1 Chronicles 28:1-13 ▼

1 David gathered together all of the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, division officers who reported to the king, the commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and to his sons, along with all of the officers of the palace, the elite forces, and all of the soldiers.

2 King David rose to his feet and said, |My fellow citizens, may I have your attention. I intended to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, for a footstool of our God, so I began preparations for its construction.

3 But then God told me, 'You will not build a temple to my name, because you are a man of war, and you have committed bloodshed.'

4 Nevertheless, the LORD God of Israel chose me from my entire ancestral household to be king over Israel forever, since he had chosen Judah as Commander-in-Chief. In my ancestor Judah's household, from my father's household, and from among my father's sons it pleased him to make me king over all of Israel.

5 |Now out of all of my sons (since the LORD has given me many of them), he has selected my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD, ruling over Israel.

6 He told me, 'I chose your son Solomon to be the one who will construct my Temple and my courts, because I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him.

7 I will establish his kingdom forever, assuming he remains strongly committed to carry out my commandments and ordinances, as he is doing today.'

8 Therefore, in the presence of all of Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and while our God is listening, observe and search through all of the commandments of the LORD your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land, leaving it for an inheritance forever to benefit your descendants who come after you.|

9 |Now as for you, my son Solomon, get to know the God of your father. Serve him with a sound heart and a devoted soul, because the LORD is searching every heart, every plan and thought. He will be found by you, assuming you are seeking him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you forever.

10 So keep watching, because the LORD has chosen you to build the Temple of his sanctuary. So be strong, and get to work!|

11 At this point in his address, David transferred to his son Solomon the construction plans for the Hall of Justice, its buildings, its treasure vaults, its upper rooms, its inner chambers, the housing for the Mercy Seat,

12 and the plans for everything else that he had in mind for the courtyards of the Temple of the LORD. Included were plans for all of the surrounding vaults and treasuries of the Temple of God intended for storage of dedicated gifts,

13 for use by the ranks of priests and descendants of Levi, for all the work of service responsibilities in the Temple of the LORD, and for all of the utensils used in the work of the Temple of the LORD.