The First Book of the Chronicles

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- Chapter 29 -

And king David said to all the assembly: Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is as yet young and tender: and the work is great, for a house is prepared not for man, but for God.

And I with all my ability have prepared the expenses for the house of my God. Gold for vessels of gold, and silver for vessels of silver, brass for things of brass, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood: and onyx stones, and stones like alabaster, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble of Paros in great abundance.

Now over and above the things which I have offered into the house of my God I give of my own proper goods, gold and silver for the temple of my God, beside what things I have prepared for the holy house.

Three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir: and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the temple.

And gold for wheresoever there is need of gold: and silver for wheresoever there is need of silver, for the works to be made by the hands of the artificers: now if any man is willing to offer, let him fill his hand today, and offer what he pleaseth to the Lord.

Then the heads of the families, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, and the overseers of the king’s possessions promised,

And they gave for the works of the house of the Lord, of gold, five thousand talents, and ten thousand solids: of silver ten thousand talents: and of brass eighteen thousand talents: and of iron a hundred thousand talents.

And all they that had stones, gave them to the treasures of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jahiel the Gersonite.

And the people rejoiced, when they promised their offerings willingly: because they offered them to the Lord with all their heart: and David the king rejoiced also with a great joy.

David’s Prayer of Blessing

And he blessed the Lord before all the multitude, and he said: Blessed art thou, O Lord the God of Israel, our father from eternity to eternity.

Thine, O Lord, is magnificence, and power, and glory, and victory: and to thee is praise: for all that is in heaven, and in earth, is thine: thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art above all princes.

Thine are riches, and thine is glory, thou hast dominion over all, in thy hand is power and might: in thy hand greatness, and the empire of all things.

Now therefore our God we give thanks to thee, and we praise thy glorious name.

Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to promise thee all these things? all things are thine: and we have given thee what we received of thy hand.

For we are sojourners before thee, and strangers, as were all our fathers. Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and there is no stay.

O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name, is from thy hand, and all things are thine.

I know my God that thou provest hearts, and lovest simplicity, wherefore I also in the simplicity of my heart, have joyfully offered all these things: and I have seen with great joy thy people, which are here present, offer thee their offerings.

O Lord God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel our fathers, keep for ever this will of their heart, and let this mind remain always for the worship of thee.

And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, that he may keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy ceremonies, and do all things: and build the house, for which I have provided the charges.

And David commanded all the assembly: Bless ye the Lord our God. And all the assembly blessed the Lord the God of their fathers: and they bowed themselves and worshipped God, and then the king.

Solomon Anointed King

(1 Kings 1:32–40)

And they sacrificed victims to the Lord: and they offered holocausts the next day, a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their libations, and with every thing prescribed most abundantly for all Israel.

And they ate, and drank before the Lord that day with great joy. And they anointed the second time Solomon the son of David. And they anointed him to the Lord to be prince, and Sadoc to be high priest.

And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and he pleased all: and all Israel obeyed him.

And all the princes, and men of power, and all the sons of king David gave their hand, and were subject to Solomon the king.

And the Lord magnified Solomon over all Israel: and gave him the glory of a reign, such as no king of Israel had before him.

David’s Reign and Death

(1 Kings 2:10–12)

So David the son of Isai reigned over all Israel.

And the days that he reigned over Israel, were forty years: in Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem three and thirty years.

And he died in a good age, full of days, and riches, and glory. And Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

Now the acts of king David first and last are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer:

And of all his reign, and his valour, and of the times that passed under him, either in Israel, or in all the kingdoms of the countries.

David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, also onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house:

even three thousand talents of gold,(a) of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents

(b)

of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses;

of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be made by the hands of artisans. Who then offers willingly to consecrate himself today to the LORD?”

Then the princes of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king’s work, offered willingly;

and they gave for the service of God’s house of gold five thousand talents

(c)

and ten thousand darics,(d) of silver ten thousand talents, of bronze eighteen thousand talents, and of iron one hundred thousand talents.

People with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the LORD’s house, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

David’s Prayer of Blessing

Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

Yours, LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all!

Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name.

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own.

For we are strangers before you and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining.

LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own.

I know also, my God, that you try the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you.

LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart for you;

and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.”

Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God!” All the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.

Solomon Anointed King

(1 Kings 1:32–40)

They sacrificed sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel,

and ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the LORD to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.

Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

All the princes, the mighty men, and also all of the sons of King David submitted themselves to Solomon the king.

The LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and gave to him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

David’s Reign and Death

(1 Kings 2:10–12)

Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

He died at a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place.

Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer,

with all his reign and his might, and the events that involved him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

(a)29:4 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 3000 talents is about 90 metric tons

(b)29:4 about 210 metric tons

(d)29:7 a daric was a gold coin issued by a Persian king, weighing about 8.4 grams or about 0.27 troy ounces each.