1 Chronicles 27–29

Military and Civil Organizations

27This is the list of the Israelite heads of families and clan leaders and their officials who administered the work of the kingdom. Each month of the year a different group of 24,000 men was on duty under the commander for that month.

²The following were the commanders for each month:

First month: Jashobeam son of Zabdiel ³(he was a member of the clan of Perez, a part of the tribe of Judah);

⁴Second month: Dodai, a descendant of Ahohi (Mikloth was his second in command);^z

⁵Third month: Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest; ⁶he was the leader of “The Thirty” (his son Amizzabad succeeded him as commander of this group);

⁷Fourth month: Asahel, brother of Joab (his son Zebadiah succeeded him);

⁸Fifth month: Shamhuth, a descendant of Izhar;

⁹Sixth month: Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa;

¹⁰Seventh month: Helez, an Ephraimite from Pelon;

¹¹Eighth month: Sibbecai from Hushah (he was a member of the clan of Zerah, a part of the tribe of Judah);

¹²Ninth month: Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin;

¹³Tenth month: Maharai from Netophah (he was a member of the clan of Zerah);

¹⁴Eleventh month: Benaiah from Pirathon in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim;

¹⁵Twelfth month: Heldai from Netophah (he was a descendant of Othniel).

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

^16–22This is the list of the administrators of the tribes of Israel:

TribeAdministrator

ReubenEliezer son of Zichri

SimeonShephatiah son of Maacah

LeviHashabiah son of Kemuel

AaronZadok

JudahElihu, one of King David’s brothers

IssacharOmri son of Michael

ZebulunIshmaiah son of Obadiah

NaphtaliJeremoth son of Azriel

EphraimHoshea son of Azaziah

West ManassehJoel son of Pedaiah

East ManassehIddo son of Zechariah

BenjaminJaasiel son of Abner

DanAzarel son of Jeroham

^23*King David did not take a census of the people who were under the age of twenty, because of the Lord’s promise to make the people of Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. ^24*Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, began to take a census, but he did not complete it. God punished Israel because of this census, so the final figures were never recorded in King David’s official records.

Administration of the Royal Property

²⁵This is the list of those who administered the royal property:

Royal storerooms: Azmaveth son of Adiel;

Local storerooms: Jonathan son of Uzziah;

²⁶Farm labour: Ezri son of Chelub;

²⁷Vineyards: Shimei from Ramah;

Wine cellars: Zabdi from Shepham;

²⁸Olives and sycomore trees (in the western foothills): Baal Hanan from Geder;

Olive oil storage: Joash;

²⁹Cattle in the Plain of Sharon: Shirtai from Sharon;

Cattle in the valleys: Shaphat son of Adlai;

^30–31Camels: Obil, an Ishmaelite;

Donkeys: Jehdeiah from Meronoth;

Sheep and goats: Jaziz, a Hagrite.

David’s Personal Advisers

³²Jonathan, King David’s uncle, was a skilful adviser and a scholar. He and Jehiel son of Hachmoni were in charge of the education of the king’s sons. ³³Ahithophel was adviser to the king, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend and counsellor. ³⁴After Ahithophel died, Abiathar and Jehoiada son of Benaiah became advisers. Joab was commander of the royal army.

David’s Instructions for the Temple

28King David commanded all the officials of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. So all the officials of the tribes, the officials who administered the work of the kingdom, the leaders of the clans, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons—indeed all the palace officials, leading soldiers, and important men—gathered in Jerusalem.

^2*David stood before them and addressed them: “My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the Lord our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honour him, ^3*but he has forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and have shed too much blood. ^4*The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel for ever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father’s family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel. ^5*He gave me many sons, and out of them all he chose Solomon to rule over Israel, the Lord’s kingdom.

^6*“The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ^7*I will make his kingdom last for ever if he continues to obey carefully all my laws and commands as he does now.’

⁸“So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the Lord’s people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the Lord our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations for ever.”

⁹And to Solomon he said, “My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father’s God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you for ever. ¹⁰You must realize that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”

¹¹David gave Solomon the plans for all the temple buildings, for the storerooms and all the other rooms, and for the Most Holy Place, where sins are forgiven. ¹²He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ¹³David also gave him the plans for organizing the priests and Levites to perform their duties, to do the work of the Temple, and to take care of all the temple utensils. ¹⁴He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils, ¹⁵for each lamp and lamp-stand, ¹⁶for the silver tables, and for each gold table on which were placed the loaves of bread offered to God. ¹⁷He also gave instructions as to how much pure gold was to be used in making forks, bowls, and jars, how much silver and gold in making dishes, ¹⁸and how much pure gold in making the altar on which incense was burnt and in making the chariot for the winged creatures that spread their wings over the Lord’s Covenant Box. ¹⁹King David said, “All this is contained in the plan written according to the instructions which the Lord himself gave me to carry out.”

²⁰King David said to his son Solomon, “Be confident and determined. Start the work and don’t let anything stop you. The Lord God, whom I serve, will be with you. He will not abandon you, but he will stay with you until you finish the work to be done on his Temple. ²¹The priests and the Levites have been assigned duties to perform in the Temple. Workers with every kind of skill are eager to help you, and all the people and their leaders are at your command.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29^*King David announced to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the Lord God. ^2*I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple—gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble. ³Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God’s Temple. ⁴I have given more than a hundred tonnes of the finest gold and almost two hundred and forty tonnes of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple ⁵and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?”

⁶Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give ⁷the following for the work on the Temple: more than 170 tonnes of gold, over 340 tonnes of silver, almost 620 tonnes of bronze, and more than 3,400 tonnes of iron. ⁸Those who had precious stones gave them to the temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon. ⁹The people had given willingly to the Lord, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

David Praises God

¹⁰There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, “Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised for ever and ever! ^11*You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all. ¹²All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong. ¹³Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

¹⁴“Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already. ¹⁵You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death. ¹⁶O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honour your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. ¹⁷I know that you test everyone’s heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you. ¹⁸Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion for ever strong in your people’s hearts and keep them always faithful to you. ¹⁹Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.”

²⁰Then David commanded the people, “Praise the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they…