Study Desk

And David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh shall be highly exalted, for a name and beauty throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it." So David made ample preparations before his death.

Then he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel.

But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.

Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them.

"Is not Yahweh your God with you? 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 Yahweh and before His people.

Now give your heart and your soul to seek Yahweh your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of Yahweh."

and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising Yahweh with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers' households, even the heads of the fathers' households of those of them who were counted, in the number of names by their census, doing the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and upward.

For David said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.

Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings for its service."

For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward.

For their station is to be on hand for the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts and in the chambers and in the cleansing of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God,

and with the showbread, and the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or what is made on the griddle, or what is well stirred, and all measures of volume and size.

Thus they shall keep responsibility of the tent of meeting, and responsibility of the holy place, and responsibility of the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of Yahweh.

And David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their assignments for their service.

Thus they were divided by lot, the one as the other; for they were leaders for the sanctuary and leaders for God, both from the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar.

Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, from the Levites, wrote them down in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers' households of the priests and of the Levites; one father's household taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.