Study Desk

and the plan of all that he had in mind: for the courts of the house of the Lord , all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts;

David said further to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be every volunteer who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command."

King David said to the whole assembly, "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great; for the temple will not be for mortals but for the Lord God.

So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones, and marble in abundance.

Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God:

They gave for the service 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.

Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly; David said: "Blessed are you, O Lord , the God of our ancestor Israel, forever and ever.

And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.

O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.

I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

O Lord , the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.

Then David said to the whole assembly, "Bless the Lord your God." And all the assembly blessed the Lord , the God of their ancestors, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon son of David established himself in his kingdom; the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

(But David had brought the ark of God up from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it; for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.)

That night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, "Ask what I should give you."

Solomon said to God, "You have shown great and steadfast love to my father David, and have made me succeed him as king.

O Lord God, let your promise to my father David now be fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

God answered Solomon, "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may rule my people over whom I have made you king,

I am now about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for offering fragrant incense before him, and for the regular offering of the rows of bread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel.