22 1 David then said, “This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.”
David Orders a Temple to Be Built
2 David ordered the resident foreigners[a] in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to chisel stones for the building of God’s temple. 3 David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for braces, more bronze than could be weighed, 4 and more cedar logs than could be counted. (The Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large amount of cedar logs to David.)
5 David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man,[b] and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations.[c] Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.
6 He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I really wanted[d] to build a temple to honor[e] the Lord my God. 8 But this was the Lord’s message to me: ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me,[f] for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me. 9 Look, you will have a son, who will be a peaceful man.[g] I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side.[h] Indeed, Solomon[i] will be his name; I will give Israel peace and quiet during his reign.[j] 10 He will build a temple to honor me;[k] he will become my son, and I will become his father. I will grant to his dynasty permanent rule over Israel.’[l]
11 “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would.[m] 12 Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey[n] the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the rules and regulations which the Lord ordered Moses to give to Israel.[o] Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic![p] 14 Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord’s temple.[q] I have stored up 100,000 talents[r] of gold, 1,000,000 talents[s] of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more! 15 You also have available many workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters,[t] and an innumerable array of workers who are skilled 16 in using gold, silver, bronze, and iron.[u] Get up and begin the work! May the Lord be with you!”
17 David ordered all the officials of Israel to support[v] his son Solomon. 18 He told them,[w] “The Lord your God is with you![x] He has made you secure on every side,[y] for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region[z] and the region[aa] is subdued before the Lord and his people. 19 Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being![ab] Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring[ac] the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service[ad] into the temple that is built to honor the Lord.”[ae]
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 22:2 sn The term גֵּר (ger) refers to a foreign resident, but with different social implications in different settings. In Mosaic Law the resident foreigner was essentially a naturalized citizen and convert to worshiping the God of Israel (see Exod 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13).
- 1 Chronicles 22:5 tn Heb “a young man and tender.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:5 tn Heb “and the house to build to make exceedingly great for a name and for splendor for all the lands.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “I was with my heart.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “for the name of.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:8 tn Heb “for my name.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “man of rest.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “his enemies all around.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:9 sn The name Solomon (שְׁלֹמֹה, shelomoh) sounds like (and may be derived from) the Hebrew word for “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
- 1 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “in his days.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:10 tn Heb “for my name.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:10 tn Heb “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel permanently.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:11 tn Heb “as he spoke concerning you.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:12 tn Or “keep.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:13 tn Heb “which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:13 tn Or perhaps, “and don’t get discouraged.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 tn Heb “and look, in my affliction [or perhaps, “poverty”] I have supplied for the house of the Lord.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6.
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 tn Heb “a thousand thousands.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:15 tn Heb “craftsmen of stone and wood.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:16 tn Heb “and every kind of skilled one in all work, concerning gold, concerning silver, and concerning bronze, and concerning iron, there is no numbering.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:17 tn Or “help.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn The words “he told them” are added in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is not the Lord your God with you?” The question anticipates the response, “Of course he is!” Thus in the translation the positive statement “The Lord your God is with you!” has been used.
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn Heb “and he gives rest to you all around.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn Or “earth.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn Or “earth.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “now give your heart and your being to seek the Lord your God.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “to bring.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “items of holiness of God.”
- 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.”