1 Chronicles 28:1-15

1 Therefore David called together all the princes of Israel, the dukes of lineages, and the sovereigns of companies, that ministered to the king/that served the king, also the tribunes, and centurions, and them that were sovereigns over the cattle, or over the chattel, and the possessions of the king, and (of) his sons, with [the] eunuchs, and all the mighty and strong men in the host of Jerusalem. (And so David called together all the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the leaders of the companies, who served the king, and the tribunes, and the centurions, and those who were in charge of the king's cattle and his possessions, and those of his sons, along with the eunuchs, and all the strong and mighty men in his kingdom, to come to Jerusalem.)
2 And when the king had risen, and stood up, he said, My brethren and my people, hear ye me. I thought for to build an house, wherein the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord (where the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord), and the stool of the feet of our God, should rest; and I have made ready all things to build it.
3 But God said to me, Thou shalt not build an house to my name, for thou art a man warrior, and hast shed blood. (But God said to me, Thou shalt not build a House to honour my name, for thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood.)
4 But the Lord God of Israel chose me of all the house of my father, that I should be king on Israel without end; for of Judah he hath chosen princes, soothly of the house of Judah, he hath chosen the house of my father, and of the sons of my father, it pleased him to choose me king on all Israel (it pleased him to make me king upon all Israel).
5 But also of (all) my sons, for the Lord hath given to me many sons, he hath chosen Solomon, my son, that he should sit in the throne of the realm of the Lord on Israel. (And of all my sons, for the Lord hath given me many sons, he hath chosen my son Solomon, to sit on the throne of the Lord's kingdom upon Israel.)
6 And he said to me, Solomon, thy son, shall build mine house, and mine altars; for I have chosen him to me into a son, and I shall be to him into a father; (And he said to me, Thy son Solomon shall build my House, and my altars; for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I shall be a father to him;)
7 and I shall make steadfast his realm into without end, if he shall continue to do my behests and [my] dooms, as and today. (and I shall establish his kingdom forevermore, if he shall continue to do my commands and my judgements/if he shall continue to obey my commands and my laws, as in this day.)
8 Now therefore before all the company of Israel, (and) in the hearing of God, (I say,) keep ye and seek ye all the commandments of your Lord God (obey ye and seek ye to understand all the commands of the Lord your God), (so) that ye (can) have in possession a good land, and that ye leave it to your sons after you into without end.
9 But thou, Solomon, my son, know [thou] the God of thy father, and serve thou him with (a) perfect heart, and with a willful soul, or mind (and with a willing mind); for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and he understandeth all the thoughts of souls; if thou seekest him, thou shalt find him; forsooth if thou forsakest him, he shall cast thee away without end.
10 Now therefore, for the Lord hath chosen thee, for to build the house of [the] saintuary, be thou comforted, and perform it. (And so now, for the Lord hath chosen thee, to build the House of the sanctuary, be thou strengthened, and do it.)
11 And David gave to Solomon, his son, the describing, either the ensample, of the porch of the temple, and of [the] cellars, and of the solar, and of [the] closets in (the) privy places, and of the house of propitiation, or of mercy doing, that is, of the holy of holy things, where the propitiatory was;
12 also and he gave him (the) ensample of all (the) things which he thought, of the large places, and of [the] chambers by compass, into the treasures of the house of the Lord, and into the treasures of [the] holy things, (and he also gave him the example for all the things which he had in mind, for the courtyards, and the rooms around them, and the treasuries of the House of the Lord, and the treasuries of the holy things,)
13 and of the partings of [the] priests and deacons, into all the works of the house of the Lord, and all [the] vessels of service of the temple of the Lord. (and for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the works of the House of the Lord, and for all the vessels for service in the Temple of the Lord.)
14 Of gold in weight by each vessel of service, and of silver, for [the] diversity of vessels, and of works; (And he told him the weight of the gold for each gold vessel used in its service, and the weight of the silver for the other vessels used for diverse services;)
15 but also to [the] golden candlesticks, and to their lanterns, he gave gold, for the measure of each candlestick, and of (its) lanterns; also and in [the] silveren candlesticks, and in their lanterns, he betook to them the weight of silver, for the diversity of (the) measure of those. (and the weight of the gold for the gold candlesticks, and their lanterns; and the weight of the silver for the silver candlesticks, and their lanterns, by the diversity of their service.)

1 Chronicles 28:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 28

David, having convened the principal men of the nation, declared Solomon his successor, whom God had chosen both to be king, and to build the temple, 1Ch 28:1-7, and exhorted both them and him to serve the Lord, and build an house for him, 1Ch 28:8-10, then gave Solomon the pattern of it, and an account of the materials he had prepared for it, 1Ch 28:11-19, and encouraged him to go about the work with alacrity and intrepidity, 1Ch 28:20,21.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.