1 Chronicles 28

1 And David assembles all the heads of Israel, heads of the tribes, and heads of the divisions who are serving the king, and heads of the thousands, and heads of the hundreds, and heads of all the substance and possessions of the king, and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty ones, and of every mighty man of valor—to Jerusalem.

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.

2 And David the king rises on his feet and says, “Hear me, my brothers and my people, I [had it] with my heart to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, and for the footstool of our God, and I prepared to build,

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.

3 and God has said to me, You do not build a house for My Name, for you [are] a man of wars, and you have shed blood.

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.’

4 And YHWH, God of Israel, fixes on me out of all the house of my father to be for king over Israel for all time, for He has fixed on Judah for a leader, and in the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He has been pleased with me to make [me] king over all Israel;

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.

5 and out of all my sons—for YHWH has given many sons to me—He also fixes on my son Solomon, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of YHWH over Israel,

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.

6 and says to me, Your son Solomon builds My house and My courts, for I have fixed on him [to be] to Me for a son, and I am to him for a father.

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.

7 And I have established his kingdom for all time, if he is strong to do My commands and My judgments, as at this day.

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

8 And now, before the eyes of all Israel, the assembly of YHWH, and in the ears of our God, keep and seek all the commands of your God YHWH, so that you possess this good land, and have caused your sons to inherit after you for all time.

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.

9 And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind, for YHWH is seeking all hearts, and He is understanding every imagination of the thoughts; if you seek Him, He is found by you, and if you forsake Him, He casts you off forever.

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.

10 See, now, for YHWH has fixed on you to build a house for a sanctuary; be strong, and do.”

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

11 And David gives to his son Solomon the pattern of the porch, and of its houses, and of its treasures, and of its upper chambers, and of its innermost chambers, and of the house of the atonement;

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,

12 and the pattern of all that has been with him by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of YHWH, and for all the surrounding chambers, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the things sacrificed;

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,

13 and for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of YHWH, and for all vessels of service of the house of YHWH,

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.

14 even gold by weight, for [things of] gold, for all instruments of every service; for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every service;

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

15 and [by] weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight [for] lampstand and lampstand, and its lamps; and for the lampstands of silver, by weight for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the service of lampstand and lampstand;

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.

16 and the gold [by] weight for tables of the arrangement, for table and table, and silver for the tables of silver;

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.

17 and the forks, and the bowls, and the cups of pure gold, and for the basins of gold, by weight for basin and basin, and for the basins of silver, by weight for basin and basin,

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.

18 and for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight, and for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim of gold, spreading and covering over the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH.

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.

19 The whole [is] in writing from the hand of YHWH, “He caused me to understand all the work of the pattern,” [said David.]

“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.”

20 And David says to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do; do not fear nor be frightened, for YHWH God, my God, [is] with you; He does not fail you, nor forsake you, to the completion of all the work of the service of the house of YHWH.

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.

21 And behold, divisions of the priests and of the Levites [are] for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all work [is] every willing one with wisdom, for every service; and the heads and all the people [are] according to all your words.”

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.”