1 Chronicles 15-17

New International Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)

15 After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared^(B) a place for the ark of God and pitched^(C) a tent for it. ²Then David said, “No one but the Levites^(D) may carry^(E) the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister^(F) before him forever.”

³David assembled all Israel^(G) in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:^(H)

⁵From the descendants of Kohath,

Uriel^(I) the leader and 120 relatives;

⁶from the descendants of Merari,

Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;

⁷from the descendants of Gershon,^[a]

Joel the leader and 130 relatives;

⁸from the descendants of Elizaphan,^(J)

Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;

⁹from the descendants of Hebron,^(K)

Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;

¹⁰from the descendants of Uzziel,

Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives.

¹¹Then David summoned Zadok^(L) and Abiathar^(M) the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. ¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate^(N) yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³It was because you, the Levites,^(O) did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us.^(P) We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.^(Q)” ¹⁴So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded^(R) in accordance with the word of the Lord.^(S)

¹⁶David^(T) told the leaders of the Levites^(U) to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians^(V) to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.^(W)

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman^(X) son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph^(Y) son of Berekiah; and from their relatives the Merarites,^(Z) Ethan son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸and with them their relatives next in rank: Zechariah,^[b] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom^(AA) and Jeiel,^[c] the gatekeepers.

¹⁹The musicians Heman,^(AB) Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; ²⁰Zechariah, Jaaziel,^[d] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth,^[e] ²¹and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith.^[f] ²²Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

²³Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark. ²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets^(AC) before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark^(AD) of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. ²⁶Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams^(AE) were sacrificed. ²⁷Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod.^(AF) ²⁸So all Israel^(AG) brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts,^(AH) with the sounding of rams’ horns^(AI) and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

²⁹As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

Ministering Before the Ark^(AJ)^(AK)^(AL)

16 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched^(AM) for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. ²After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed^(AN) the people in the name of the Lord. ³Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins^(AO) to each Israelite man and woman.

⁴He appointed some of the Levites to minister^(AP) before the ark of the Lord, to extol,^[g] thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: ⁵Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,^[h] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise^(AQ) to the Lord in this manner:

⁸Give praise^(AR) to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations^(AS) what he has done.
⁹Sing to him, sing praise^(AT) to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
¹⁰Glory in his holy name;^(AU)
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
¹¹Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek^(AV) his face always.

¹²Remember^(AW) the wonders^(AX) he has done,
    his miracles,^(AY) and the judgments he pronounced,
¹³you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
¹⁴He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments^(AZ) are in all the earth.

¹⁵He remembers^[i]^(BA) his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
¹⁶the covenant^(BB) he made with Abraham,
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
¹⁷He confirmed it to Jacob^(BC) as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
¹⁸“To you I will give the land of Canaan^(BD)
    as the portion you will inherit.”

¹⁹When they were but few in number,^(BE)
    few indeed, and strangers in it,
²⁰they^[j] wandered^(BF) from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
²¹He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:^(BG)
²²“Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets^(BH) no harm.”

²³Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
²⁴Declare his glory^(BI) among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

²⁵For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;^(BJ)
    he is to be feared^(BK) above all gods.^(BL)
²⁶For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.^(BM)
²⁷Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

²⁸Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.^(BN)
²⁹Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;^(BO)
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his^[k] holiness.^(BP)
³⁰    Tremble^(BQ) before him, all the earth!
    The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.^(BR)

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;^(BS)
    let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!^(BT)”
³²Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;^(BU)
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
³³Let the trees^(BV) of the forest sing,
    let them sing for joy before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge^(BW) the earth.

³⁴Give thanks^(BX) to the Lord, for he is good;^(BY)
    his love endures forever.^(BZ)
³⁵Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;^(CA)
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.”
³⁶Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,^(CB)
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

³⁷David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.^(CC) ³⁸He also left Obed-Edom^(CD) and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah,^(CE) were gatekeepers.

³⁹David left Zadok^(CF) the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon^(CG) ⁴⁰to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law^(CH) of the Lord, which he had given Israel. ⁴¹With them were Heman^(CI) and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, “for his love endures forever.” ⁴²Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song.^(CJ) The sons of Jeduthun^(CK) were stationed at the gate.

⁴³Then all the people left, each for their own home, and David returned home to bless his family.

