1 Chronicles 28

1 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the divisions that ministered to the king, and the captains of the thousands, and the captains of the hundreds, and the rulers of all the property and the cattle of the king and of his sons, with the court-servants, and the mighty men, and with all the valiant men of the army, unto Jerusalem.

David assembled all the officials of Israel at Jerusalem: the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king in their scheduled work, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the managers over all the property and possessions of the king and of his sons, and the officers and fighting men, including the most skilled of them.

2 Then arose king David upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people! I had in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and I had made preparations to build;

Then David the king rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was my intention to build a temple for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; a footstool for our God, and I have made preparations to build it.

3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build a house unto my name; because thou art a man of war, and blood hast thou shed.

But God said to me, 'You will not build a temple for my name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.'

4 Yet the Lord the God of Israel made choice of me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever; for of Judah had he made choice as ruler, and among the house of Judah, of the house of my father; and among the sons of my father had he pleasure in me to make [me] king over all Israel:

Yet Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father's family to be king over Israel forever. He has chosen the tribe of Judah as leader. In the tribe of Judah, and in my father's household, out of all my father's sons, he chose me to be king over all Israel.

5 And of all my sons, —for the Lord hath given me many sons, — hath he made choice of Solomon my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

From the many sons whom Yahweh has given me, he chose Solomon, my son, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh, over Israel.

6 And he hath said unto me, Solomon thy son it is that shall build my house and my courts; for I have made choice of him to be as a son unto me, and I will be indeed to him as a father.

He said to me, 'Solomon your son will build my house and my courtyards, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

7 Moreover, I will firmly establish his kingdom for everlasting, if he be strong to execute my commandments and my ordinances as it is this day.

I will establish his kingdom forever, if he remains committed to obey my commandments and decrees, as you are this day.'

8 And now before the eyes of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, [I admonish you] observe and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: in order that ye may keep possession of this good land, and leave it for an inheritance unto your children after you forever.

Now then, in the sight of all Israel, this assembly for Yahweh, and in the presence of our God, all of you must keep and try to carry out all the commandments of Yahweh your God. Do this so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your children after you forever.

9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with an entire heart and with a willing soul; for all hearts doth the Lord search, and every imagination of the thoughts doth he understand; if thou seek him, he will let himself be found by thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

As for you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father, and serve him with your whole heart and a willing spirit. Do this because Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every motivation of everyone's thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.

10 See now that the Lord hath made choice of thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong and do it.

Realize that Yahweh has chosen you to build this temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”

11 Then gave David to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its apartments, and of its treasuries, and of upper chambers, and of its inner chambers, and of the place of the cover of the ark.

Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the temple portico, the temple buildings, the storerooms, the upper rooms, the inner rooms, and the room with the atonement lid.

12 And the pattern of all that he had in his spirit, concerning the courts of the house of the Lord, and concerning all the chambers round about, concerning the treasuries of the house of God, and concerning the treasuries of the holy things:

He gave him the plans he had drawn for the courtyards of Yahweh's house, all the surrounding rooms, the storerooms in God's house, and the treasuries for the things that belong to Yahweh.

13 Also concerning the divisions of the priests and the Levites, and concerning all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and concerning all the vessels of service of the house of the Lord;

He gave him regulations for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for the assigned responsibilities for the service of the house of Yahweh, and for all the objects for the service in Yahweh's house.

14 Concerning the golden vessels, after the weight of the gold, for all the vessels of all manner of service; concerning all the vessels of silver after the weight, for all the vessels of every kind of service;

He determined the weight of all the gold vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service,

15 Also the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, after the weight for every candlestick, and for its lamps; and concerning the candlesticks of silver after the weight, for the candlestick, and for its lamps, according to the use of every candlestick;

the weight of the gold for all the gold articles, to be lampstands and gold lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand, the weight of silver for each silver lampstand, according to the use of each lampstand in the service.

16 And the gold after the weight for the tables of the rows of shewbread, for every table; and the silver for the tables of silver;

He gave the weight of the gold for the tables of the bread of the presence, for every table, and the weight of the silver for the silver tables.

17 Also [concerning] the forks, and the bowls, and the supporters of pure gold; and concerning the golden cups after the weight for every cup; and concerning the silver cups after the weight for every cup;

He gave the weight of pure gold for the meat forks, basins, and cups. He gave the weight for each of the gold bowls, and the weight of each of the silver bowls.

18 And concerning the altar of incense the refined gold after the weight; and concerning the pattern of the chariot of the golden cherubim, which spread out [their wings], and over the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

He gave the weight of refined gold for the incense altar, and of the gold for the design of the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of Yahweh.

19 All [this, said David, ] was put in writing from the hand of the Lord, who gave me instruction [respecting] all the works of the pattern.

David said, “I have put all this in writing as Yahweh directed me and gave me to understand regarding the design.”

20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong, and of good courage, and do [the work]; fear not, and be not dismayed; for the Lord God, [yea, ] my God is with thee: he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and brave. Do the work. Do not be afraid or anxious, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you nor abandon you until all the work for the service of Yahweh's temple is finished.

21 And, behold, the divisions of the priests and the Levites are there for all the service of the house of God; and with thee are in all manner of workmanship all kinds of men distinguished in wisdom, for every manner of service; and the princes and all the people are ready [to obey] all thy words.

See, here are the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the service in God's temple. They will be with you, together with all willing and skillful men, to assist you in the work and to perform the service. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your commands.”