Gifts for the temple
29
📚Furthermore, David the king said to all the congregation, “My son Solomon, whom alone God 📖 has chosen, is still young 📖 and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. 2 📚Now for the house of my God, with all my strength, I have made ready the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the bronze for things of bronze, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, inlaid stones, and stones of various colours, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble in abundance. 3 📚Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I give the treasure I have 📖 of gold and silver for the house of my God, over and above all that I have made ready for the holy house, 4 📚namely, three thousand talents of gold, the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents 📖 of refined silver, to overlay the walls of its buildings; 5 📚the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of artisans. And who now is willing to consecrate his service 📖 today to the LORD?” 6 📚Then the chief of the fathers and leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officials over the king’s work, offered willingly, 7 📚and gave for the service of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics 📖 of gold, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 📚And those with whom precious stones were found gave them into the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 📚Then the people rejoiced, because of their willing offering, for they offered willingly 📖 to the LORD with a whole heart. And David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
David’s prayer
10 📚Therefore David praised the LORD before all the congregation, and David said, “Blessed are you, LORD God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever.
11 📚Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
and the power, and the glory,
and the victory, and the majesty;
for all that is in heaven and
on earth is yours;
yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
and you are exalted as head over all.
12 📚Both riches and honour come from you,
and you reign over all,
and power and might are
in your hands,
and it is in your hands
to make great and to give
strength to all.
13 📚Now therefore, our God,
we thank you and praise
your glorious name.
14 📚“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly in this way? For all things come from you, and we have given to you some of your own.
29:14 All we have comes from God. We can give to Him only what He has given to us, and we are but stewards even of that which remains with us (Luke 12:42-43; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 4:1-2; 1 Pet 4:10). David did not grumble that he had to give something to God – he counted it a great privilege.⚜
15 📚For we are foreigners 📖 and settlers before you, as were all our fathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow 📖, and no one abides. 16 📚O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have made ready to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own. 17 📚I also know, my God, that you test the heart, and take pleasure in integrity. As for me, in the integrity 📖 of my heart I have willingly 📖 offered all these things. And now I have seen with joy your people who are present here making willing offerings to you. 18 📚O LORD God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this forever in the intentions and thoughts of the hearts of your people, and prepare their hearts for yourself.
29:18 Faithfulness to God is a very great virtue, and all of us may well pray as David did. See Matt 24:45; 25:23, 28-30; Luke 19:17; 1 Cor 4:2.⚜
19 📚And give my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep your commandments, your testimonies and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build your palace for which I have made provision”.
20 📚And David said to all the congregation, “Now praise the LORD your God”. And all the congregation praised the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads, and prostrated themselves in the presence of the LORD and the king.
Solomon established as king
21 📚And on the following day they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and made burnt offerings to the LORD, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 📚And on that day they ate and drank in the LORD’s presence with great gladness. And for the second time 📖 they made David’s son Solomon king and anointed him for the LORD to be the chief ruler, and Zadok to be priest.
23 📚Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in the place of his father David, and prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 📚And all the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to Solomon the king.
25 📚And the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him more royal majesty than had been on any king in Israel before him.
The death of David
26 📚Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 📚And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 📚And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches and honour, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
29 📚Now the acts of David the king, first and last, see, they 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, 30 📚his whole reign and his might, and the circumstances that came on him and on Israel, and on all the kingdoms of the other countries 📖.