God’s Promise to David^(CL)

17 After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.^(CM)”

²Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind,^(CN) do it, for God is with you.”

³But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

⁴“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You^(CO) are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. ⁵I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. ⁶Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders^[l] whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?^(CP)”’

⁷“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler^(CQ) over my people Israel. ⁸I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth. ⁹And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders^(CR) over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: ¹¹When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He is the one who will build^(CS) a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.^(CT) ¹³I will be his father,^(CU) and he will be my son.^(CV) I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne^(CW) will be established forever.^(CX)’”

¹⁵Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer^(CY)

¹⁶Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁷And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men.

¹⁸“What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, ¹⁹Lord. For the sake^(CZ) of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.^(DA)

²⁰“There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you,^(DB) as we have heard with our own ears. ²¹And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem^(DC) a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²²You made your people Israel your very own forever,^(DD) and you, Lord, have become their God.

²³“And now, Lord, let the promise^(DE) you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, ²⁴so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

²⁵“You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. ²⁶You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁷Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight;^(DF) for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 15:7 Hebrew Gershom, a variant of Gershon
1 Chronicles 15:18 Three Hebrew manuscripts and most Septuagint manuscripts (see also verse 20 and 16:5); most Hebrew manuscripts Zechariah son and or Zechariah, Ben and
1 Chronicles 15:18 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also verse 21) Jeiel and Azaziah
1 Chronicles 15:20 See verse 18; Hebrew Aziel, a variant of Jaaziel.
1 Chronicles 15:20 Probably a musical term
1 Chronicles 15:21 Probably a musical term
1 Chronicles 16:4 Or petition; or invoke
1 Chronicles 16:5 See 15:18,20; Hebrew Jeiel, possibly another name for Jaaziel.
1 Chronicles 16:15 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Psalm 105:8); Hebrew Remember
1 Chronicles 16:20 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 105:12); most Hebrew manuscripts inherit, / ¹⁹though you are but few in number, / few indeed, and strangers in it.” / ²⁰They
1 Chronicles 16:29 Or Lord with the splendor of
1 Chronicles 17:6 Traditionally judges; also in verse 10

1 Chronicles 15-17

King James Version

15 And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.

²Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

³And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord unto his place, which he had prepared for it.

⁴And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:

⁵Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty:

⁶Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:

⁷Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief and his brethren an hundred and thirty:

⁸Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:

⁹Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:

¹⁰Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.

¹¹And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,

¹²And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.

¹³For because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

¹⁴So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁵And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.

¹⁶And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;

¹⁸And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters.

¹⁹So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;

²⁰And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;

²¹And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel.

²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.

²³And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁴And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obededom with joy.

²⁶And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.

²⁷And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.

²⁸Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

²⁹And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

16 So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.

²And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

³And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.

⁴And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:

⁵Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;

⁶Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

⁸Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

⁹Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

¹⁰Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

¹¹Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

¹²Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

¹³O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

¹⁶Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁷And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

¹⁸Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

¹⁹When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.

²⁰And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;

²¹He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,

²²Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

²³Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

²⁴Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.

²⁵For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

²⁷Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

²⁸Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

²⁹Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

³⁰Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

³¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth.

³²Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

³³Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth.

³⁴O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

³⁵And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.

³⁶Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.

³⁷So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required:

³⁸And Obededom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obededom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:

³⁹And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,

⁴⁰To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel;

⁴¹And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever;

⁴²And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.

⁴³And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

17 Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.

²Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.

³And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

⁴Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:

⁵For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

⁶Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

⁷Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:

⁸And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.

⁹Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,

¹⁰And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the Lord will build thee an house.

¹¹And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.

¹³I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

¹⁴But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

¹⁵According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁶And David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁷And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.

¹⁸What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.

¹⁹O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

²⁰O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?

²²For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God.

²³Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁴Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.

²⁵For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

²⁶And now, Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

²⁷Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.

1 Chronicles 15-17

New King James Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)

15 David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, ^(B)and pitched a tent for it. ²Then David said, “No one may carry the ^(C)ark of God but the Levites, for ^(D)the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.” ³And David ^(E)gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. ⁴Then David assembled the children of Aaron and the Levites: ⁵of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and one hundred and twenty of his ^[a]brethren; ⁶of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; ⁷of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; ⁸of the sons of ^(F)Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and two hundred of his brethren; ⁹of the sons of ^(G)Hebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his brethren; ¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren.

