1 Chronicles 28

1 And so David called together all the leaders of Israel, the rulers of the tribes, and those in charge of the companies, who were ministering to the king, and also the tribunes and centurions, and those in charge of the substance and possessions of the king, and his sons, with the eunuchs and the powerful and those most experienced in the army, at Jerusalem.

And David got together at Jerusalem all the rulers of Israel, the chiefs of the tribes and the captains of the divisions waiting on the king in turn, and the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds and the controllers of all the goods and property of the king and his sons, with the unsexed servants and the great men of war.

2 And when the king had risen up and was standing, he said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I thought that I would build a house, in which the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the footstool of our God, might rest. And so I prepared everything for its building.

Then David the king got up and said, Give ear to me, my brothers and my people; it was my desire to put up a house, a resting-place for the ark of the Lord's agreement, and for the foot-rest of our God; and I had got material ready for the building of it.

3 But God said to me: ‘You shall not build a house to my name, because you are a man of war, and have shed blood.’

But God said to me, You are not to be the builder of a house for my name, because you are a man of war and have taken life;

4 Now the Lord God of Israel chose me, out of the entire house of my father, so that I would be king over Israel forever. For from Judah he chose leaders; then from the house of Judah he chose the house of my father; and from the sons of my father, it pleased him to choose me as king over all of Israel.

Though the Lord, the God of Israel, took me out of all my father's family, to be king over Israel for ever, marking out Judah to be chief, and, of the people of Judah, my father's family; and among the sons of my father he was pleased to make me king over all Israel;

5 Then too, among my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he chose Solomon my son, so that he would sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, over Israel.

And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me a great number of sons) he has made selection of Solomon to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

6 And he said to me: ‘Solomon your son shall build my house and my courts. For I have chosen him to be to me as a son, and I will be to him as a father.

And he said to me, Solomon your son will be the builder of my house and the open spaces round it; for I have taken him to be my son, and I will be his father.

7 And I will make firm his kingdom, even unto eternity, if he will persevere in doing my precepts and judgments, as also today.’

I will keep his kingdom in its place for ever, if he is strong at all times to do my orders and keep my rules, as at this day.

8 Now therefore, before the entire assembly of Israel, in the hearing of our God, keep and seek all the commandments of the Lord our God, so that you may possess the good land, and may bequeath it to your sons after you, even forever.

So now, before the eyes of all Israel, the people of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, keep and be true to the orders of the Lord your God; so that you may have this good land for yourselves and give it for a heritage to your children after you for ever.

9 And as for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts, and understands the thoughts of all minds. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will cast you aside for eternity.

And you, Solomon my son, get knowledge of the God of your father, and be his servant with a true heart and with a strong desire, for the Lord is the searcher of all hearts, and has knowledge of all the designs of men's thoughts; if you make search for him, he will be near you; but if you are turned away from him, he will give you up for ever.

10 Now therefore, since the Lord has chosen you, so that you would build the house of the Sanctuary, be strengthened and accomplish it.”

Now then, take note; for the Lord has made selection of you to be the builder of a house for the holy place. Be strong and do it.

11 Then David gave to his son Solomon a description of the portico, and the temple, and the storerooms, and the upper floor, and the innermost rooms, and the house of propitiation,

Then David gave to his son Solomon the design of the doorway of the house of God and of its houses and its store-houses, and the higher rooms and the inner rooms and the place for the mercy-seat;

12 and indeed also of all the courts that he had planned, and the outer rooms on all sides, for the treasuries of the house of the Lord, and for the treasuries of the holy things,

And the design of all he had in his heart for the outer squares of the house of the Lord, and for the rooms all round it, and for the store-houses of the house of the Lord, and for the store-houses for the holy things;

13 and for the divisions of the priests and the Levites: concerning all the works of the house of the Lord and all the items in the ministry of the temple of the Lord.

And for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work in connection with the worship of the house of the Lord, and all the vessels used in the house of the Lord;

14 There was gold by weight for every vessel of the ministry, and also silver by weight for the diversity of vessels and equipment.

Of gold, by weight, for the vessels of gold, for all the vessels of different uses; and silver for all the vessels of silver by weight, for vessels of different uses;

15 Then too, he distributed gold for the lampstands and their lamps, according to the measure of each of the lampstands with their lamps. Similarly also, he distributed silver by weight for the silver lampstands with their lamps, according to the diversity of their measure.

And gold by weight for the light-supports and the vessels for the lights, the weight of gold needed for every support and every vessel for lights; and for the silver light-supports, the weight of silver needed for every support and for the different vessels as every one was to be used;

16 Also, he gave gold for the tables of the presence, according to the diversity of the tables; similarly too, he gave silver for the other tables of silver.

And gold by weight for the tables for the holy bread for every table, and silver for the silver tables;

17 Also, he distributed from the purest gold for the small hooks and the bowls and the censors, as well as for the little lions of gold, in accord with the precise measure of the weight, for lion after lion. Similarly too, for the lions of silver, he set aside a different weight of silver.

Clear gold for the meat-hooks and the basins and the cups; for the gold basins, gold enough by weight for every basin; and silver by weight for every silver basin;

18 Then, for the altar on which the incense was burned, he gave the purest gold. And from the same he made the likeness of the chariot of the Cherubim, with extended wings, which is veiling the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

And the best gold for the altar of perfumes; and gold for the design of the carriage, for the winged ones whose wings were outstretched covering the ark of the Lord's agreement.

19 “All these things,” he said, “came to me written by the hand of the Lord, so that I would understand all the works of the pattern.”

All this, said David, the design for all these things, has been made dear to me in writing by the hand of the Lord.

20 David also said to his son Solomon: “Act manfully, and be strengthened, and carry it out. You should not be afraid, and you should not be dismayed. For the Lord my God will be with you, and he will not send you away, nor will he abandon you, until you have perfected the entire work of the ministry of the house of the Lord.

And David said to his son Solomon, Be strong and of a good heart and do your work; have no fear and do not be troubled, for the Lord God, my God, is with you; he will not give you up, and his face will not be turned away from you, till all the work necessary for the house of the Lord is complete.

21 Behold, the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for every ministry of the house of the Lord, are standing before you. And they have been prepared, and so they know, both the leaders and the people, how to carry out all your precepts.”

And see, there are the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the work of the house of God; and every trained and expert workman will be ready to do for you whatever is needed; and the captains and the people will be under your orders in everything.