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.^(A) The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. ² With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold^(B) 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](C) stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.^{(D) 3} Besides, 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^(E) for this holy temple: ⁴ three thousand talents^[b] of gold (gold of Ophir)^(F) and seven thousand talents^[c] of refined silver,^(G) for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, ⁵ for 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?”

⁶ Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials^(H) in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.^{(I) 7} They^(J) 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. ⁸ Anyone who had precious stones^(K) gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.^{(L) 9} The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly^(M) to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?^(S) Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.^{(T) 15} We are foreigners and strangers^(U) in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow,^(V) without hope. ¹⁶ Lord 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. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you test the heart^(W) 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.^{(X) 18} Lord, 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. ¹⁹ And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion^(Y) to keep your commands, statutes and decrees^(Z) and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”^(AA)

²⁰ Then 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^(AB)

²¹ The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him:^(AC) a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.^{(AD) 22} They ate and drank with great joy^(AE) 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^(AF) to be priest. ²³ So Solomon sat^(AG) on the throne^(AH) of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons,^(AI) pledged their submission to King Solomon.

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

The Death of David^(AM)

²⁶ David son of Jesse was king^(AN) over all Israel.^{(AO) 27} He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron^(AP) and thirty-three in Jerusalem.^{(AQ) 28} He died^(AR) at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.^(AS)

²⁹ As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer,^(AT) the records of Nathan^(AU) the prophet and the records of Gad^(AV) the seer, ³⁰ together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.