1 Chronicles - The Old Testament

¹ David then said, 'This is to be the house of Yahweh God and this the altar of burnt offering for Israel.'

² David then gave orders for all foreigners in Israel to be rounded up, and appointed quarrymen to cut dressed stone for building the house of God.

³ David also prepared great quantities of iron to make nails for the leaves of the doors and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed,

⁴ as well as innumerable cedar-wood logs, as the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought cedar logs to David in great quantities.

⁵ David then said, 'My son Solomon is young and immature, and the house to be built for Yahweh must be superlatively fine, the most famous and splendid in any country. I shall now make the preparations for it.' And so, before he died, David made ample preparations.

⁶ He then summoned his son Solomon and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, God of Israel.

⁷ 'My son,' David said to Solomon, 'my heart was set on building a house for the name of Yahweh my God.

⁸ But the word of Yahweh came to me, "You have shed much blood and fought great wars; it is not for you to build a house for my name, since you have shed much blood in my sight on earth.

⁹ Look, a son will be born to you. He will be a man of peace, and I shall give him peace from his enemies on all sides; for Solomon is to be his name, and in his days I shall give Israel peace and tranquillity.

¹⁰ He must build a house for my name; he will be my son and I shall be his father, and I shall make the throne of his kingdom secure over Israel for ever."

¹¹ Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and give you success in building a house for Yahweh your God, as he has promised about you.

¹² And especially, may Yahweh give you discretion and discernment, may he give you his orders for Israel, so that you may observe the Law of Yahweh your God.

¹³ Success will be yours, only if you observe the statutes and ordinances which Yahweh gave Moses as regulations for Israel. Be strong and stand fast, be fearless, be dauntless.

¹⁴ Now, poor as I am, I have set aside for the house of Yahweh a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver and more bronze and iron than can be weighed, there being so much. I have also provided timber and stone, to which you may add more.

¹⁵ Furthermore, you have a large number of workmen, quarrymen, masons, carpenters and all sorts of craftsmen for every kind of work,

¹⁶ while your gold and silver, bronze and iron will be beyond reckoning. Set to work, then, and may Yahweh be with you!'

¹⁷ David then commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon.

¹⁸ 'Has not Yahweh your God been with you and given you peace on all sides, having put the inhabitants of the country into my power and the country now having been subdued for Yahweh and his people?

¹⁹ So now devote heart and soul to searching for Yahweh your God. Set to and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, so that you can bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house built for the name of Yahweh.'