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1 Chronicles 21:1-29:30

Battles against Philistine giants. (1Chr.21.1-22.1)

21¹Satan took his stand against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. ²David said to Joab and the people's princes, 'Go, and take a census of Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, then bring it back to me and let me know the total.' ³Joab replied, 'May Yahweh multiply his people to a hundred times what they are today! But my lord king, are they not all my lord's servants in any case? Why should my lord insist on this? Why should he involve Israel in guilt?' ⁴But the king enforced his order on Joab, and Joab set out, travelled throughout all Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem. ⁵Joab gave David the census results for the people: all Israel had eleven hundred thousand men who could wield a sword; Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who could wield a sword. ⁶Joab had found the king's command so distasteful that he did not include Levi and Benjamin. ⁷God looked with displeasure on this and punished Israel in consequence. ⁸David then said to God, 'I have committed a grave sin by doing this. But now I beg you to forgive your servant for this fault, for I have acted very foolishly.' ⁹Yahweh then spoke to Gad, David's seer, ¹⁰'Go and say to David, 'Yahweh says this: I offer you three things; choose which one of them I am to inflict on you.' ' ¹¹So Gad went to David and said, 'Yahweh says this, ¹²'Take your choice between three years of famine; or three months of disaster at the hands of your enemies, with your enemies' sword overtaking you; or three days of Yahweh's sword, an epidemic in the country, while the angel of Yahweh wreaks havoc throughout the territory of Israel.' Now decide how I am to answer him who sends me.' ¹³David said to Gad, 'I am very apprehensive. Better for me to fall into Yahweh's hand, since his mercies are very great, than for me to fall into the hands of human enemies.' ¹⁴So Yahweh unleashed an epidemic on Israel, and seventy thousand Israelites succumbed. ¹⁵Next, God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, Yahweh looked down and felt sorry about the calamity; and he said to the destroying angel, 'Enough now! Hold your hand!' The angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶David, raising his eyes, saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, a drawn sword in his hand stretched out towards Jerusalem. David and the elders then put on sackcloth and fell on their faces, ¹⁷and David said to God, 'Did I not order the people to be counted? I was the one who sinned and actually committed the wrong. But these, the flock, what have they done? Yahweh my God, let your hand lie heavy on me and on my family; but spare your people from the plague!' ¹⁸The angel of Yahweh then ordered Gad to tell David that David should go up and erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹So, at Gad's bidding, given in Yahweh's name, David went up. ²⁰Ornan had turned round and seen the angel, and he and his four sons with him had hidden. ²¹When David arrived Ornan was threshing wheat. He looked up and saw David and came off the threshing-floor and prostrated himself on the ground at David's feet. ²²David then said to Ornan, 'Let me have the site of the threshing-floor, so that I can build an altar to Yahweh on it; let me have it at the full price—so that the plague may be lifted from the people.' Ornan said to David, ²³'Take it, and let my lord the king do what he thinks fit. Look, I shall give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing-sleds for the wood and the wheat for the oblation. I shall give everything.' ²⁴'No,' said King David to Ornan, 'I insist on buying it at the full price. I will not offer Yahweh what belongs to you or bring burnt offerings which have cost me nothing.' ²⁵So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site. ²⁶There David built an altar to Yahweh and brought burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called on Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷Then Yahweh ordered the angel to sheathe his sword. ²⁸Whereupon, seeing that Yahweh had answered him on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, David offered sacrifice there. ²⁹The Dwelling which Moses had made in the desert and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon, ³⁰but David could not go there to consult God because he was terrified of the angel's sword. 22¹David then said, 'This is to be the house of Yahweh God and this the altar of burnt offering for Israel.'

Preparations for building the temple. (1Chr.22.2-23.1)

