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1 Chronicles 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
1 Chronicles 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 28
The Assembly at Jerusalem. 1 David assembled at Jerusalem all the commanders of Israel, the tribal commanders, the commanders of the divisions who were in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, those in command of all the king’s estates and possessions, and his sons, together with the courtiers, the warriors, and every person of substance.(A) 2 (B)King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my kinsmen and my people. It was my purpose to build a house of repose myself for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the footstool for the feet of our God;[a] and I was preparing to build it. 3 But God said to me, You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man who waged wars and shed blood. 4 However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, then one family of Judah, that of my father; and finally, among all the sons of my father, it pleased him to make me king over all Israel.(C) 5 And of all my sons—for the Lord has given me many sons—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingship over Israel.(D) 6 For he said to me: It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him for my son, and I will be a father to him.(E) 7 I will establish his kingdom forever, if he perseveres in carrying out my commandments and ordinances as he does now. 8 Therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: keep and carry out all the commandments of the Lord, your God, that you may continue to possess this good land and afterward leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.(F)
9 “As for you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the mind’s thoughts. If you search for him, he will be found; but if you abandon him, he will cast you off forever.(G) 10 See, then! The Lord has chosen you to build a house as his sanctuary. Be strong and set to work.”
Temple Plans Given to Solomon. 11 Then David gave to his son Solomon the design of the portico and of the house itself, with its storerooms, its upper rooms and inner chambers, and the shrine containing the cover of the ark.(H) 12 He provided also the design for all else that he had in mind by way of courts for the house of the Lord, with the surrounding compartments for the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the votive offerings, 13 as well as for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the liturgical vessels of the house of the Lord. 14 He specified the weight of gold to be used in the golden vessels for the various services and the weight of silver to be used in the silver vessels for the various services; 15 likewise for the golden menorahs and their lamps he specified the weight of gold for each menorah and its lamps, and for the silver menorahs he specified the weight of silver for each menorah and its lamps, depending on the use to which each menorah was to be put.(I) 16 He specified the weight of gold for each table that was to hold the showbread, and the silver for the silver tables; 17 the pure gold for the forks, basins, and pitchers; the weight of gold for each golden bowl and the weight of silver for each silver bowl; 18 the refined gold, and its weight, to be used for the altar of incense; and, finally, gold to fashion the chariot:[b] the cherubim spreading their wings and covering the ark of the covenant of the Lord.(J) 19 All this he wrote down, by the hand of the Lord, to make him understand it—the working out of the whole design.
20 Then David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and steadfast, and go to work; do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.(K) 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God; they will be with you in all the work with all those who are eager to show their skill in every kind of craftsmanship. Also the commanders and all the people will do everything that you command.”(L)
Footnotes
- 28:2 The ark…the footstool…of our God: the Lord, who was invisibly enthroned upon the cherubim associated with the ark of the covenant at Shiloh and later in the Jerusalem Temple, had the ark as his footstool; cf. Ps 99:5; 132:7. There was no ark in the postexilic Temple. Cf. note on 2 Chr 5:9.
- 28:18 Chariot: this reference is probably inspired by the vision account in Ez 1:4–24; 10:1–22.
1 Chronicles 28
New International Version
1 Chronicles 28
New International Version
David’s Plans for the Temple
28 David summoned(A) all the officials(B) of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the warriors and all the brave fighting men.
2 King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart(C) to build a house as a place of rest(D) for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool(E) of our God, and I made plans to build it.(F) 3 But God said to me,(G) ‘You are not to build a house for my Name,(H) because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’(I)
4 “Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me(J) from my whole family(K) to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah(L) as leader, and from the tribe of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.(M) 5 Of all my sons—and the Lord has given me many(N)—he has chosen my son Solomon(O) to sit on the throne(P) of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build(Q) my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son,(R) and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws,(S) as is being done at this time.’
8 “So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel(T) and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands(U) of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.(V)
9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion(W) and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart(X) and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him,(Y) he will be found by you; but if you forsake(Z) him, he will reject(AA) you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans(AB) for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit(AC) had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things.(AD) 13 He gave him instructions for the divisions(AE) of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the Lord, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. 14 He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: 15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands(AF) and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table(AG) for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; 17 the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls(AH) and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense.(AI) He also gave him the plan for the chariot,(AJ) that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and overshadow(AK) the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
19 “All this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details(AL) of the plan.(AM)”
20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous,(AN) and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake(AO) you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.(AP) 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled(AQ) in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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