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.

David summoned to Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel—the leaders of the tribes, the army division commanders in service to the king, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, along with the court officials, the warriors and all the best fighting men.

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,

King David got to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people! I really wanted to build a house as a resting place for the Ark of the Lord's Agreement, as a footstool for our God. So I made plans to build it.

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 told me, ‘You are not to build a house to honor me because you are a man of war who has spilled 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;

However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father's family to be king of Israel forever. For he chose Judah as the leading tribe, and from among the families of Judah he chose my father's family. From among my father's sons he was pleased to chose me as king over the whole 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,

From all my sons (for the Lord gave me many) the Lord has chosen Solomon my child to sit on the throne and to rule over the Lord's kingdom 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.

He told me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my house and my courts, because I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his 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.

I will make sure his kingdom lasts forever if he single-mindedly keeps my commandments and regulations like he does 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.

So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and as God listens, be sure to obey all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may go on possessing this good land and be able to pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants 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.

Solomon my son, get to know the God of your father. Serve him with complete dedication and with a willing mind, for the Lord examines every motivation and understands the intention of every thought. If you look for him, you will find him; but it you abandon him, he will reject you forever.

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

Pay attention now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and take action!”

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 his son Solomon the plans for the Temple porch, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the “place of atonement.”

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;

He also gave him everything he had planned for the courts of the house of the Lord, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the house of God and of those things that had been dedicated.

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,

In addition he passed on instructions regarding the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of service of the house of the Lord, and for all that was used for worship in the house 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;

He also laid down how much gold and silver was to be used in making the different objects used in every kind of service,

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;

the weight of the gold and silver lampstands and their lamps, depending on the use of each lampstand;

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

the weight of gold for each table of showbread, and the weight of silver for the silver tables,

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,

the weight of pure gold for the forks, basins, and cups; the weight of each gold dish; the weight of each silver bowl;

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.

the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense; and lastly plans for a golden chariot of cherubim that spread their wings, covering the Ark of the Lord's Agreement.

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 this is in writing from the hand of the Lord, given to me as instructions—every detail of this plan,” said David.

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.

Then David also told Solomon, “Be strong, be brave, and take action! Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you! He will not let you down or leave you. He will make sure all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

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.”

The divisions of the priests and the Levites are prepared for all the service of the house of God. People will be willing to use their different skills to help you in all the work—the officials and all the people will do what you tell them.”