Gifts Are Brought for the Temple
1 Then King David spoke to the whole community. He said, "God has chosen my son Solomon. But Solomon is young. He's never done anything like this before. The task is huge. This grand and wonderful temple won't be built for human beings. It will be built for the LORD God.
2
"With all of my riches I've done everything I could for the temple of my God. I've provided gold for the gold work and silver for the silver work. I've provided bronze for the bronze work and iron for the iron work. I've given wood for the things that will be made out of wood. I've given onyx and turquoise for the settings. I've given stones of different colors and all kinds of fine stone and marble. I've provided everything in huge amounts.
3
"With all my heart I want the temple of my God to be built. So I'm giving my personal treasures of gold and silver for it. I'm adding them to everything else I've provided for the holy temple.
4
I'm giving 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of pure silver. Cover the walls of the buildings with it.
5
Use it for the gold work and the silver work. Use it for everything the skilled workers will do. How many of you are willing to set yourselves apart to the LORD today?"
6
Many people were willing to give. They included the leaders of families and the officers of the tribes of Israel. They included the commanders of thousands of men and commanders of hundreds. They also included the officials who were in charge of the king's work.
7
All of them gave to the work on God's temple. They gave more than 190 tons of gold and 375 tons of silver. They also gave 675 tons of bronze and 3,750 tons of iron.
8
Anyone who had valuable jewels added them to the treasure for the LORD's temple. Jehiel was in charge of the temple treasure. He was from the family line of Gershon.
9
The people were happy when they saw what their leaders had been willing to give. The leaders had given freely. With their whole heart they had given everything to the Lord. King David was filled with joy.