Commanders of the Army

27 This is the list of the sons (descendants) of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all matters of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout the year, each division numbering 24,000:

² Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division for the first month; and in his division were 24,000. ³ He was descended from Perez, and was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month. ⁴ Dodai the Ahohite and his division was in charge of the division for the second month, Mikloth was the chief officer; and in his division were 24,000. ⁵ The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were 24,000. ⁶ This is the Benaiah who was the mighty man of the thirty and was in charge of the thirty; and Ammizabad his son was over his division. ⁷ The fourth, for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were 24,000. ⁸ The fifth, for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were 24,000. ⁹ The sixth, for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were 24,000. ¹⁰ The seventh, for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000. ¹¹ The eighth, for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000. ¹² The ninth, for the ninth month was Abiezer of Anathoth, a Benjamite; and in his division were 24,000. ¹³ The tenth, for the tenth month was Maharai from Netophah of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000. ¹⁴ The eleventh, for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000. ¹⁵ The twelfth, for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were 24,000.

Chief Officers of the Tribes

¹⁶ Now in charge of the tribes of Israel [were the following]: chief officer of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah; ¹⁷ of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; of Aaron, Zadok; ¹⁸ of Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹ of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel; ²⁰ of the Ephraimites, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; ²¹ of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; ²² of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. ²³ But David did not count those twenty years of age and under, for the Lord had said he would multiply Israel as the stars of heaven. ²⁴ Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census but did not finish; and because of this, [God’s] wrath came on Israel, and the number was not recorded in the chronicles of King David.

Various Overseers

²⁵ Azmaveth the son of Adiel was in charge of the king’s storerooms; and Jonathan the son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers. ²⁶ Ezri the son of Chelub was in charge of those who did the work of the field, tilling the soil. ²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards; Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars. ²⁸ Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and ^[a]sycamore trees in Shephelah (the lowlands); and Joash was in charge of the stores of [olive] oil. ²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the cattle grazing in Sharon; Shaphat the son of Adlai was in charge of the cattle in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys. ³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these were overseers and stewards of the property which belonged to King David.

Counselors

³² Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor and advisor, a man of understanding and wisdom, and a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni attended (tutored) the king’s sons.^{(A) 33} Ahithophel was counselor to the king; and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion and friend. ³⁴ Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada the son of Benaiah and by Abiathar; and Joab was the commander of the king’s army.

David’s Address about the Temple

28 David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders (officials) of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, with the palace officers and the mighty men, and all the brave warriors. ² Then David the king rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers [in arms] and my people. I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for our God, and I prepared materials for the building. ³ But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My Name (Presence), because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ ⁴ However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all in my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be the leader; and in the house (tribe) of Judah he chose the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He was pleased to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶ He said to me, ‘Solomon your son shall 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. ^7 [b]I will establish his kingdom forever if he loyally and continually obeys My commandments and My ordinances, as is done today.’ ⁸ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever.

⁹ “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but ^[c]if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider this carefully, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be courageous and strong and do it.”

¹¹ Then David gave to his son Solomon the plan for the porch of the temple, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner rooms, and for the place for the [ark and its] mercy seat; ¹² and the plan of all that he had in ^[d]mind, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for the storerooms of the house of God and for the storerooms for the dedicated gifts and offerings; ¹³ the plan for the divisions of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service in the house of the Lord and for all the utensils for service in the house of the Lord; ¹⁴ for the golden utensils, the weight of gold and silver for all the gold and silver articles for every kind of service; ¹⁵ and the weight of gold for the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; ¹⁶ the gold by weight for each table of showbread, and the silver for the tables of silver; ¹⁷ and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; ¹⁸ and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the Lord’s covenant.

¹⁹ “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the work and details [to be done] according to this plan.”

²⁰ Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and take action; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor ^[e]abandon you [but will guide you in the construction] until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²¹ And see, [you have] the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the service of God’s house, and every willing, skillful man will be with you in all the kinds of work for any kind of service. Also the officers and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

Offerings for the Temple

29 And King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the ^[f]temple is not for man but for the Lord God. ² So with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, as well as onyx stones and stones to be inlaid, stones of antimony (a brittle, silvery-white metal) and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. ³ Moreover, because I delight in the house of my God, the [personal] treasure that I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, in addition to all that I have already provided for the holy house: ⁴ namely, 3,000 talents of gold from the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; ⁵ gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work to be done by craftsmen. Now who is willing to ^[g]consecrate himself today to the Lord?”

⁶ Then the rulers of the fathers’ households, and leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers of the king’s work, offered willingly ⁷ and gave for the service of the house of God: 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. ⁸ Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the Lord. King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ Therefore David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly and said, “Blessed (praised, adored, and thanked) are You, O Lord God of Israel (Jacob) our father, forever and ever. ¹¹ Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion and kingdom, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. ¹² Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone. ¹³ Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You. ¹⁵ For we are ^[h]sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining]. ¹⁶ O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name, it is from Your hand, and is all Your own. ¹⁷ I know also, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness and integrity. In the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. So now with joy I have seen Your people who are present here, make their offerings willingly and freely to You. ¹⁸ O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the minds of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You; ¹⁹ and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your statutes, and to do all [that is necessary] to build the temple [for You], for which I have made provision.”

²⁰ Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless (praise, thank) the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed down and honored the Lord and to the king [as His earthly representative].

Sacrifices

²¹ The next day they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings (libations) and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² They ate and drank that day before the Lord with great rejoicing.

Solomon Again Made King

They made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and anointed him as ruler for the Lord and Zadok as [high] priest. ²³ Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All of the leaders and warriors, and also all the sons of King David, pledged allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel.

²⁶ Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

Death of David

²⁸ He died in a good old age [his seventy-first year], full of days (satisfied), riches and honor. Solomon his son reigned in his place. ²⁹ Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles (records) of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of Gad the seer, ³⁰ with [accounts of] all his reign, and his power, and the times and circumstances which came on him, on Israel, and on all the kingdoms of the [surrounding] lands.