1 Chronicles 28

1 And David called all the leaders of Israel into assembly at Jerusalem: the leaders of the judges, and the leaders of the divisions that attended on the person of the king, and the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the treasurers, and those in charge of his possessions, and the mighty men, and the warriors of the army. [a]

2 And David stood up in the middle of the assembly and said, “Hear me, my brothers and my people. It came into my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and a standing place for the feet of our Lord, and I made ready what was fit for the dwelling place. [b] 3 But God said, ‘You will not build me a house to have my name called over it, for you are a man of war and you have poured out blood.’ 4 Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of my whole father’s house to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah for the kingly rule, and out of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father it was his will that I should be king over all Israel.

5 And out of all my sons — for the Lord has given me many sons — he chose out Solomon my son, to seat him on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 And God said to me, ‘Solomon your son will build my house and my court, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be a father to him, 7 and I will set his kingdom upright forever, if he stays strong to keep my commands and my judgments, as at this day.’

8 And now, before the face of the whole assembly of the Lord, and in the ears of our God: keep and seek out all the commands of the Lord our God, so that you may inherit the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever. 9 And now, Solomon my son, know the God of your fathers and serve him with a whole heart and a willing soul, for the Lord searches out every heart and knows every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; and if you leave him, he will leave you for good. † 10 See now, the Lord has chosen you to build him a house for a holy place. Be strong and do it.”

11 And David gave Solomon his son the model of the temple, and of its buildings, and of its treasure chambers, and of its upper rooms, and of its inner storehouses, and of the room of atonement; [c] 12 and the model that he had in his spirit: of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers around it, those that serve as the storehouses of the house of the Lord, and of the storehouses of the holy things; [d] 13 and of the lodgings of the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and of the storehouses of the vessels used in serving the house of the Lord.

14 And he gave him the measure of their weight, both of the gold and of the silver. 15 The weight of the lampstands he gave him, and of the lamps. 16 In the same way he gave him the weight of the tables of the setting-out — of each golden table, and likewise of the silver ones — [e] 17 and of the meat-hooks, and of the cups for pouring the drink offerings, and of the golden bowls; and the weight of the gold ones and of the silver ones, and of the basins, each by its own weight. [f]

18 And he showed him the weight of the altar of incense, of tested gold; and the model of the chariot of the cherubim, with their wings spread out, overshadowing the ark of the covenant of the Lord. [g] 19 All this David gave to Solomon in writing from the hand of the Lord, according to the understanding that had come to him for the carrying out of the model.

20 And David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and brave, and do the work. Do not be afraid and do not be frightened, for the Lord my God is with you. He will not let go of you, and he will never abandon you, until you have finished all the work of the service of the house of the Lord. [h] 21 And see — the divisions of the priests and the Levites are for every service of the house of God; and with you in every undertaking is every man willing and wise in every craft; and the leaders and all the people are ready at your every word.”