1 Chronicles 28; 1 Chronicles 29:1–22; 1 Kings 2:1–9; 2 Samuel 23:1–7; 1 Kings 2:10–11; 1 Chronicles 29:26–30

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1 Chronicles 28

David’s Charge to Israel

iDavid assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the jofficials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the kcommanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the lstewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mmighty men and all the seasoned warriors. Then King David rose to his feet and said: Hear me, my brothers and my people. nI had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the ofootstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, pYou may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood. Yet the Lord God of Israel qchose me from all my father’s house to be king over Israel rforever. sFor he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father’s thouse, and among my father’s sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. And of uall my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he vhas chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, It is wSolomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom rforever xif he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today. Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

David’s Charge to Solomon

And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a ywhole heart and with a willing mind, zfor the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. aIf you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; bbe strong and do it.

11 Then David gave Solomon his son the cplan of the dvestibule of the temple,1 and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the emercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, fthe treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; 13 for the gdivisions of the priests and of the hLevites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, 14 the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, 15 the weight of the golden ilampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, 16 the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, 17 and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; 18 for the jaltar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the kcherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, lall the work to be done according to the plan.

20 Then David said to Solomon his son, mBe strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 And behold the ndivisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be oevery willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.


1 Chronicles 29:1–22

Offerings for the Temple

And David the king said to all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is pyoung and inexperienced, and the work is great, for qthe palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of ronyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: s3,000 talents1 of gold, of the gold of tOphir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,2 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself3 today to the Lord?

Then uthe leaders of fathers’ houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and vthe officers over the king’s work. They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 wdarics4 of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of xJehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a ywhole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David Prays in the Assembly

10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: zBlessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 aYours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 bBoth riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. cIn your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 dFor we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are elike a shadow, and there is no abiding.5 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 17 I know, my God, fthat you test the heart and ghave pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. 19 hGrant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may ibuild the palace jfor which I have made provision.

20 Then David said to all the assembly, kBless the Lord your God. And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, land bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king. 21 And they offered sacrifices to the Lord, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their mdrink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness.

Solomon Anointed King

And they made Solomon the son of David king nthe second time, and they oanointed him as prince for the Lord, and pZadok as priest.


1 Kings 2:1–9

David’s Instructions to Solomon

nWhen David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, oI am about to go the way of all the earth. pBe strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, qthat you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may restablish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, sIf your sons pay close attention to their way, tto walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, uyou shall not lack1 a man on the throne of Israel.

Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah vdid to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, wAbner the son of Ner, xand Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging2 in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war3 on the belt around his4 waist and on the sandals on his feet. Act therefore yaccording to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. But deal loyally with the sons of zBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be aamong those who eat at your table, bfor with such loyalty5 they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. And there is also with you cShimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day dwhen I went to Mahanaim. eBut when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, ffor you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall gbring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.


2 Samuel 23:1–7

The Last Words of David

Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,

the oracle of lthe man who was raised on high,

jthe anointed of the God of Jacob,

the sweet psalmist of Israel:1

mThe Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;

his word is on my tongue.

The God of Israel has spoken;

nthe Rock of Israel has said to me:

When one rules justly over men,

ruling oin the fear of God,

he pdawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

like rain2 that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

For does not my house stand so with God?

qFor he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

For will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?

But worthless men3 are all like thorns that are thrown away,

for they cannot be taken with the hand;

but the man who touches them

arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,

and they are utterly consumed with fire.4


1 Kings 2:10–11

The Death of David

10 hThen David slept with his fathers and was buried in ithe city of David. 11 And the time that David reigned over Israel was jforty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.


1 Chronicles 29:26–30

The Death of David

26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 The utime that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 Then he died vat a good age, wfull of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles xof Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of yNathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of zGad the seer, 30 with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances athat came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.