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.

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;

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

10 See now that the Lord hath made choice of thee to build a house for the 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.

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:

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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.

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.

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.

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.