²David then gave orders for all foreigners in Israel to be rounded up, and appointed quarrymen to cut dressed stone for building the house of God. ³David also prepared great quantities of iron to make nails for the leaves of the doors and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed, ⁴as well as innumerable cedar-wood logs, as the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought cedar logs to David in great quantities. ⁵David then said, 'My son Solomon is young and immature, and the house to be built for Yahweh must be superlatively fine, the most famous and splendid in any country. I shall now make the preparations for it.' And so, before he died, David made ample preparations. ⁶He then summoned his son Solomon and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, God of Israel. ⁷'My son,' David said to Solomon, 'my heart was set on building a house for the name of Yahweh my God. ⁸But the word of Yahweh came to me, 'You have shed much blood and fought great wars; it is not for you to build a house for my name, since you have shed much blood in my sight on earth. ⁹Look, a son will be born to you. He will be a man of peace, and I shall give him peace from his enemies on all sides; for Solomon is to be his name, and in his days I shall give Israel peace and tranquillity. ¹⁰He must build a house for my name; he will be my son and I shall be his father, and I shall make the throne of his kingdom secure over Israel for ever.' ¹¹Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and give you success in building a house for Yahweh your God, as he has promised about you. ¹²And especially, may Yahweh give you discretion and discernment, may he give you his orders for Israel, so that you may observe the Law of Yahweh your God. ¹³Success will be yours, only if you observe the statutes and ordinances which Yahweh gave Moses as regulations for Israel. Be strong and stand fast, be fearless, be dauntless. ¹⁴Now, poor as I am, I have set aside for the house of Yahweh a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver and more bronze and iron than can be weighed, there being so much. I have also 'provided timber and stone, to which you may add more. ¹⁵Furthermore, you have a large number of workmen, quarrymen, masons, carpenters and all sorts of craftsmen for every kind of work, ¹⁶while your gold and silver, bronze and iron will be beyond reckoning. Set to work, then, and may Yahweh be with you!' ¹⁷David then commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. ¹⁸'Has not Yahweh your God been with you and given you peace on all sides, having put the inhabitants of the country into my power and the country now having been subdued for Yahweh and his people? ¹⁹So now devote heart and soul to searching for Yahweh your God. Set to and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, so that you can bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house built for the name of Yahweh.' 23¹When David had become old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king of Israel,

The work of the Levites. (1Chr.23.2-32)

²and then summoned all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites. ³A census was taken of those Levites thirty years old and upwards. On a count of heads, they numbered thirty-eight thousand men; ⁴twenty-four thousand were responsible for the service of the House of Yahweh, six thousand were officials and judges, ⁵four thousand were gatekeepers and four thousand praised Yahweh on the instruments which David had made for praising him. ⁶David then divided the Levites into classes: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. ⁷Of the Gershonites there were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸Sons of Ladan: Jehiel first, Zetham, Joel; three in all. ⁹Sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, Haran; three in all. These are the heads of families of Ladan. ¹⁰Sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, Beriah; these were the sons of Shimei; four in all. ¹¹Jahath was the eldest, Zizah the second, then Jeush and Beriah, who had not many children and were reckoned as one family. ¹²Sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel; four in all. ¹³Sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate the things that were especially holy, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense in the presence of Yahweh, to serve him and to bless in his name for ever. ¹⁴Moses, man of God, and his sons were reckoned with the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵Sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶Sons of Gershom: Shebuel, the first. ¹⁷Of the sons of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. ¹⁸Sons of Izhar: Shelomith, the first. ¹⁹Sons of Hebron: Jeriah first, Amariah second, Jahaziel third, Jekameam fourth. ²⁰Sons of Uzziel: Micah first, Isshiah second. ²¹Sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. Sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar died without sons, but he did have daughters, whom their cousins, the sons of Kish, married. ²³Sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, Jeremoth: three in all. ²⁴These were the sons of Levi by their families, the heads of families, and those registered by name, individually; whoever was twenty years old or upwards had his function in the service of the Temple of Yahweh. ²⁵For David said, 'Since Yahweh, God of Israel, has given rest to his people Israel and has taken up residence in Jerusalem for ever, ²⁶the Levites need no longer carry the Dwelling or any of the objects required for its service.' ²⁷For, according to the last words of David, the Levites who had been registered were of twenty years and upwards. ²⁸Their duty now is to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the House of Yahweh, in the care of the courts and rooms, the purification of all the holy things, the work for the service of the House of God, ²⁹the loaves of permanent offering, the flour for the oblation, the wafers of unleavened bread, the pan-baked materials, the unmixed materials and all measures of volume and length. ³⁰Furthermore, they have to be present every morning to give thanks and praise to Yahweh, and also in the evening, ³¹and at the bringing of every burnt offering to Yahweh on Sabbath, New Moon or solemn feast, appearing regularly before Yahweh in accordance with the numbers required of them. ³²In serving the Temple of Yahweh they observe the ritual of the Tent of Meeting, the ritual of the sanctuary and the ritual of their kinsmen, the sons of Aaron.'