¹¹And David called for ^(H)Zadok and ^(I)Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; ^[b]sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³For ^(J)because you did not do it the first time, ^(K)the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him ^[c]about the proper order.”

¹⁴So the priests and the Levites ^[d]sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as ^(L)Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

¹⁶Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy. ¹⁷So the Levites appointed ^(M)Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, ^(N)Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of their brethren, the sons of Merari, ^(O)Ethan the son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸and with them their brethren of the second rank: Zechariah, ^[e]Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers; ¹⁹the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound the cymbals of bronze; ²⁰Zechariah, ^[f]Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with strings according to ^(P)Alamoth; ²¹Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to direct with harps on the ^(Q)Sheminith; ²²Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful; ²³Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark; ²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, ^(R)were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and ^(S)Obed-Edom and Jehiah, doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So ^(T)David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. ²⁶And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷David was clothed with a robe of fine ^(U)linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸^(V)Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps.

²⁹And it happened, ^(W)as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, that Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David whirling and playing music; and she despised him in her heart.

The Ark Placed in the Tabernacle^(X)

16 So ^(Y)they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. ²And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, ^(Z)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.

⁴And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to ^(AA)commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel: ⁵Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then ^(AB)Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; ⁶Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God.

David’s Song of Thanksgiving^(AC)

⁷On that day ^(AD)David ^(AE)first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

⁸^(AF)Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
⁹Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
¹⁰Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
¹¹Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
¹²Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
¹³O seed of Israel His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

¹⁴He is the Lord our God;
His ^(AG)judgments are in all the earth.
¹⁵Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
¹⁶The ^(AH)covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
¹⁷And ^(AI)confirmed it to ^(AJ)Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
¹⁸Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”
¹⁹When you were ^(AK)few in number,
Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

²⁰When they went from one nation to another,
And from one kingdom to another people,
²¹He permitted no man to do them wrong;
Yes, He ^(AL)rebuked kings for their sakes,
²²Saying, ^(AM)“Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”

²³^(AN)Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
²⁴Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.

²⁵For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is also to be feared above all gods.
²⁶For all the gods ^(AO)of the peoples are ^[g]idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and gladness are in His place.

²⁸Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
³⁰Tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved.

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
³²Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.
³³Then the ^(AP)trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,
For He is ^(AQ)coming to judge the earth.

³⁴^(AR)Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
³⁵^(AS)And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;
Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.”

³⁶^(AT)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!

And all ^(AU)the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Regular Worship Maintained

³⁷So he left ^(AV)Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly, as every day’s work ^(AW)required; ³⁸and ^(AX)Obed-Edom with his sixty-eight brethren, including Obed-Edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers; ³⁹and Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests, ^(AY)before the tabernacle of the Lord ^(AZ)at the ^[h]high place that was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly ^(BA)morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the Law of the Lord which He commanded Israel; ⁴¹and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, ^(BB)because His mercy endures forever; ⁴²and with them Heman and Jeduthun, to sound aloud with trumpets and cymbals and the musical instruments of God. Now the sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.

⁴³^(BC)Then all the people departed, every man to his house; and David returned to bless his house.

God’s Covenant with David^(BD)

17 Now ^(BE)it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.”

²Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall ^(BF)not build Me a house to dwell in. ⁵For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. ⁶Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ ⁷Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you ^(BG)from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ^[i]ruler over My people Israel. ⁸And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have ^[j]made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ⁹Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will ^(BH)plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ¹⁰since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the Lord will build you a ^[k]house. ¹¹And it shall be, when your days are ^(BI)fulfilled, when you must ^[l]go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your ^(BJ)seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²^(BK)He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³^(BL)I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, ^(BM)as I took it from him who was before you. ¹⁴And ^(BN)I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁵According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

¹⁶^(BO)Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁷And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O Lord God. ¹⁸What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant. ¹⁹O Lord, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. ²⁰O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²¹^(BP)And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people—to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt? ²²For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become their God.

²³“And now, O Lord, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let it be established forever, and do as You have said. ²⁴So let it be established, that Your name may be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁵For You, O my God, ^[m]have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before You. ²⁶And now, Lord, ^[n]You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁷Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever.”

