1And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.28.1 possession: or, cattle28.1 and of…: or, and his sons28.1 officers: or, eunuchs 2Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: 3But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.28.3 blood: Heb. bloods 4Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: 5And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.28.7 constant: Heb. strong 8Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
9¶ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. 10Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.
11¶ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 12And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:28.12 of all that…: Heb. of all that was with him 13Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD. 14He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: 15Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. 16And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: 17Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: 18And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. 20And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 21And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.
David forbereder Salomon på tempelbyggeriet
1David sammenkaldte alle landets ledere til et møde i Jerusalem: Stammelederne, de 12 divisionschefer og mange andre officerer, alle der havde opsyn med kongens og hans sønners ejendom og besætning, hofmændene og en række heltemodige krigere. 2Da de var samlet, rejste kongen sig og sagde:
„Mine ledere og mit folk! Jeg havde på hjerte at bygge et tempel, hvor Herrens Ark kunne stå, og hvor Herren kunne bo. Jeg har tilvejebragt alt, hvad der er brug for til byggeriet, 3men Gud har sagt ligeud: ‚Fordi du har udgydt så meget blod i dine krige, bliver det ikke dig, der kommer til at bygge mit tempel.’
4Ikke desto mindre har Herren, Israels Gud, udvalgt mig til at begynde et dynasti, der skal regere over Israel til evig tid. Først udvalgte han Judas stamme til at være den, kongerne skulle komme fra. Dernæst udvalgte han af Judas stamme min familie, og endelig behagede det ham at udvælge mig blandt min fars sønner til at være konge over Israel. 5Og blandt de mange børn, Herren har givet mig, har han udvalgt Salomon til at efterfølge mig som konge over sit folk, Israel. 6Herren sagde nemlig til mig: ‚Din søn Salomon skal bygge mit tempel, for jeg har udvalgt ham som min søn, og jeg vil være hans far. 7Hvis han fortsætter med at følge mine befalinger og forskrifter, som han gør i dag, vil jeg grundfæste hans kongedømme for evigt.’
8Med Gud som vidne opfordrer jeg derfor jer alle, hele Israels folk, Herrens menighed, til at overholde alle Guds bud, så I kan beholde dette gode land og lade det gå i arv til jeres efterkommere til evig tid. 9Og du, min søn Salomon, hold fast ved din fars Gud! Tjen ham helhjertet og med et villigt sind, for Herren ser til hjertet, og han kender hver en tanke! Hvis du søger ham, vil han lade sig finde. Men hvis du vender dig fra ham, vil han forkaste dig for evigt. 10Du må forstå, at Herren har udvalgt dig til at bygge ham et hus, som skal være hans helligdom. Så vær blot frimodig og gå i gang med arbejdet.”
11Derpå overrakte David Salomon planerne over templet med forhallen og de øvrige bygninger, forrådskamrene, tagrummene, det hellige rum og det allerhelligste rum med forsoningsstedet, hvor Gud tilgiver folkets synder. 12Han gav ham også planerne for tempelforgården, de ydre kamre og rummene, hvor tempelredskaberne og alle gaverne til templet skulle opbevares. 13Kongen gav endvidere Salomon instrukser vedrørende præsternes og levitternes skiftehold, og forklarede ham brugen af samtlige redskaber, der hørte til tjenesten i Herrens Hus.
14David forklarede, hvor meget guld og sølv der skulle bruges til de forskellige tempelredskaber, 15hvor meget der skulle bruges til guld- og sølvlysestagerne og de tilhørende lamper af guld eller sølv, afhængig af deres funktion. 16Han forklarede, hvor meget guld der skulle bruges til bordet, hvor de hellige brød skulle lægges frem, og hvor meget sølv der skulle bruges til sølvbordene i templet. 17Derefter forklarede han, hvor meget guld der skulle bruges til kødgafler, stænkeskåle og kander, og hvor meget guld og sølv der skulle bruges til guld- og sølvbægrene. 18Endelig forklarede han, hvor meget rent guld der skulle bruges til røgelsesalteret og til keruberne, hvis vinger dækker over pagtens ark.
19„Hver eneste detalje i denne plan blev givet mig af Herren,” understregede David. 20„Gå derfor blot frimodigt i gang med arbejdet. Lad dig ikke overvælde af det store projekt, for Herren, min Gud, vil være med dig. Han vil ikke svigte dig. Han vil hjælpe dig til at fuldføre det hele, indtil alt arbejdet med Herrens Hus er færdigt. 21Alle præsterne og levitterne er parat til at udføre deres opgaver i templet. Du har mange folk til rådighed, som både er villige og kvalificerede til al slags arbejde. Alle lederne og hele folket vil gøre, hvad du befaler dem.”
