for this opportunity of service, and King David was moved with deep joy.

10 While still in the presence of the whole assembly, David expressed his praises to the Lord: “O Lord God of our father Israel, praise your name for ever and ever! 11 Yours is the mighty power and glory and victory and majesty. Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. 12 Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the ruler of all mankind; your hand controls power and might, and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength. 13 O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name, 14 but who am I and who are my people that we should be permitted to give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already! 15 For we are here for but a moment, strangers in the land as our fathers were before us; our days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon, without a trace. 16 O Lord our God, all of this material that we have gathered to build a temple for your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you test men to see if they are good; for you enjoy good men. I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.

18 “O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! Make your people always want to obey you, and see to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon a good heart toward God, so that he will want to obey you in the smallest detail and will look forward eagerly to finishing the building of your Temple, for which I have made all of these preparations.”

20 Then David said to all the people, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And they did, bowing low before the Lord and the king.

21 The next day they brought a thousand young bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs as burnt offerings to the Lord; they also offered drink offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel. 22 Then they feasted and drank before the Lord with great joy.

And again[a] they crowned King David’s son Solomon as their king. They anointed him before the Lord as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as their priest. 23 So God appointed Solomon to take the throne of his father David; and he prospered greatly, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 The national leaders, the army officers, and his brothers all pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 And the Lord gave him great popularity with all the people of Israel, and he amassed even greater wealth and honor than his father.

26-27 David was king of the land of Israel for forty years; seven of them during his reign in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at an old age, wealthy and honored; and his son Solomon reigned in his place. 29 Detailed biographies of King David have been written in the history of Samuel the prophet, in the history written by Nathan the prophet, and in the history written by the prophet Gad. 30 These accounts tell of his reign and of his might and all that happened to him and to Israel and to the kings of the nearby nations.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:22 And again, or “And they installed him as coregent” (with King David).