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 15:5 kinsmen
1 Chronicles 15:12 consecrate
1 Chronicles 15:13 regarding the ordinance
1 Chronicles 15:14 consecrated
1 Chronicles 15:18 So with MT, Vg.; LXX omits Ben
1 Chronicles 15:20 Jaaziel, v. 18
1 Chronicles 16:26 worthless things
1 Chronicles 16:39 Place for pagan worship
1 Chronicles 17:7 leader
1 Chronicles 17:8 given you prestige
1 Chronicles 17:10 Royal dynasty
1 Chronicles 17:11 Die and join your ancestors
1 Chronicles 17:25 Lit. have uncovered the ear of
1 Chronicles 17:26 Or You alone are

1 Chronicles 21-22

New International Version

David Counts the Fighting Men^(A)

21 Satan^(B) rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census^(C) of Israel. ²So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count^(D) the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

³But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over.^(E) My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

⁴The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. ⁵Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel^(F) there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

⁶But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. ⁷This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

⁹The Lord said to Gad,^(G) David’s seer,^(H) ¹⁰“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

¹¹So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: ¹²three years of famine,^(I) three months of being swept away^[a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword^(J) of the Lord^(K)—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹³David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy^(L) is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.^(M) ¹⁵And God sent an angel^(N) to destroy Jerusalem.^(O) But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented^(P) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying^(Q) the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah^[b] the Jebusite.

¹⁶David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.^(R)

¹⁷David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,^[c] have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep.^(S) What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family,^(T) but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor^(U) of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.

²⁰While Araunah was threshing wheat,^(V) he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. ²¹Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

²²David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

²³Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

²⁴But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

²⁵So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels^[d] of gold for the site. ²⁶David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire^(W) from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. ²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon.^(X) ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

22 Then David said, “The house of the Lord God^(Y) 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^(Z) residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters^(AA) 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.^(AB) ⁴He also provided more cedar logs^(AC) than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

⁵David said, “My son Solomon is young^(AD) and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor^(AE) 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^(AF) a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart^(AG) to build^(AH) a house for the Name^(AI) of the Lord my God. ⁸But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars.^(AJ) You are not to build a house for my Name,^(AK) 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^(AL) and rest,^(AM) and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,^[e]^(AN) and I will grant Israel peace and quiet^(AO) during his reign. ¹⁰He is the one who will build a house for my Name.^(AP) He will be my son,^(AQ) and I will be his father. And I will establish^(AR) the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’^(AS)

¹¹“Now, my son, the Lord be with^(AT) 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^(AU) 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^(AV) if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws^(AW) that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous.^(AX) Do not be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁴“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents^[f] of gold, a million talents^[g] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.^(AY) ¹⁵You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters,^(AZ) as well as those skilled in every kind of work ¹⁶in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen^(BA) beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷Then David ordered^(BB) 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^(BC) on every side?^(BD) 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.^(BE) 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.”

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 21:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Samuel 24:13) of fleeing
1 Chronicles 21:15 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah; also in verses 18-28
1 Chronicles 21:17 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see 2 Samuel 24:17 and note); Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd.
1 Chronicles 21:25 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
1 Chronicles 22:9 Solomon sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for peace.
1 Chronicles 22:14 That is, about 3,750 tons or about 3,400 metric tons
1 Chronicles 22:14 That is, about 37,500 tons or about 34,000 metric tons

1 Chronicles 21-22

King James Version

21 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

²And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

³And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?

⁴Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.

⁵And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.

⁶But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.

⁷And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

⁸And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

⁹And the Lord spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,

¹⁰Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

¹¹So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee

¹²Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

¹³And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.

¹⁴So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

¹⁵And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.

¹⁷And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord.

²⁰And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

²¹And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

²²Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the Lord: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.

²³And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.

²⁴And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.

²⁵So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

²⁶And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.

²⁸At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.

²⁹For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.

³⁰But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

22 Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

²And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;

⁴Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

⁶Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel.

⁷And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God:

⁸But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

⁹Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

¹⁰He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

¹¹Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee.

¹²Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God.

¹³Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

¹⁴Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.

¹⁵Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.

¹⁶Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.

¹⁷David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,

¹⁸Is not the Lord your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people.

