English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 And David the king said to all the assembly, "Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God.
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Then David the king addressed the congregation: "My son Solomon was singled out and chosen by God to do this. But he's young and untested and the work is huge - this is not just a place for people to meet each other, but a house for God to meet us.
2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble.
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I've done my best to get everything together for building this house for my God, all the materials necessary: gold, silver, bronze, iron, lumber, precious and varicolored stones, and building stones - vast stockpiles.
3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God:
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Furthermore, because my heart is in this, in addition to and beyond what I have gathered, I'm turning over my personal fortune of gold and silver for making this place of worship for my God:
4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,
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3,000 talents (about 113 tons) of gold - all from Ophir, the best - and 7,000 talents (214 tons) of silver for covering the walls of the buildings,
5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?"
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and for the gold and silver work by craftsmen and artisans. "And now, how about you? Who among you is ready and willing to join in the giving?"
6 Then the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work.
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Ready and willing, the heads of families, leaders of the tribes of Israel, commanders and captains in the army, stewards of the king's affairs, stepped forward and gave willingly.
7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron.
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They gave 5,000 talents (188 tons) and 10,000 darics (185 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents of silver (377 tons), 18,000 talents of bronze (679 tons), and 100,000 talents (3,775 tons) of iron.
8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.
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Anyone who had precious jewels put them in the treasury for the building of The Temple of God in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.
9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
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And the people were full of a sense of celebration - all that giving! And all given willingly, freely! King David was exuberant.
10 Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
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David blessed God in full view of the entire congregation: Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father from of old and forever.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.
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To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might, the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor; Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth; the kingdom all yours! You've raised yourself high over all.
12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
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Riches and glory come from you, you're ruler over all; You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand to build up and strengthen all.
13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
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And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to you, praising your splendid Name.
14 "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
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"But me - who am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to you? Everything comes from you; all we're doing is giving back what we've been given from your generous hand.
15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.
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As far as you're concerned, we're homeless, shiftless wanderers like our ancestors, our lives mere shadows, hardly anything to us.
16 O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.
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God, our God, all these materials - these piles of stuff for building a house of worship for you, honoring your Holy Name - it all came from you! It was all yours in the first place!
17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.
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I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface - you want us, our true selves - and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly - what a joy!
18 O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
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O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in you.
19 Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision."
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And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided."
20 Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless the LORD your God." And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.
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David then addressed the congregation: "Bless God, your God!" And they did it, blessed God, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped reverently in the presence of God and the king.
21 And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
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The very next day they butchered the sacrificial animals and offered in the worship of Israel to God a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand sheep, and in addition drink offerings and many other sacrifices.
22 And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest.
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They feasted all day, eating and drinking before God, exuberant with joy.
23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.
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Solomon sat on the throne of God as king in place of David his father. And everything went well; all Israel obeyed him.
24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon.
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All the leaders of the people, including all the sons of King David, accepted Solomon as their king and promised their loyalty.
25 And the LORD made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
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Solomon rode high on a crest of popular acclaim - it was all God's doing. God gave him position and honor beyond any king in Israel before him.
26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
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David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel.
27 The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
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He was king for forty years. He ruled from Hebron seven years and from Jerusalem thirty-three.
28 Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place.
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He died at a ripe old age, full of days, wealth, and glory. His son Solomon ruled after him.
29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer,
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The history of David the king, from start to finish, is written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer,
30 with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.
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including a full account of his rule, his exploits, and the times through which he and Israel and the surrounding kingdoms passed.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
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.