1 Chronicles 29

King David said to the whole assembly, "My son Solomon is the one God has chosen. He is young and has little experience, and the work is huge. This great building is not for a man; it is for the LORD God.

1Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.

NoteThe word translated "palace" or "great building" is not the ordinary Hebrew word for temple. It means a citadel or royal residence, and it is used here of the temple because it is being built for the LORD understood as a king. "Young and tender" in the King James does not mean physically delicate; it means inexperienced. Solomon was likely a grown man by this point.

2"With all my strength I have gotten ready what is needed for the house of my God: gold for the things made of gold, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood. I have also stored onyx stones, stones to be set in place, dark antimony, stones of many colors, all kinds of costly stones, and plenty of marble.

2Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

NoteThe Hebrew names for several of these stones are uncertain, and translations differ widely. The word behind "glistering" or "sparkling" stones may mean antimony (a dark mineral used as a setting compound or as eye paint) or a turquoise-like stone; "marble" may be alabaster or any polished white stone. "Stones to be set" are stones cut to be mounted in settings, as in jewelry.

3"More than that, because my heart is set on the house of my God, I am giving it gold and silver from my own personal treasure. This is on top of everything I have already gotten ready for the holy house:

3Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

4"three thousand talents of gold, gold from the land of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to cover the walls of the buildings.

4Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:

NoteA talent was a unit of weight, not a coin, roughly 75 pounds (about 34 kilograms), though the exact standard varied. Three thousand talents of gold is therefore an enormous quantity, and the figures throughout this chapter are meant to convey overwhelming abundance. Ophir was a distant land famous as a source of the finest gold; its location is unknown, with the Arabian peninsula, East Africa and India all proposed.

5"The gold is for the gold work and the silver for the silver work, and for all the work done by skilled craftsmen. So who is willing to give himself to the LORD's service today?"

5The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?

Note"Consecrate his service" translates a Hebrew idiom meaning literally "fill his hand." It is the standard phrase for ordaining a priest to office, and it is used here of ordinary people filling their hands with gifts for the LORD, a deliberate play on the expression.

6Then the heads of the families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work all gave willingly.

6Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, offered willingly,

Note"Commanders of thousands and of hundreds" were officers over the standard divisions of the army. The words for thousand and hundred may name units of a set kind rather than give exact head counts.

7For the work on the house of God they gave five thousand talents of gold and ten thousand gold coins called darics, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

7And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

NoteA daric was a Persian gold coin, named for King Darius and not minted until centuries after David's lifetime. The writer of Chronicles, living under Persian rule, is converting an old sum into money his own readers used. Coined money did not exist in David's day; before coinage, metal was weighed out.

8Anyone who had costly stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, handing them over to Jehiel, from the family of Gershon, who was in charge of it.

8And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

NoteGershon was one of the three sons of Levi, so a Gershonite belonged to one of the priestly tribe's family divisions. Levites, not priests, were the ones assigned to guard and administer the temple treasuries.

9The people were glad because their leaders had given willingly. They had given to the LORD with a whole heart. King David was filled with great joy too.

9Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

10So David praised the LORD in front of the whole assembly. He said, "May you be praised, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from forever in the past to forever to come.

10Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

NoteTo "bless" God does not mean to confer something on him; when the direction is from a person to God it means to praise or speak well of. "Israel our father" here is not the nation but the man Jacob, who was renamed Israel and from whose sons the tribes descended.

11"Yours, LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. Yours is the kingdom, LORD, and you are lifted up as head over all.

11Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

NoteThe word rendered "victory" is disputed. The Hebrew term can mean lasting endurance, preeminence, or victory, and translators have chosen among these differently; "splendor" in some modern versions reflects the same uncertainty.

12"Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over everything. Power and strength are in your hand. It is in your hand to make anyone great and to give strength to all.

12Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

13"So now, our God, we thank you, and we praise your glorious name.

13Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

14"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give so freely like this? Everything comes from you, and what we have given you was already yours.

14But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

15"We are foreigners in your sight, travelers passing through, as all our ancestors were. Our days on earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope of staying.

15For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

Note"Strangers and sojourners" is legal language for resident foreigners: people living in a country where they hold no ancestral land and depend on the goodwill of the owner. The point is that Israel holds the land as a guest of its true owner. The last phrase is genuinely ambiguous in Hebrew and can mean either "there is no hope" or "there is no staying, no remaining."

16"LORD our God, all this great supply we have gotten ready to build you a house for your holy name came from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

16O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

17"I know too, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with honesty. I have given all these things willingly, with an honest heart. And now I have watched with joy as your people here give willingly to you.

17I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

NoteIn Hebrew the heart is the seat of thinking, choosing and intention, closer to what modern English calls the mind or the will than to the emotions.

18"LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire in the thoughts and plans of your people's hearts forever, and turn their hearts toward you.

18O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

19"And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep your commands, your rules, and your laws, to carry all of this out, and to build the great house for which I have made provision."

19And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

Note"Commands, testimonies and statutes" are three overlapping Hebrew terms for divine instruction, piled up for completeness rather than to name three distinct categories of law.

20Then David said to the whole assembly, "Now praise the LORD your God." So the whole assembly praised the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed their heads low, and prostrated themselves before the LORD and before the king.

20And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.

NoteThe same Hebrew verb, meaning to bow low in homage, is used for what the assembly does toward the LORD and toward the king. The gesture given to a king was the ordinary courtesy owed to a superior, and the text does not distinguish it in wording from the gesture given to God.

21The next day they offered sacrifices to the LORD and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with the drink offerings that went with them, and many other sacrifices for all Israel.

21And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:

NoteIn a burnt offering the whole animal was burned on the altar and none of it eaten. A drink offering was wine poured out alongside a sacrifice. Other sacrifices, like those eaten in verse 22, were shared as a meal by the worshipers.

22That day they ate and drank in the LORD's presence with great gladness. Then, for a second time, they made Solomon son of David king. They poured oil on him before the LORD to mark him as ruler, and they did the same for Zadok as priest.

22And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.

Note"A second time" acknowledges that Solomon had already been proclaimed king once, in an earlier and more contested episode. Pouring olive oil on the head was the standard public ceremony for installing someone in office, whether king or priest; the Hebrew word for "anointed one" is the source of the word Messiah.

23So Solomon sat on the LORD's throne as king in place of his father David. Things went well for him, and all Israel obeyed him.

23Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

Note"The throne of the LORD" is a way of speaking distinctive to Chronicles: the king's throne in Jerusalem is described as belonging to God, with the king seated on it as God's representative rather than in his own right.

24All the officials, the mighty soldiers, and all of King David's sons promised to be loyal to King Solomon.

24And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

NoteThe Hebrew reads literally "gave the hand under Solomon." Placing one's hand beneath a ruler's was a formal gesture of pledging loyalty and submission.

25The LORD made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel. He gave him royal splendor greater than that of any king who had ruled Israel before him.

25And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

26So David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.

26Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

27He ruled Israel for forty years. He ruled seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

27And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

NoteHebron was a town in the southern territory of Judah and David's first capital, where he ruled over Judah alone before capturing Jerusalem and being accepted by all the tribes.

28He died at a good old age, having had a long life, riches, and honor. His son Solomon became king after him.

28And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

29The things King David did, from beginning to end, are written down in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet, and the records of Gad the seer.

29Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,

NoteA "seer" is an older Hebrew word for a prophet, someone who sees what is otherwise hidden. The records named here are not the biblical books of Samuel; they are separate court and prophetic chronicles that no longer survive, cited the way a historian cites sources.

30Those records tell about his whole reign, his power, and all that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

30With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.