The work assigned to the priests. (1Chr.24.1-19)

24¹Orders of the sons of Aaron: Sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamar. ²Nadab and Abihu died in their father's lifetime leaving no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar filled the office of priest. ³With Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David allocated them according to the classification of their duties. ⁴Since the sons of Eleazar were found to have more headmen than the sons of Ithamar, they allocated sixteen heads of families to the sons of Eleazar and eight heads of families to the sons of Ithamar. ⁵They allocated them by lot, both alike, there being religious officials and officials of God among the sons of Eleazar, as among the sons of Ithamar. ⁶The levitical scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, recorded them in the presence of the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar and the heads of the priestly and levitical families, so that two families were selected for Eleazar for each one selected for Ithamar. ⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Ishbaal, ¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, ¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, ¹⁷the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸the twenty- third to Delaiah and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹These were their classifications for their duties when they entered the House of Yahweh in accordance with their prescriptions laid down by Aaron their ancestor as Yahweh, God of Israel, had commanded him.

The list of Levites. (1Chr.24.20-31)

²⁰As regards the rest of the sons of Levi: Of the sons of Amram: Shubael. Of the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah. ²¹As regards Rehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah: Isshiah, the first one. ²²Of the sons of Izhar: Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath. ²³Of the sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴The son of Uzziel was Micah; of the sons of Micah: Shamir. ²⁵The brother of Micah was Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ²⁶The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; of his sons: Jaaziah his son. ²⁷The sons of Merari by his son Jaaziah were Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri. ²⁸Of Mahli, there was Eleazar who had no sons, ²⁹and Kish; and of the sons of Kish: Jerahmeel. ³⁰The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These were the Levites according to families. ³¹Like their kinsmen, the sons of Aaron, these heads of families, senior and junior alike, also drew lots in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the priestly and levitical families.

The temple musicians. (1Chr.25.1-31)

25¹For the liturgy, David and the religious officials selected the sons of Asaph, of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy to the accompaniment of harps, lyres and cymbals. The list of ministrants for this service was as follows: ²Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph who prophesied at the king's direction. ³Of Jeduthun there were the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun who, with the harp, prophesied when thanks and praise were to be given to Yahweh. ⁴Of Heman there were the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵All these were sons of Heman, the king's seer; at God's word they blew the horn. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶Under the king's direction all these had the duty of singing to the accompaniment of cymbal, lyre and harp for the liturgy of the house of God under the direction of their fathers. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman, ⁷trained in the songs of Yahweh, with their brothers, numbered two hundred and eighty-eight, all expert. ⁸Junior and senior, master and pupil alike, they drew lots for their term of duty. ⁹The first to whom the lot fell was the Asaphite, Joseph. The second was Gedaliah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁰The third was Zaccur, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹¹The fourth was Izri, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹²The fifth was Nethaniah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹³The sixth was Bukkiah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁴The seventh was Jesharelah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁵The eighth was Jeshaiah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁶The ninth was Mattaniah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁷The tenth was Shimei, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁸The eleventh was Azarel, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ¹⁹The twelfth was Hashabiah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁰The thirteenth was Shubael, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²¹The fourteenth was Mattithiah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²²The fifteenth was Jeremoth, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²³The sixteenth was Hananiah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁴The seventeenth was Joshbekashah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁵The eighteenth was Hanani, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁶The nineteenth was Mallothi, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁷The twentieth was Eliathah, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁸The twenty-first was Hothir, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ²⁹The twenty-second was Giddalti, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ³⁰The twenty-third was Mahazioth, who with his sons and brothers made twelve. ³¹The twenty-fourth was Romamti-Ezer, who with his sons and brothers made twelve.

The temple Guard. (1Chr.26.1-19)

26¹As regards the orders of the gatekeepers: Of the Korahites there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Ebiasaph, ²and Meshelemiah's sons: Zechariah the first-born, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh. ⁴Obed-Edom's sons were: Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, ⁵Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; God had indeed blessed him. ⁶His son Shemaiah also had sons who wielded authority in their family, because they were men of outstanding quality. ⁷The sons of Shemaiah were: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were outstanding men. ⁸All these were sons of Obed-Edom, who with their sons and brothers were men of standing, well fitted for their task. Obed-Edom had sixty-two. ⁹Meshelemiah had eighteen outstanding sons and brothers. ¹⁰Hosah, one of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri was the first, for although he was not the first-born his father had made him the chief. ¹¹Hilkiah was the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: Hosah had thirteen sons and brothers in all. ¹²These orders of gatekeepers, allocated according to their headmen, had duties, just like their brothers, of serving in the house of Yahweh. ¹³Similarly, they drew lots for each gate, whether their families were large or small. ¹⁴For the eastern one, the lot fell to Shelemiah; and when they drew lots for Zechariah his son, a shrewd counsellor, his lot came out for the north. ¹⁵To Obed-Edom went the south, and to his sons the storehouses. ¹⁶To Shuppim and Hosah went the west with the Gate of the Felled Tree-trunk on the upper road. The corresponding guards were as follows: ¹⁷for the east gate, six per day; for the north gate, four per day; for the south gate, four per day; for the storehouses, two each; ¹⁸for the Parbar at the west gate, four by the road and two for the Parbar. ¹⁹These were the orders of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and the sons of Merari.

