Gifts for Building the Temple
1Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,29:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4three thousand talents29:4 That is, about 110 tons or about 100 metric tons of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents29:4 That is, about 260 tons or about 235 metric tons of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”
6Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents29:7 That is, about 190 tons or about 170 metric tons and ten thousand darics29:7 That is, about 185 pounds or about 84 kilograms of gold, ten thousand talents29:7 That is, about 380 tons or about 340 metric tons of silver, eighteen thousand talents29:7 That is, about 675 tons or about 610 metric tons of bronze and a hundred thousand talents29:7 That is, about 3,800 tons or about 3,400 metric tons of iron. 8Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
David’s Prayer
10David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, Lord,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
20Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.
Solomon Acknowledged as King
21The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.
Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.
25The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
The Death of David
26David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
Gifts Are Brought for Building the Temple
1Then King David spoke to the whole community. He said, “God has chosen my son Solomon. But Solomon is young. He’s never done anything like this before. The task is huge. This grand and wonderful temple won’t be built for human beings. It will be built for the Lord God. 2With all my riches I’ve done everything I could for the temple of my God. I’ve provided gold for the gold work and silver for the silver work. I’ve provided bronze for the bronze work and iron for the iron work. I’ve given wood for the things that will be made out of wood. I’ve given onyx and turquoise for the settings. I’ve given stones of different colors and all kinds of fine stone and marble. I’ve provided everything in huge amounts. 3With all my heart I want the temple of my God to be built. So I’m giving my personal treasures of gold and silver for it. I’m adding them to everything else I’ve provided for the holy temple. 4I’m giving 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of pure silver. Cover the walls of the buildings with it. 5Use it for the gold work and the silver work. Use it for everything the skilled workers will do. How many of you are willing to set yourselves apart to the Lord today?”
6Many people were willing to give. They included the leaders of families and the officers of the tribes of Israel. They included the commanders of thousands of men and commanders of hundreds. They also included the officials who were in charge of the king’s work. 7All of them gave to the work on God’s temple. They gave more than 190 tons of gold and 380 tons of silver. They also gave 675 tons of bronze and 3,800 tons of iron. 8Anyone who had valuable jewels added them to the treasure for the Lord’s temple. Jehiel was in charge of the temple treasure. He was from the family line of Gershon. 9The people were happy when they saw what their leaders had been willing to give. The leaders had given freely. With their whole heart they had given everything to the Lord. King David was filled with joy.
David’s Prayer
10David praised the Lord in front of the whole community. He said,
“Lord, we give you praise.
You are the God of our father Israel.
We give you praise for ever and ever.
11Lord, you are great and powerful.
Glory, majesty and beauty belong to you.
Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you.
Lord, the kingdom belongs to you.
You are honored as the one who rules over all.
12Wealth and honor come from you.
You are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power.
You can give honor and strength to everyone.
13Our God, we give you thanks.
We praise your glorious name.
14“But who am I? And who are my people? Without your help we wouldn’t be able to give this much. Everything comes from you. We’ve given back to you only what comes from you. 15We are outsiders and strangers in your sight. So were all of our people who lived long ago. Our days on this earth are like a shadow. We don’t have any hope. 16Lord our God, we’ve given more than enough. We’ve provided it to build you a temple where you will put your holy Name. But all of it comes from you. All of it belongs to you. 17My God, I know that you tested our hearts. And you are pleased when we are honest. I’ve given all these things just because I wanted to. When I did it, I was completely honest with you. Your people here have also been willing to give to you. And I’ve been happy to see this. 18Lord, you are the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever. Keep their hearts faithful to you. 19Help my son Solomon serve you with all his heart. Then he will keep your commands and rules. He will do what you require. He’ll do everything to build the grand and wonderful temple I’ve provided for.”
20Then David said to the whole community, “Praise the Lord your God.” So all of them praised the Lord. He’s the God of their people who lived long ago. The whole community bowed low. They fell down flat with their faces toward the ground. They did it in front of the Lord and the king.
Solomon Becomes the Next King
21The next day they offered sacrifices to the Lord. They brought burnt offerings to him. They sacrificed 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 male lambs. They also brought the required drink offerings. And they offered many other sacrifices for the whole community of Israel. 22They ate and drank with great joy that day. They did it in front of the Lord. Then they announced a second time that Solomon was king. He was the son of David. They anointed Solomon in front of the Lord. They anointed him to be ruler. They also anointed Zadok to be priest.
23So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord. He ruled as king in place of his father David. Things went well with him. All the people of Israel obeyed him. 24All the officers and warriors promised to be completely faithful to King Solomon. So did all of King David’s sons.
25The Lord greatly honored Solomon in the sight of all the people. He gave him royal majesty. Solomon was given more glory than any king over Israel ever had before.
David Dies
26David was king over the whole nation of Israel. He was the son of Jesse. 27He ruled over Israel for 40 years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem. 28He died when he was very old. He had enjoyed a long life. He had enjoyed wealth and honor. David’s son Solomon became the next king after him.
29The events of King David’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of Samuel, Nathan and Gad, the prophets. 30The records tell all about David’s rule and power. They tell about what happened concerning him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.