¹⁹Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 21-22

New King James Version

The Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

21 Now ^(B)Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ^[a]number Israel. ²So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, ^(C)and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ⁶^(D)But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[b]word was abominable to Joab.

⁷And ^[c]God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. ⁸So David said to God, ^(E)“I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; ^(F)but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s ^(G)seer, saying, ¹⁰“Go and tell David, ^(H)saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, ¹²^(I)either ^[d]three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the ^[e]angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹³And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His ^(J)mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a ^(K)plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. ¹⁵And God sent ^[f]an ^(L)angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As ^[g]he was destroying, the Lord looked and ^(M)relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain ^[h]your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the ^(N)threshing floor of ^[i]Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶Then David lifted his eyes and ^(O)saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these ^(P)sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

¹⁸Therefore, the ^(Q)angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. ²⁰Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. ²¹So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. ²²Then David said to Ornan, ^[j]“Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²³But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”

²⁴Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” ²⁵So ^(R)David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. ²⁶And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and ^(S)He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ²⁹^(T)For the tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in ^(U)Gibeon. ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Prepares to Build the Temple

22 Then David said, ^(V)“This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ²So David commanded to gather the ^(W)aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ^(X)cut hewn stones to build the house of God. ³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance ^(Y)beyond measure, ⁴and cedar trees in abundance; for the ^(Z)Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵Now David said, ^(AA)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

⁶Then he called for his son Solomon, and ^[k]charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ^(AB)it was in my mind to build a house ^(AC)to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(AD)‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ⁹^(AE)Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^(AF)rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ^[l]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ¹⁰^(AG)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(AH)he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹Now, my son, may ^(AI)the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. ¹²Only may the Lord ^(AJ)give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³^(AK)Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ^[m]charged Moses concerning Israel. ^(AL)Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron ^(AM)beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. ¹⁵Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. ¹⁶Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and ^(AN)the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷David also commanded all the ^(AO)leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸“Is not the Lord your God with you? ^(AP)And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to ^(AQ)bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built ^(AR)for the name of the Lord.”

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 21:1 take a census of
1 Chronicles 21:6 command
1 Chronicles 21:7 Lit. it was evil in the eyes of God
1 Chronicles 21:12 seven, 2 Sam. 24:13
1 Chronicles 21:12 Or Angel, and so throughout the chapter
1 Chronicles 21:15 Or the Angel
1 Chronicles 21:15 Or He
1 Chronicles 21:15 Or Your
1 Chronicles 21:15 Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16, 18–24
1 Chronicles 21:22 Lit. Give
1 Chronicles 22:6 com-manded
1 Chronicles 22:9 Lit. Peaceful
1 Chronicles 22:13 commanded

1 Chronicles 28-29

New International Version

David’s Plans for the Temple

28 David summoned^(A) all the officials^(B) of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the warriors and all the brave fighting men.

²King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart^(C) to build a house as a place of rest^(D) for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool^(E) of our God, and I made plans to build it.^(F) ³But God said to me,^(G) ‘You are not to build a house for my Name,^(H) because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’^(I)

⁴“Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me^(J) from my whole family^(K) to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah^(L) as leader, and from the tribe of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.^(M) ⁵Of all my sons—and the Lord has given me many^(N)—he has chosen my son Solomon^(O) to sit on the throne^(P) of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶He said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build^(Q) my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son,^(R) and I will be his father. ⁷I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws,^(S) as is being done at this time.’

⁸“So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel^(T) and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands^(U) of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.^(V)

⁹“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion^(W) and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart^(X) and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him,^(Y) he will be found by you; but if you forsake^(Z) him, he will reject^(AA) you forever. ¹⁰Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

¹¹Then David gave his son Solomon the plans^(AB) for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. ¹²He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit^(AC) had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things.^(AD) ¹³He gave him instructions for the divisions^(AE) of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the Lord, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. ¹⁴He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: ¹⁵the weight of gold for the gold lampstands^(AF) and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; ¹⁶the weight of gold for each table^(AG) for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls^(AH) and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; ¹⁸and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense.^(AI) He also gave him the plan for the chariot,^(AJ) that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and overshadow^(AK) the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

¹⁹“All this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details^(AL) of the plan.^(AM)”

