1 And Dauid saide, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for the burnt offring of Israel. 2 And Dauid commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the lande of Israel, and he set masons to hewe and polish stones to builde the house of God. 3 Dauid also prepared much yron for the nayles of the doores and of the gates, and for the ioynings, and abundance of brasse passing weight, 4 And cedar trees without nomber: for the Zidonians and they of Tyrus brought much cedar wood to Dauid. 5 And Dauid saide, Salomon my sonne is yong and tender, and we must builde an house for the Lord, magnificall, excellent and of great fame and dignitie throughout all countreyes. I will therefore nowe prepare for him. So Dauid prepared very much before his death. 6 Then he called Salomon his sonne, and charged him to builde an house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 And Dauid said to Salomon, My sonne, I purposed with my selfe to builde an house to the Name of the Lord my God, 8 But the worde of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed much blood, and hast made great battels: thou shalt not builde an house vnto my Name: for thou hast shead much blood vpon the earth in my sight. 9 Beholde, a sonne is borne to thee, which shalbe a man of rest, for I will giue him rest from all his enemies rounde about: therefore his name is Salomon: and I will sende peace and quietnes vpon Israel in his dayes. 10 Hee shall builde an house for my Name, and he shalbe my sonne, and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdome vpon Israel for euer. 11 Nowe therefore my sonne, the Lord shalbe with thee, and thou shalt prosper, and thou shalt builde an house to the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken of thee. 12 Onely the Lord giue thee wisedome and vnderstanding, and giue thee charge ouer Israel, euen to keepe the Lawe of the Lord thy God. 13 Then thou shalt prosper, if thou take heede to obserue the statutes and the iudgements which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel: be strong and of good courage: feare not, neither bee afraide. 14 For beholde, according to my pouertie haue I prepared for the house of the Lord an hundreth thousand talents of golde, and a thousand thousande talents of siluer, and of brasse and of yron passing weight: for there was abundance: I haue also prepared timber and stone, and thou mayest prouide more thereto. 15 Moreouer thou hast workmen with thee enough, hewers of stone, and workemen for timber, and all men expert in euery worke. 16 Of golde, of siluer, and of brasse, and of yron there is no nomber: Vp therefore, and be doing, and the Lord wilbe with thee. 17 Dauid also commanded all the princes of Israel to helpe Salomon his sonne, saying, 18 Is not the Lord your God with you, and hath giuen you rest on euerie side? for hee hath giuen the inhabitants of the land into mine hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before his people. 19 Nowe set your hearts and your soules to seeke the Lord your God, and arise, and builde the Sanctuarie of the Lord God to bring the Arke of the couenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God into the house built for the Name of the Lord.
1 So David said, “This is where the Temple of the Lord God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.”
Preparations for Building the Temple
2 King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. 3 He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it. 4 He had the people of Tyre and Sidon bring him a large number of cedar logs. 5 David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.
6 He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to him, “Son, I wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God. 8 But the Lord told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. 9 He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon, because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. 10 He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.’”
11 David continued, “Now, son, may the Lord your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. 12 And may the Lord your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. 13 If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid. 14 As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated almost four thousand tons of gold and nearly forty thousand tons of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. 15 You have many workers. There are stonecutters to work in the quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of skilled workers of every sort who can work 16 with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. 18 He said, “The Lord your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the Lord. 19 Now serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the Lord and all the other sacred objects used in worshiping him.”