Other temple duties. (1Chr.26.20-28)

²⁰The Levites, their brothers, who were responsible for the treasures of the house of God and for the treasures of consecrated gifts, ²¹were the sons of Ladan and belonged to the Gershonites—the heads of the families of Ladan were descended from Ladan the Gershonite—that is to say, the Jehielites. ²²The sons of the Jehielites, Zetham and Joel his brother, were responsible for the treasures of the house of Yahweh. ²³Over the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites ²⁴was Shebuel son of Gershom, son of Moses, who was governor of the treasures; ²⁵and his brothers of the line of Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son. ²⁶This Shelomoth and his kinsmen were responsible for all the consecrated treasures dedicated by King David, by the heads of families, by the commanders of the thousands and hundreds and by the commanders of the army, ²⁷who had dedicated a part of the spoils of war to the service of the house of Yahweh, ²⁸and also for all that Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner and Joab son of Zeruiah had dedicated. In fact, whatever was dedicated was the responsibility of Shelomoth and his kinsmen.

Duties of other Levites. (1Chr.26.29-32)

²⁹Of the Izharites, Chananiah and his sons were assigned to secular duties for Israel as officials and Judges. ³⁰Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his kinsmen, one thousand seven hundred outstanding men were in charge of Israel west of Jordan in everything pertaining to Yahweh and to the service of the king. ³¹Of the Hebronites, Jerijah was the head. In the fortieth year of David's reign research was done on the lineage and relationships of the Hebronites, and men of outstanding quality from among them were found at Jazer in Gilead. ³²There were twenty-seven hundred outstanding men, heads of families, whom King David put in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in all matters pertaining to God and the king.

Military & civil organisation. (1Chr.27.1-15)

27¹The Israelites listed according to heads of families, commanders of thousands and hundreds, with their officials in the king's service who dealt with all matters affecting the companies on monthly duty, month by month throughout the year, each company consisting of twenty-four thousand men: ²The commander of the first company detailed for the first month was Jashobeam son of Zabdiel, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ³He belonged to the family of Perez and was the senior military officer of all those detailed for the first month. ⁴The commander of the company for the second month was Dodai the Ahohite, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ⁵The officer commanding the third body of men for the third month was Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the chief priest, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ⁶This was the Benaiah who was an important member of the Thirty and his company. His son was Ammizabad. ⁷The fourth for the fourth month was Asahel brother of Joab, and his son Zebadiah after him, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ⁸The fifth officer commanding for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Zerahite, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ⁹The sixth for the sixth month was Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁰The seventh for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, one of the Ephraimites, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ¹¹The eighth for the eighth month was Sibbecai of Hushah, a Zerahite, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ¹²The ninth for the ninth month was Abiezer of Anathoth, a Benjaminite, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ¹³The tenth for the tenth month was Maharai of Netophah, a Zerahite, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁴The eleventh for the eleventh month was Benaiah of Pirathon, an Ephraimite, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁵The twelfth for the twelfth month was Heldai of Netophah, of Othniel, whose company consisted of twenty-four thousand men.

Administration of the tribes of Israel. (1Chr.27.16-24)

¹⁶Responsible for the tribes of Israel were chief Eliezer son of Zichri for the Reubenites, Shephatiah son of Maacah for the Simeonites, ¹⁷Hashabiah son of Kemuel for the Levites, Zadok for the Aaronites, ¹⁸Elihu, one of David's brothers, for Judah, Omri son of Michael for Issachar, ¹⁹Ishmaiah son of Obadiah for Zebulun, Jerimoth son of Azriel for Naphtali, ²⁰Hoshea son of Azaziah for the Ephraimites, Joel son of Pedaiah for the half-tribe of Manasseh, ²¹Iddo son of Zechariah for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Jaasiel son of Abner for Benjamin, ²²and Azarel son of Jeroham for Dan. These were the tribal chiefs of Israel. ²³Now in the census David did not include those who were twenty years old and under, since Yahweh had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars of heaven. ²⁴Joab son of Zeruiah began the count but never finished. This is why retribution came upon Israel, and the number did not come up to that recorded in the annals of King David.

