1 Nowe Dauid assembled all the princes of Israel: the princes of the tribes, and the captaines of the bandes that serued the King, and the captaines of thousands and the captaines of hundreths, and the rulers of all the substance and possession of the King, and of his sonnes, with the eunuches, and the mightie, and all the men of power, vnto Ierusalem. 2 And King Dauid stoode vp vpon his feete; and saide, Heare ye me, my brethren and my people: I purposed to haue buylt an house of rest for the Arke of the couenant of the Lord, and for a footestoole of our God, and haue made ready for the building, 3 But God sayde vnto me, Thou shalt not buylde an house for my Name, because thou hast bene a man of warre, and hast shed blood. 4 Yet as the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father, to be King ouer Israel for euer (for in Iudah woulde he chuse a prince, and of the house of Iudah is the house of my father, and among the sonnes of my father he delited in me to make me King ouer all Israel) 5 So of all my sonnes (for the Lord hath giuen me many sonnes) he hath euen chosen Salomon my sonne to sit vpon the throne of the kingdome of the Lord ouer Israel. 6 And he sayd vnto me, Salomon thy sonne, he shall build mine house and my courtes: for I haue chosen him to be my sonne, and I will be his father. 7 I will stablish therefore his kingdome for euer, if he endeuour himselfe to do my commandements, and my iudgements, as this day. 8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the Congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keepe and seeke for all the commandements of the Lord your God, that ye may possesse this good lande, and leaue it for an inheritance for your children after you for euer. 9 And thou, Salomon my sonne, know thou the God of thy father, and serue him with a perfit heart, and with a willing minde: For the Lord searcheth all hearts, and vnderstandeth all the imaginations of thoughts: if thou seeke him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for euer. 10 Take heede now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to buylde the house of the Sanctuarie: be strong therefore, and doe it. 11 Then Dauid gaue to Salomon his sonne the paterne of the porch and of the houses thereof, and of the closets thereof, and of the galleries thereof, and of the chambers thereof that are within, and of the house of the mercieseate, 12 And the paterne of all that he had in his minde for the courtes of the house of the Lord, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the dedicate things, 13 And for the courses of the Priestes, and of the Leuites, and for all the woorke for the seruice of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of the ministerie of the house of the Lord. 14 He gaue of golde by weight, for the vessels of gold, for all the vessels of all maner of seruice, and all the vessels of siluer by weight, for all maner vessels of all maner of seruice. 15 The weight also of golde for the candlestickes, and gold for their lampes, with the weight for euery candlesticke, and for the lampes thereof, and for the candlestickes of siluer by the weight of the candlesticke, and the lampes thereof, according to the vse of euery candlesticke, 16 And the weight of the gold for the tables of shewbread, for euery table, and siluer for the tables of siluer, 17 And pure golde for the fleshhookes, and the bowles, and plates, and for basens, golde in weight for euery basen, and for siluer basens, by weight for euery basen, 18 And for the altar of incense, pure golde by weight, and golde for the paterne of the charet of the Cherubs that spread themselues, and couered the Arke of the couenant of the Lord: 19 All, said he, by writing sent to me by the hand of the Lord, which made me vnderstand all the workemanship of the paterne. 20 And Dauid said to Salomon his sonne, Be strong, and of a valiant courage and doe it: feare not, nor be afraide: for the Lord God, euen my God is with thee: he will not leaue thee nor forsake thee till thou hast finished all the worke for the seruice of the house of the Lord. 21 Beholde also, the companies of the Priests and the Leuites for all the seruice of the house of God, euen they shall be with thee for the whole worke, with euery free heart that is skilfull in any maner of seruice. The princes also and all the people will be wholy at thy commandement.
David's Instructions for the Temple
1 King David commanded all the officials of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. So all the officials of the tribes, the officials who administered the work of the kingdom, the leaders of the clans, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons—indeed all the palace officials, leading soldiers, and important men—gathered in Jerusalem.
2 David stood before them and addressed them: “My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the Lord our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honor him, 3 but he has forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and have shed too much blood. 4 The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel forever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father's family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel. 5 He gave me many sons, and out of them all he chose Solomon to rule over Israel, the Lord's kingdom.
6 “The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will make his kingdom last forever if he continues to obey carefully all my laws and commands as he does now.’
8 “So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the Lord's people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the Lord our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations forever.”
9 And to Solomon he said, “My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father's God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you forever. 10 You must realize that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”
11 David gave Solomon the plans for all the Temple buildings, for the storerooms and all the other rooms, and for the Most Holy Place, where sins are forgiven. 12 He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the Temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the Lord. 13 David also gave him the plans for organizing the priests and Levites to perform their duties, to do the work of the Temple, and to take care of all the Temple utensils. 14 He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils, 15 for each lamp and lampstand, 16 for the silver tables, and for each gold table on which were placed the loaves of bread offered to God. 17 He also gave instructions as to how much pure gold was to be used in making forks, bowls, and jars, how much silver and gold in making dishes, 18 and how much pure gold in making the altar on which incense was burned and in making the chariot for the winged creatures that spread their wings over the Lord's Covenant Box. 19 King David said, “All this is contained in the plan written according to the instructions which the Lord himself gave me to carry out.”
20 King David said to his son Solomon, “Be confident and determined. Start the work and don't let anything stop you. The Lord God, whom I serve, will be with you. He will not abandon you, but he will stay with you until you finish the work to be done on his Temple. 21 The priests and the Levites have been assigned duties to perform in the Temple. Workers with every kind of skill are eager to help you, and all the people and their leaders are at your command.”