1Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
Preparations for the Temple
2So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
5David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,22:9 Solomon sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for peace. and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
11“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents22:14 That is, about 3,750 tons or about 3,400 metric tons of gold, a million talents22:14 That is, about 37,500 tons or about 34,000 metric tons of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”
17Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”
1因此大衛說：「耶和華上帝的殿和以色列人獻燔祭的壇要在這裡。」
大衛籌備建殿
2大衛下令召集住在以色列的外族人，派他們當中的石匠採鑿建上帝殿用的石頭。 3大衛預備了大量的鐵，用來做門扇的釘子和鉤子，又預備了不計其數的銅。 4他還預備了無數的香柏木，都是西頓人和泰爾人給他運來的。
5大衛說：「為耶和華建造的殿宇必須宏偉輝煌，聞名於世，而我的兒子所羅門年紀還輕、閱歷尚淺，所以我要為這殿預備材料。」因此，大衛在去世前為建殿預備了許多材料。
6大衛召來兒子所羅門，囑咐他要為以色列的上帝耶和華建造殿宇。 7他對所羅門說：「兒啊，我本想為我的上帝耶和華的名建造一座殿宇。 8但耶和華對我說，『你殺了許多人，打了很多仗，在我眼前使許多人血灑大地，因此你不可為我的名建造殿宇。 9你將生一個兒子，我必使他安享太平，不受四圍的仇敵侵擾。他的名字要叫所羅門，他執政期間，我必使以色列太平安寧。 10他將為我的名建造殿宇，他要做我的兒子，我要做他的父親，我要使他在以色列的王位永固。』
11「兒啊，願耶和華與你同在，使你亨通，照你的上帝耶和華的吩咐去建造祂的殿。 12你的上帝耶和華賜你權柄治理以色列時，願祂賜你聰明和智慧，以便你遵行祂的律法。 13你若謹遵耶和華藉摩西吩咐以色列的律例和典章，就必亨通。你要剛強勇敢，不要驚慌害怕。 14看啊，我歷盡艱辛，為耶和華的殿預備了六千八百萬兩金子、六億八千萬兩銀子和不計其數的銅和鐵。我還預備了木料和石頭。你還要多加預備。 15你有許多工匠，如鑿石匠、砌石匠、木匠等各種能工巧匠， 16還有不計其數的金匠、銀匠、銅匠和鐵匠。現在動工吧，願耶和華與你同在。」
17大衛又吩咐以色列的眾首領幫助他兒子所羅門， 18他說：「你們的上帝耶和華與你們同在，使你們四境平安。祂將這地方的居民交在我手中，使這地方歸順祂和祂的子民。 19現在，你們要全心全意地尋求你們的上帝耶和華，去建造耶和華上帝的聖所，好將祂的約櫃和聖潔器皿都放在裡面。」