²⁰David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous,^(AN) and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake^(AO) you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.^(AP) ²¹The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled^(AQ) in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.^(AR) 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^(AS) 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,^[a]^(AT) stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.^(AU) 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^(AV) for this holy temple: ⁴three thousand talents^[b] of gold (gold of Ophir)^(AW) and seven thousand talents^[c] of refined silver,^(AX) 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^(AY) in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.^(AZ) ⁷They^(BA) gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents^[d] and ten thousand darics^[e] of gold, ten thousand talents^[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents^[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents^[h] of iron. ⁸Anyone who had precious stones^(BB) gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.^(BC) ⁹The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly^(BD) 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^(BE)
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.^(BF)
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.^(BG)
¹²Wealth and honor^(BH) come from you;
    you are the ruler^(BI) 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?^(BJ) Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.^(BK) ¹⁵We are foreigners and strangers^(BL) in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow,^(BM) 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^(BN) 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.^(BO) 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^(BP) to keep your commands, statutes and decrees^(BQ) and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”^(BR)

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^(BS)

²¹The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him:^(BT) a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.^(BU) ²²They ate and drank with great joy^(BV) 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^(BW) to be priest. ²³So Solomon sat^(BX) on the throne^(BY) 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,^(BZ) pledged their submission to King Solomon.

²⁵The Lord highly exalted^(CA) Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor^(CB) such as no king over Israel ever had before.^(CC)

The Death of David^(CD)

²⁶David son of Jesse was king^(CE) over all Israel.^(CF) ²⁷He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron^(CG) and thirty-three in Jerusalem.^(CH) ²⁸He died^(CI) at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.^(CJ)

²⁹As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer,^(CK) the records of Nathan^(CL) the prophet and the records of Gad^(CM) 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.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 29:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
1 Chronicles 29:4 That is, about 110 tons or about 100 metric tons
1 Chronicles 29:4 That is, about 260 tons or about 235 metric tons
1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 190 tons or about 170 metric tons
1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 185 pounds or about 84 kilograms
1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 380 tons or about 340 metric tons
1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 675 tons or about 610 metric tons
1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 3,800 tons or about 3,400 metric tons

1 Chronicles 28-29

King James Version

28 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.

²Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

³But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.

⁴Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:

⁵And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

⁶And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

⁷Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.

⁸Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.

⁹And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

¹⁰Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.

¹¹Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,

¹²And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:

¹³Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord.

¹⁴He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service:

¹⁵Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick.

¹⁶And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver:

¹⁷Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver:

¹⁸And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

¹⁹All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

²⁰And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

²¹And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.

29 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

²Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

³Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

⁴Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:

⁵The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?

⁶Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

⁷And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

⁸And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

⁹Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

¹⁰Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

¹¹Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

¹²Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

¹³Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

¹⁴But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

¹⁵For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

¹⁶O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

¹⁷I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

¹⁸O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

¹⁹And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

²⁰And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.

²¹And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:

²²And did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.

²³Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

²⁴And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

²⁵And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

²⁶Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

²⁷And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

²⁸And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

²⁹Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,

³⁰With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

1 Chronicles 28-29

New King James Version

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all ^(A)the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and ^(B)the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and ^(C)the stewards over all the substance and ^[a]possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all ^(D)the mighty men of valor.

²Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: ^(E)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for ^(F)the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. ³But God said to me, ^(G)‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed ^(H)blood.’ ⁴However the Lord God of Israel ^(I)chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen ^(J)Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, ^(K)the house of my father, and ^(L)among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. ⁵^(M)And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) ^(N)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶Now He said to me, ‘It is ^(O)your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. ⁷Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, ^(P)if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ ⁸Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.

⁹“As for you, my son Solomon, ^(Q)know the God of your father, and serve Him ^(R)with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for ^(S)the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. ^(T)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will ^(U)cast you off forever. ¹⁰Consider now, ^(V)for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

¹¹Then David gave his son Solomon ^(W)the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; ¹²and the ^(X)plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, of all the chambers all around, ^(Y)of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; ¹³also for the division of the priests and the ^(Z)Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; ¹⁵the weight for the ^(AA)lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. ¹⁶And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each ^(AB)table, and silver for the tables of silver; ¹⁷also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; ¹⁸and refined gold by weight for the ^(AC)altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold ^(AD)cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹“All this,” said David, ^(AE)“the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the ^[b]works of these plans.”

