New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals—it is for the LORD God himself!
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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 Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone 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 “And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple.
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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 I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings
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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 the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the LORD today?”
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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 family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly.
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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 For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons 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 They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the LORD under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon.
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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 The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD, and King David was filled with joy.
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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 Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly: “O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised 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, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.
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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 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
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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 “O our God, we thank you 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 who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!
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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 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
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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, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!
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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 examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
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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 our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.
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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 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”
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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 the whole assembly, “Give praise to the LORD your God!” And the entire assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the LORD and 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 The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the LORD . They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of 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 They feasted and drank in the LORD ’s presence with great joy that day. And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the LORD as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest.
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They feasted all day, eating and drinking before God, exuberant with joy.
23 So Solomon took the throne of the LORD in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, 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 officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty 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 exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.
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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 So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.
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David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel.
27 He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.
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He was king for forty years. He ruled from Hebron seven years and from Jerusalem thirty-three.
28 He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled 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 All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in and
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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 These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms.
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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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.