Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
The Message Bible MSG
1 And David assembled all the chief men of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies, who waited on the king: and the captains over thousands, and over hundreds, and them who had the charge over the substance and possessions of the king, and his sons with the officers of the court, and the men of power, and all the bravest of the army at Jerusalem.\par
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David called together all the leaders of Israel - tribal administrators, heads of various governmental operations, military commanders and captains, stewards in charge of the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons - everyone who held responsible positions in the kingdom.
2 And the king rising up, and standing said: Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had a thought to have built a house, in which the ark of the Lord, and the footstool of our God might rest: and prepared all things for the building.
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King David stood tall and spoke: "Listen to me, my people: I fully intended to build a permanent structure for the Chest of the Covenant of God, God's footstool. But when I got ready to build it,
3 And God said to me: Thou shalt not build a house to my name: because thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood.
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God said to me, 'You may not build a house to honor me - you've done too much fighting - killed too many people.'
4 But the Lord God of Israel chose me of all the house of my father, to be king over Israel for ever: for of Juda he chose the princes: and of the house of Juda, my father’s house: and among the sons of my father, it pleased him to choose me king over all Israel.
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God chose me out of my family to be king over Israel forever. First he chose Judah as the lead tribe, then he narrowed it down to my family, and finally he picked me from my father's sons, pleased to make me the king over all Israel.
5 And among my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons) he hath chosen Solomon my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.
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And then from all my sons - and God gave me many! - he chose my son Solomon to sit on the throne of God's rule over Israel.
6 And he said to me: Solomon thy son shall build my house, and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be a father to him.
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He went on to say, 'Your son Solomon will build my house and my courts: I have chosen him to be my royal adopted son; and I will be to him a father.
7 And I will establish his kingdom for ever, it he continue to keep my commandments, and my judgments, as at this day.
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I will guarantee that his kingdom will last if he continues to be as strong-minded in doing what I command and carrying out my decisions as he is doing now.'
8 Now then before all the assembly of Israel, in the hearing of our God, keep ye, and seek all the commandments of the Lord our God: that you may possess the good land, and may leave it to your children after you for ever.
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"And now, in this public place, all Israel looking on and God listening in, as God's people, obey and study every last one of the commandments of your God so that you can make the most of living in this good land and pass it on intact to your children, insuring a good future.
9 And thou my son Solomon, know the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the thoughts of minds. If thou seek him, thou shalt find him: but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
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"And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father's God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he'll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he'll leave you for good.
10 Now therefore seeing the Lord hath chosen thee to build the house of the sanctuary, take courage, and do it.
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Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!"
11 And David gave to Solomon his son a description of the porch, and of the temple, and of the treasures, and of the upper floor, and of the inner chambers, and of the house for the mercy seat,
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Then David presented his son Solomon with the plans for The Temple complex: porch, storerooms, meeting rooms, and the place for atoning sacrifice.
12 As also of all the courts, which he had in his thought, and of the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of the Lord, and for the treasures of the consecrated things,
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He turned over the plans for everything that God's Spirit had brought to his mind: the design of the courtyards, the arrangements of rooms, and the closets for storing all the holy things.
13 And of the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, for all the works of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of the service of the temple of the Lord.
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He gave him his plan for organizing the Levites and priests in their work of leading and ordering worship in the house of God, and for caring for the liturgical furnishings.
14 Gold by weight for every vessel for the ministry. And silver by weight according to the diversity of the vessels and uses.
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e provided exact specifications for how much gold and silver was needed for each article used in the serv- ices of worship:
15 He gave also gold for the golden candlesticks, and their lamps, according to the dimensions of every candlestick, and the lamps thereof. In like manner also he gave silver by weight for the silver candlesticks, and for their lamps according to the diversity of the dimensions of them.
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the gold and silver Lampstands and lamps,
16 He gave also gold for the tables of proposition, according to the diversity of the tables: in like manner also silver for other tables of silver.
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the gold tables for consecrated bread, the silver tables,
17 For fleshhooks also, and bowls, and censors of fine gold, and for little lions of gold, according to the measure he gave by weight, for every lion. In like manner also for lions of silver he set aside a different weight of silver.
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the gold forks, the bowls and the jars,
18 And for the altar of incense, he gave the purest gold: and to make the likeness of the chariot of the cherubims spreading their wings, and covering the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
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and the incense altar. And he gave him the plan for sculpting the cherubs with their wings outstretched over the Chest of the Covenant of God - the cherubim throne.
19 All these things, said he, came to me written by the hand of the Lord that I might understand all the works of the pattern.
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"Here are the blueprints for the whole project as God gave me to understand it," David said.
20 And David said to Solomon his son: Act like a man, and take courage, and do: fear not, and be not dismayed: for the Lord my God will be with thee, and will not leave thee, nor forsake thee, till thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
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David continued to address Solomon: "Take charge! Take heart! Don't be anxious or get discouraged. God, my God, is with you in this; he won't walk off and leave you in the lurch. He's at your side until every last detail is completed for conducting the worship of God.
21 Behold the courses of the priests and the Levites, for every ministry of the house of the Lord, stand by thee, and are ready, and both the princes, and the people know how to execute all thy commandments.
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You have all the priests and Levites standing ready to pitch in, and skillful craftsmen and artisans of every kind ready to go to work. Both leaders and people are ready. Just say the word."
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Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.