²⁰And David said to his son Solomon, ^(AF)“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. ^(AG)He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²¹Here are ^(AH)the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and ^(AI)every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”

Offerings for Building the Temple

29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has ^(AJ)chosen, is ^(AK)young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the ^[c]temple is not for man but for the Lord God. ²Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, ^(AL)onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. ³Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: ⁴three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of ^(AM)Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; ⁵the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is ^(AN)willing to ^[d]consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

⁶Then ^(AO)the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with ^(AP)the officers over the king’s work, ^(AQ)offered willingly. ⁷They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the hand of ^(AR)Jehiel^[e] the Gershonite. ⁹Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had ^(AS)offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Praise to God

¹⁰Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
¹¹^(AT)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
¹²^(AU)Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.

¹³“Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
¹⁴But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And ^[f]of Your own we have given You.
¹⁵For ^(AV)we are ^[g]aliens and ^[h]pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
^(AW)Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.

¹⁶“O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. ¹⁷I know also, my God, that You ^(AX)test the heart and ^(AY)have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. ¹⁸O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. ¹⁹And ^(AZ)give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the ^[i]temple for which ^(BA)I have made provision.”

²⁰Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Anointed King^(BB)

²¹And they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and ^(BC)sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²²So they ate and drank before the Lord with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and ^(BD)anointed him before the Lord to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. ²³Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, ^(BE)submitted^[j] themselves to King Solomon. ²⁵So the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and ^(BF)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Close of David’s Reign

²⁶Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷^(BG)And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; ^(BH)seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. ²⁸So he ^(BI)died in a good old age, ^(BJ)full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. ²⁹Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the ^[k]book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, ³⁰with all his reign and his might, ^(BK)and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 28:1 Or livestock
1 Chronicles 28:19 details
1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit. palace
1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. fill his hand
1 Chronicles 29:8 Possibly the same as Jehieli, 1 Chr. 26:21, 22
1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit. of Your hand
1 Chronicles 29:15 sojourners, temporary residents
1 Chronicles 29:15 transients, temporary residents in an even more temporary sense
1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit. palace
1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit. gave the hand
1 Chronicles 29:29 Lit. words

New International Version (NIV)

1 Chronicles 15-17 New International Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem(A)

Ministering Before the Ark(AJ)(AK)(AL)

God’s Promise to David(CL)

David’s Prayer(CY)

Footnotes

Cross references

1 Chronicles 15-17 King James Version

1 Chronicles 15-17 New King James Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem(A)

The Ark Placed in the Tabernacle(X)

David’s Song of Thanksgiving(AC)

Regular Worship Maintained

God’s Covenant with David(BD)

Footnotes

Cross references

1 Chronicles 21-22 New International Version

David Counts the Fighting Men(A)

David Builds an Altar

Preparations for the Temple

Footnotes

Cross references

1 Chronicles 21-22 King James Version

1 Chronicles 21-22 New King James Version

The Census of Israel and Judah(A)

David Prepares to Build the Temple

Footnotes

Cross references

1 Chronicles 28-29 New International Version

David’s Plans for the Temple

Gifts for Building the Temple

David’s Prayer

Solomon Acknowledged as King(BS)

The Death of David(CD)

Footnotes

Cross references

1 Chronicles 28-29 King James Version

1 Chronicles 28-29 New King James Version

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

Offerings for Building the Temple

David’s Praise to God

Solomon Anointed King(BB)

The Close of David’s Reign

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

1 Chronicles 15-17

New International Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)

Ministering Before the Ark^(AJ)^(AK)^(AL)

God’s Promise to David^(CL)

David’s Prayer^(CY)

1 Chronicles 15-17

King James Version

1 Chronicles 15-17

New King James Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)

The Ark Placed in the Tabernacle^(X)

David’s Song of Thanksgiving^(AC)

God’s Covenant with David^(BD)

1 Chronicles 21-22

New International Version

David Counts the Fighting Men^(A)

1 Chronicles 21-22

King James Version

1 Chronicles 21-22

New King James Version

The Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

1 Chronicles 28-29

New International Version

Solomon Acknowledged as King^(BS)

The Death of David^(CD)

1 Chronicles 28-29

King James Version

1 Chronicles 28-29

New King James Version

Solomon Anointed King^(BB)