1 Chronicles 29

Chapter 29

Gifts for Building the Temple

1 Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals—it is for the LORD God himself!

2 Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.
3 “And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple.4 I am donating more than 112 tons of goldt from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silvert to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings

5 and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the LORD today?”
6 Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army,t and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly.7 For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold,t 10,000 gold coins,t 375 tons of silver,t 675 tons of bronze,t and 3,750 tons of iron.t8 They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the LORD under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon.

9 The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD, and King David was filled with joy.

David’s Prayer of Praise

10 Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel,t may you be praised forever and ever!11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.16 “O LORD our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.18 “O LORD, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the LORD your God!” And the entire assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the LORD and the king.

Solomon Named as King

21 The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the LORD. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel.

22 They feasted and drank in the LORD’s presence with great joy that day.

And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the LORD as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest.23 So Solomon took the throne of the LORD in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him.24 All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon.

25 And the LORD exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.

Summary of David’s Reign

26 So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.27 He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

28 He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place.
29 All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer.

30 These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms.

2 Chronicles 1

Chapter 1

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Solomon son of David took firm control of his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him very powerful.
2 Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel—the generals and captains of the army,t the judges, and all the political and clan leaders.

3 Then he led the entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for God’s Tabernaclet was located there. (This was the Tabernacle that Moses, the LORD’s servant, had made in the wilderness.)
4 David had already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem.5 But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was theret at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the LORD. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the LORD.t

6 There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the LORD’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
8 Solomon replied to God, “You showed faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place.9 O LORD God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth!

10 Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly,t for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”
11 God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—

12 I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”

13 Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the Tabernacle at the place of worship in Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel.
14 Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses.t He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem.15 The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah.t16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egyptt and from Ciliciat; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.

17 At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver,t and horses for 150 pieces of silver.t They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

2 Chronicles 2

Chapter 2

Preparations for Building the Temple

1 tSolomon decided to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD, and also a royal palace for himself.

2 tHe enlisted a force of 70,000 laborers, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen.

3 Solomon also sent this message to King Hiramt at Tyre:

“Send me cedar logs as you did for my father, David, when he was building his palace.4 I am about to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God. It will be a place set apart to burn fragrant incense before him, to display the special sacrificial bread, and to sacrifice burnt offerings each morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, at new moon celebrations, and at the other appointed festivals of the LORD our God. He has commanded Israel to do these things forever.5 “This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods.6 But who can really build him a worthy home? Not even the highest heavens can contain him! So who am I to consider building a Temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices to him?7 “So send me a master craftsman who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as with purple, scarlet, and blue cloth. He must be a skilled engraver who can work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem who were selected by my father, David.8 “Also send me cedar, cypress, and red sandalwoodt logs from Lebanon, for I know that your men are without equal at cutting timber in Lebanon. I will send my men to help them.9 An immense amount of timber will be needed, for the Temple I am going to build will be very large and magnificent.10 In payment for your woodcutters, I will send 100,000 bushels of crushed wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley,t 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil.t”

11 King Hiram sent this letter of reply to Solomon:

“It is because the LORD loves his people that he has made you their king!12 Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son, gifted with skill and understanding, who will build a Temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.13 “I am sending you a master craftsman named Huram-abi, who is extremely talented.14 His mother is from the tribe of Dan in Israel, and his father is from Tyre. He is skillful at making things from gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and he also works with stone and wood. He can work with purple, blue, and scarlet cloth and fine linen. He is also an engraver and can follow any design given to him. He will work with your craftsmen and those appointed by my lord David, your father.15 “Send along the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine that my lord has mentioned.16 We will cut whatever timber you need from the Lebanon mountains and will float the logs in rafts down the coast of the Mediterranean Seat to Joppa. From there you can transport the logs up to Jerusalem.”17 Solomon took a census of all foreigners in the land of Israel, like the census his father had taken, and he counted 153,600.

18 He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 as quarry workers in the hill country, and 3,600 as foremen.