1   King David then said to the whole assembly, ‘My son Solomon is the one chosen by God, Solomon alone, a boy of tender years; and this is a great work, for it is a palace not for man but for the Lord God. 2   Now to the best of my strength I have made ready for the house of my God gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the woodwork, together with cornelian

The temple and its organization and other gems for setting, stones for mosaic work, precious stones of every sort, and marble in plenty. 3   Further, because I delight in the house of my God, I give my own private store of gold and silver for the house of my God—over and above all the store which I have collected for the sanctuary—namely three thousand talents of gold, 4   gold from Ophir, and seven thousand talents of fine silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, 5   for providing gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, and for any work to be done by skilled craftsmen. Now who is willing to give with open hand to the Lord today?’

6   Then the heads of families, the officers administering the tribes of Israel, the officers over units of a thousand and a hundred, and the officers in charge of the king's service, 7   responded willingly and gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents of gold, ten thousand darics, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. 8   Further, those who possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the charge of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9   The people rejoiced at this willing response, because in the loyalty of their hearts they had given willingly to the Lord; 10   King David also was full of joy, and he blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly and said, ‘Blessed art thou, Lord God of our father Israel, from of old and for ever. 11   Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is thine; ^note thine, O Lord, is the sovereignty, and thou art exalted over all as head. 12   Wealth and honour come from thee; thou rulest over all; might and power are of thy disposing; thine it is to give power and strength to all. 13   And now, we give thee thanks, our God, and praise thy glorious name.

14   ‘But what am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to give willingly like this? For everything comes from thee, and it is only of thy gifts that we give to thee. 15   We are aliens before thee and settlers, as were all our fathers; our days on earth are like a shadow, we have no abiding place. 16   O Lord our God, from thee comes all this wealth that we have laid up to build a house in honour of thy holy name, and everything is thine. 17   I know, O my God, that thou dost test the heart and that plain honesty pleases thee; with an honest heart I have given all these gifts willingly, and have rejoiced now to see thy people here present give willingly to thee. 18   O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel our fathers, maintain this purpose for ever in thy people's thoughts and direct their hearts toward thyself. 19   Grant that Solomon my son may loyally keep thy commandments, thy solemn charge, and thy statutes, that he may fulfil them all and build the palace for which I have prepared.’

The temple and its organization

20   Then, turning to the whole assembly, David said, ‘Now bless the Lord your God.’ So all the assembly blessed the Lord the God of their fathers, bowing low and prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king. 21   The next day they sacrificed to the Lord and offered whole-offerings to him, a thousand oxen, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with the prescribed drink-offerings, and abundant sacrifices for all Israel. 22   So they ate and drank before the Lord that day with great rejoicing. They then appointed Solomon, David's son, king a second time and anointed him as the Lord's prince, and Zadok as priest. 23   So Solomon sat on the Lord's throne as king in place of his father David, and he prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24   All the officers and the warriors, as well as all the sons of King David, swore fealty to King Solomon. 25   The Lord made Solomon stand very high in the eyes of all Israel, and bestowed upon him sovereignty such as no king in Israel had had before him.

26    27   David son of Jesse had ruled over the whole of Israel, and the length of his reign over Israel was forty years; he ruled for seven years in Hebron, and for thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28   He died in ripe old age, full of years, wealth, and honour; and Solomon his son ruled in his place. 29   The events of King David's reign from first to last are recorded in the books of Samuel the seer, of Nathan the prophet, and of Gad the seer, with a full account of his reign, 30   his prowess, and of the times through which he and Israel and all the kingdoms of the world had passed.

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