CHAPTER 28

¹And David assembled in Jerusalem all the officers of Israel, the officers of the tribes and the officers of the orders ministering to the king and the officers of the thousands and the officers of the hundreds and the officers of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons with the eunuchs and the warriors, every valiant warrior. ²And King David rose on his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people: I—it was in my heart to build a resting house for the Ark of the LORD’S Covenant and as a footstool for the feet of our God, and I prepared to build. ³But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war, and you have shed blood.’ ⁴But the LORD God of Israel chose me of all my father’s house as king over Israel forever, for He had chosen Judah as prince and in the house of Judah my father’s house and my father’s sons. Me did it please Him to make king over all Israel. ⁵And all of my sons—for many sons did the LORD give me—He chose Solomon to sit on the throne of the LORD’S kingship over Israel. ⁶And He said to me, ‘Solomon your son, it is he who will build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him for Me as a son, and I will be a father to him. ⁷And I will make his kingship stand firm forever if he holds strong to do My commands and My laws as on this day.’ ⁸And now before the eyes of all Israel, the LORD’S assembly, and in the hearing of our God, keep and seek out all the commands of the LORD your God, so that you may inherit the good land and pass it on to your children after you forever. ⁹And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and an eager self, for the LORD searches all hearts and discerns every devising of schemes. If you seek Him, He shall be found for you, but if you forsake Him, He shall abandon you. ¹⁰See, now, that the LORD has chosen you to build a house as a sanctuary. Be strong and do it.” ¹¹And David gave to Solomon the plan of the entrance hall and the plan for the house and its storerooms and its upper chambers and its inner rooms and the space for the Ark covering, ¹²and the plan of all that was in the mind of his people for the courts of the house of the LORD and for all the chambers around the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the consecrated gifts, ¹³and for the orders of the priests and the Levites and for every task of the service of the house of the LORD and for all the vessels of the service of the house of the LORD, ¹⁴for the gold by weight of gold, for all the vessels of each and every service, for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all the vessels of each and every service, ¹⁵and the weight for the golden lampstands and their lamps, gold by weight, each and every lampstand and its lamps, for the silver lampstands by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps like the service of each and every lampstand, ¹⁶and the gold by weight for the tables of the bread in rows for each and every table, and silver for the silver tables, ¹⁷and the forks and the basins and the jars, pure gold, and for the golden bowls by weight for each and every bowl, and for the silver bowls by weight for each and every bowl, ¹⁸and for the incense altar, refined gold by weight, and for the model of the chariot, the golden cherubim spreading wings and screening the Ark of the LORD’S Covenant. ¹⁹“Everything in writing by the word of God to me He granted understanding of all the tasks of the plan.” ²⁰And David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and stalwart and do it. Do not fear and do not be terrified, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not let go of you and will not forsake you until the completion of all the task of the service of the house of the LORD. ²¹And here are the orders of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and with you in every task for everyone answering the call with skill. And the officers and all the people are there for your every bidding.”