David Addresses Israel

1David gathered together all of the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, division officers who reported to the king, the commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and to his sons, along with all of the officers of the palace, the elite forces, and all of the soldiers.

2King David rose to his feet and said, “My fellow citizens,a may I have your attention. I intended to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, for a footstool of our God, so I began preparations for its construction. 3But then God told me, ‘You will not build a temple to my name, because you are a man of war, and you have committed bloodshed.’b 4Nevertheless, the LORD God of Israel chose me from my entire ancestral household to be king over Israel forever, since he had chosen Judah as Commander-in-Chief.c In my ancestor Judah’s household, from my father’s household, and from among my father’s sons it pleased him to make me king over all of Israel.

5“Now out of all of my sons (since the LORD has given me many of them), he has selected my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD, rulingd over Israel. 6He told me,

‘I chose your son Solomon to be the one who will construct my Temple and my courts, because I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. 7I will establish his kingdom forever, assuming he remains strongly committed to carry out my commandments and ordinances, as he is doing today.’

8Therefore, in the presencee of all of Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and while our God is listening, observe and search through all of the commandments of the LORD your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land, leaving it for an inheritance forever to benefit your descendants who come after you.”

David Addresses Solomon Directly

9“Now as for you, my son Solomon, get to know the God of your father. Serve him with a sound heart and a devoted soul, because the LORD is searching every heart, every plan and thought. He will be found by you, assuming you are seeking him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you forever. 10So keep watching, because the LORD has chosen you to build the Temple of his sanctuary. So be strong, and get to work!”

David Transfers Plans and Materials to Solomon

11At this point in his address,f David transferred to his son Solomon the construction plans for the Hall of Justice,g its buildings, its treasure vaults, its upper rooms, its inner chambers, the housing for the Mercy Seat, 12and the plans for everything else that he had in mind for the courtyards of the Temple of the LORD. Included were plans forh all of the surrounding vaults and treasuries of the Temple of God intended for storage ofi dedicated gifts, 13for use by the ranks of priests and descendants of Levi, for all the work of service responsibilities in the Temple of the LORD, and for all of the utensils used in the work of the Temple of the LORD. 14David also transferred to himj by weight the gold that was to be used to craft thek service utensils, the silver that was to be used to craft thel service utensils, 15the gold for the golden lamp stands and their lamps, the silver for a lamp stand and its lamps (each according to its intended use in the service), 16the gold by weight for each table of the rows of bread, the silver for the silver tables, 17pure gold for the forks, the basins, the cups, the golden bowls (along with enough gold by weight for each one), enough weight for each of the silver bowls, 18refined gold for the altar of incense, by weight, along with his plans for craftingm the golden chariot for the cherubim that spread out their wings to cover the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD.

David Continues His Address

19“All of these things the LORD made clear to me in writing at his direction—the construction plans for all of the building.”

20David continued with these words for his son Solomon: “Be strong and courageous, and get to work. Never be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor will he abandon you right up to your completion of the work for the service of the Temple of the LORD. 21Now look! Here are the ranks of the priests and the descendants of Levi for the entire service of the Temple of God, and in all of the work there will be all types of volunteers who have skills for anything needed for the services. Furthermore, the officers and all of the people will be at your complete command.”