Administrators of the royal estate. (1Chr.27.25-31)

²⁵Overseer of the king's supplies: Azmaveth son of Adiel. Overseer of supplies in the countryside, towns, villages and fortresses: Jonathan son of Uzziah. ²⁶Overseer of the farmers who tilled the land: Ezri son of Chelub. ²⁷Overseer of vineyards: Shimei of Ramah. Overseer of those in the vineyards who looked after the wine cellars: Zabdi of Shepham. ²⁸Overseer of olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah: Baal-Hanan of Geder. Overseer of oil supplies: Joash. ²⁹Overseer of cattle at pasture in the plains of Sharon: Shitrai of Sharon. Overseer of cattle in the valleys: Shaphat son of Adlai. ³⁰Overseer of camels: Obil the Ishmaelite. ³¹Overseer of donkeys: Jehdeiah of Meranoth. Overseer of flocks: Jaziz the Hagrite. All the above supervised the property belonging to King David.

David's personal advisers. (1Chr.27.32-34)

³²Jonathan, David's uncle, a councillor, wise man and scribe, and Jehiel son of Hachmoni took care of the king's sons. ³³Ahitophel was the king's counsellor and Hushai, the Archite, was Friend of the King. ³⁴Jehoiada son of Benaiah and Abiathar succeeded Ahitophel—Joab was commander of the king's army.

David's instructions for the temple. (1Chr.28.1-21)

28¹David then summoned to Jerusalem all the officials of Israel—the tribal chiefs, the senior officials in the royal service, the commanders of the thousands, the commanders of the hundreds and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and to his sons—including the court officials, the champions and all the men of standing. ²King David then rose to his feet and said: 'My brothers and my people, listen to me. I have set my heart on building a settled home for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, for the footstool for our God, but when I was ready to build it, ³God said to me, 'You must not build a house for my name, for you have been a man of war and have shed blood.' ⁴'Even so, out of my entire family, it was I whom Yahweh, God of Israel, chose to reign over Israel for ever. Having chosen Judah as leader, and my family out of the House of Judah, it pleased him out of all my father's sons to make me king of all Israel. ⁵Out of all my sons—for Yahweh has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on Yahweh's sovereign throne over Israel. ⁶Furthermore, he has told me, 'Solomon your son is the man to build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son and I shall be his father. ⁷I shall make his sovereignty secure for ever if he sturdily carries out my commandments and ordinances as he does now.' ⁸'So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of Yahweh, and in the hearing of our God, I charge you to observe and adhere strictly to all the commandments of Yahweh your God, so that you may retain possession of this fine country and leave it to your sons after you as a heritage for ever. ⁹'And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with an undivided heart and willing mind; for Yahweh scrutinises all hearts and understands whatever plans they may devise. If you seek him, he will let you find him; but forsake him and he will cast you off for ever. ¹⁰So, since Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for his sanctuary, go resolutely to work!' ¹¹David then gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico, the plans for the buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms and the room for the throne of mercy ¹²as well as the plans for everything that he had in mind: for the courts of the house of Yahweh, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the house of God and for the sacred treasuries, ¹³for the orders of priests and Levites, for all the duties to be carried out in the service of the house of Yahweh, and for all the liturgical objects to be used in the house of Yahweh; ¹⁴for the gold bullion, for all the golden liturgical objects of various uses; for the silver bullion, for all the silver liturgical objects of various uses; ¹⁵for the gold bullion for the golden lamp-stands and for their lamps, and for the silver bullion for the silver lamp-stands and their lights, depending on the function of each lamp-stand; ¹⁶for the gold bullion for each of the tables for the loaves of permanent offering and the silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷for the pure gold for the forks, the bowls and the jars, for the gold bullion for each of the golden basins and for the silver bullion for each of the silver basins; ¹⁸and for the refined gold bullion for the altar of incense; also for the gold for the model of the chariot and of the great winged creatures which cover the ark of the covenant of Yahweh with wings outspread- ¹⁹all this was in the document conveying Yahweh's instructions, by which he revealed the pattern of what was to be done. ²⁰David then said to his son Solomon, 'Be resolute and courageous in your work, do not be afraid or disheartened, because Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you before you have finished all the work to be done for the house of Yahweh. ²¹And besides, there are the orders of priests and Levites for whatever is needed in connection with the house of God, and you have at your disposal every kind of craftsman for whatever has to be done, as well as the officials and all the people entirely at your command.'

