I Chronicles

David assembled all the officers of Israel—the tribal officers, the divisional officers who served the king, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, and the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, with the eunuchs and the warriors, all the men of substance—to Jerusalem.

King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers, my people! I wanted to build a resting-place for the Ark of the Covenant of GOD, for the footstool of our God, and I laid aside material for building.

But God said to me, ‘You will not build a house for My name, for you are a man of battles and have shed blood.’

The ETERNAL God of Israel chose me of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For [God] chose Judah to be ruler, and of the family of Judah, my father’s house; and of my father’s sons, I was the preferred choice to be crowned king over all Israel;

and of all my sons—for many are the sons GOD gave me—my son Solomon was chosen to sit on the throne of the kingdom of GOD over Israel.

I was told, ‘It will be your son Solomon who will build My House and My courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him.aI will be a father to him See note at 2 Sam. 7.14.

I will establish his kingdom forever, if he keeps firmly to the observance of My commandments and rules as he does now.’

And now, in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of GOD, and in the hearing of our God, [I say:] Observe and apply yourselves to all the commandments of the ETERNAL your God in order that you may possess this good land and bequeath it to your children after you forever.

“And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and render service with single mind and fervent heart, for GOD searches all minds and discerns the design of every thought; if you reach out, [God] will be available to you, but if you stop trying, [God] will abandon you forever.

See then, GOD chose you to build a house as the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”

David gave his son Solomon the plan of the porch and its houses, its storerooms and its upper chambers and inner chambers; and of the place of the Ark-cover;

and the plan of all that he had by the spirit: of the courts of the House of GOD and all its surrounding chambers, and of the treasuries of the House of God and of the treasuries of the holy things;

the divisions of priests and Levites for all the work of the service of the House of GOD and all the vessels of the service of the House of GOD;

and gold, the weight of gold for vessels of every sort of use; silver for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all the vessels of every kind of service;

the weight of the gold lampstands and their gold lamps, and the weight of the silver lampstands, each lampstand and its silver lamps, according to the use of every lampstand;

and the weight of gold for the tables of the rows of bread, for each table, and of silver for the silver tables;

and of the pure gold for the forks and the basins and the jars; and the weight of the gold bowls, every bowl; and the weight of the silver bowls, each and every bowl;

the weight of refined gold for the incense altar and the gold for the figure of the chariot—the cherubim—those with outspread wings screening the Ark of the Covenant of GOD.

“All this that GOD made me understand by God’s hand on me, I give you in writing—the plan of all the works.”

David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage and do it; do not be afraid or dismayed, for my ETERNAL God is with you—and will not fail you or forsake you till all the work on the House of GOD is done.

Here are the divisions of the priests and Levites for all kinds of service of the House of God, and with you in all the work are others devoted to it, skilled in all sorts of tasks; also the officers and all the people are at your command.”