The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And David the king said to all the people, Solomon my son, the only one who has been marked out by God, is still young and untested, and the work is great, for this great house is not for man, but for the Lord God.
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King David announced to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the Lord God.
2 Now as far as I am able, I have made ready what is needed for the house of my God; the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the silver things, and the brass for the brass things, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; beryls and jewels to be framed, and stones of different colours for ornament; all sorts of stones of great price, and polished building-stone, as much as is needed and more.
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I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple - gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble.
3 And because this house of God is dear to me, I give my private store of gold and silver to the house of my God, in addition to all I have got ready for the holy house;
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Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple.
4 Even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of the best silver, for plating the walls of the house:
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I have given 115 tons of the finest gold and 265 tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple
5 Gold for the gold things, and silver for the silver things, and for every sort of work to be done by the expert workmen. Who then will come forward, offering himself this day for the Lord's work?
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and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?"
6 Then the heads of families and the chiefs of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the controllers of the king's business, freely gave themselves;
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Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give
7 And they gave for the use of the house of the Lord, five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron.
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the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron.
8 And those who had stones of great price gave them to the store of the house of the Lord, under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.
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Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon.
9 Then the people were glad because their offerings were freely given, for with a true heart they freely gave what they had to the Lord; and David the king was full of joy.
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The people had given willingly to the Lord, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.
10 So David gave praise to the Lord before all the people; and David said, Praise be to you, O Lord the God of Israel, our father for ever and ever.
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There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, "Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever!
11 Yours, O Lord, is the strength and the power and the glory, and the authority and the honour: for everything in heaven and on earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are lifted up as head over all.
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You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all.
12 Wealth and honour come from you, and you are ruler over all, and in your hand is power and strength; it is in your power to make great, and to give strength to all.
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All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong.
13 So now, our God, we give you praise, honouring the glory of your name.
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Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.
14 But who am I and what is my people, that we have power to give so freely in this way? for all things come from you, and what we have given you is yours.
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"Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.
15 For we, as all our fathers were, are like men from a strange country before you, who have got a place for a time in the land; our days on the earth are like a shade, and there is no hope of going on.
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You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.
16 O Lord our God, all this store, which we have made ready for the building of a house for your holy name, comes from your hand and is yours.
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O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you.
17 And I am conscious, my God, that you are the searcher of hearts, taking pleasure in righteousness. As for me, with an upright heart I have freely given all these things; and I have seen with joy your people who are here to make their offerings freely to you.
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I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you.
18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the deepest thoughts of your people, and let their hearts be fixed and true to you;
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Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you.
19 And give to Solomon my son a true heart, to keep your orders, your rules, and your laws, and to do all these things, and to put up this great house for which I have made ready.
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Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations."
20 And David said to all the people, Now give praise to the Lord your God. And all the people gave praise to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with bent heads worshipping the Lord and the king.
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Then David commanded the people, "Praise the Lord your God!" And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the Lord and also to the king.
21 And they made offerings to the Lord, and gave burned offerings to the Lord, on the day after, a thousand oxen, a thousand sheep, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and a great wealth of offerings for all Israel.
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The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the Lord, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burned whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine.
22 And with great joy they made a feast before the Lord that day. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king a second time, putting the holy oil on him to make him holy to the Lord as ruler, and on Zadok as priest.
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So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the Lord. For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the Lord they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest.
23 So Solomon was put on the seat of the Lord as king in place of his father David, and everything went well for him; and all Israel was under his authority.
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So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the Lord had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him.
24 And all the chiefs and the men of war and all the sons of King David put themselves under the authority of Solomon the king.
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All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons, promised to be loyal to Solomon as king.
25 And the Lord made Solomon great in the eyes of all Israel, clothing him with glory and honour such as no other king in Israel had had before him.
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The Lord made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.
26 Now David, the son of Jesse, was king over all Israel.
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David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel
27 For forty years he was ruling as king over Israel, seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
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for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.
28 And he came to his end after a long life, full of days and great wealth and honour; and Solomon his son became king in his place.
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He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 Now all the acts of David, first and last, are recorded in the words of Samuel the seer, and the words of Nathan the prophet, and the words of Gad the seer;
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The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad.
30 Together with all his rule and his power, and the events which took place in his time, in Israel and in all the kingdoms of other lands.
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The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.