Gifts for building the temple. (1Chr.29.1-9)

29¹David then addressed the whole assembly, 'Solomon my son, whom Yahweh has specifically chosen, is young and immature, and the work is great; this palace is not for any human being but for Yahweh God. ²With all the resources I can command, for the house of my God I have provided gold for what must be made of gold, silver for what must be made of silver, bronze for what must be made of bronze, iron for what must be made of iron, wood for what must be made of wood, as well as cornelian for inlay work, slabs of multi-coloured mosaic, every kind of precious stone and quantities of alabaster. ³Furthermore, because my affections are set on the house of my God, I have also given what gold and silver I personally own for the house of my God, over and above everything which I have already provided for the holy Temple- ⁴that is to say, three thousand talents of gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, ⁵the gold being for what must be made of gold, and the silver for what must be made of silver: and for whatever the craftsmen must make. Who, then, is willing to devote himself to Yahweh's service today?' ⁶At this, the heads of families, the tribal chiefs of Israel, the commanders of the thousands and the hundreds and those who managed the king's affairs, ⁷volunteered a gift of five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron, ⁸while those who owned precious stones presented them to the treasury of the house of Yahweh in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹The people rejoiced at what these had given so readily, since they had presented their freewill offerings wholeheartedly to Yahweh. King David too was filled with joy.

David praises the LORD. (1Chr.29.10-25)

¹⁰Hence, in the presence of the whole assembly David blessed Yahweh. David said: 'May you be blessed, Yahweh, God of Israel our ancestor, for ever and for ever! ¹¹Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the splendour, length of days and glory, everything in heaven and on earth is yours. Yours is the sovereignty, Yahweh; you are exalted, supreme over all. ¹²Wealth and riches come from you, you are ruler of all, in your hand lie strength and power, and you bestow greatness and might on whomsoever you please. ¹³So now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name, ¹⁴for who am I and what is my people, for us to be able to volunteer offerings like this? - since everything has come from you and we have given you only what you bestowed in the first place, ¹⁵and we are guests before you, and passing visitors as were all our ancestors, our days on earth fleeting as a shadow and without hope. ¹⁶Yahweh our God, all this wealth, which we have provided to build a house for your holy name, has come from you and all belongs to you. ¹⁷'Knowing, my God, how you examine our motives and how you delight in integrity, with integrity of motive I have willingly given all this and have been overjoyed to see your people, now present here, willingly offering their gifts to you. ¹⁸Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel our ancestors, watch over this for ever, shape the purpose of your people's heart and direct their hearts to you, ¹⁹and give an undivided heart to Solomon my son to keep your commandments, your decrees and your statutes, to put them all into effect and to build the palace for which I have made provision.' ²⁰David then addressed the whole assembly: 'Now bless Yahweh your God!' And the whole assembly blessed Yahweh, God of their ancestors, bowing down in homage to Yahweh, and to the king. ²¹On the day following this, they slaughtered sacrifices and brought burnt offerings to Yahweh on behalf of Israel—a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs with their libations, as well as many other sacrifices- ²²and they ate and drank that day in Yahweh's presence with great joy. They then made Solomon son of David king a second time, anointing him as leader for Yahweh, and Zadok as priest. ²³Solomon took his seat on Yahweh's throne, to reign in succession to David his father. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴All the chiefs, all the leading citizens and all King David's other sons pledged allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵Yahweh made Solomon exceedingly powerful, as all Israel could see, and gave him a reign of such splendour as no previous king of Israel ever had.

Summary of David's reign. (1Chr.29.26-30)

²⁶David son of Jesse was king of all Israel. ²⁷He was king of Israel for a period of forty years; he reigned at Hebron for seven years, and in Jerusalem for thirty-three. ²⁸He died at a good old age, full of days, riches and honour. Then his son Solomon succeeded him. ²⁹The history of King David, from first to last, is all written down in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, ³⁰with his entire reign, his mighty deeds and the times which he, Israel and all the kings of other countries, had experienced.