1 Chronicles
Chapter 22
1 Then David said, “This is God’s house, and this is the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings.”
2 David ordered to bring together the foreigners in Israel; he assigned stonecutters to shape stones to construct God’s house.
3 David collected lots of iron for the gate door nails and connectors, and an immeasurable amount of brass.
4 Many cedar trees were brought to David by the people of Sidon and Tyre because they had a lot of cedar wood.
5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and gentle, and the temple that will be built for God must be very magnificent, famous, and glorious in all countries. So, I will now prepare for it.” Thus, David made many preparations before he died.
6 He called his son Solomon and told him to build a house for the God of Israel.
7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I planned to build a house for God’s name.
8 God’s message came to me: “You have spilled a lot of blood and fought many wars. You cannot build a house for my name because you have caused much bloodshed on the earth in front of me.”
9 Look, you will have a son who will be a peaceful man; I will make sure he has peace from all his enemies around. His name will be Solomon, and I will bring peace and calm to Israel during his life.
10 He will build a house for my name; he will be my son, and I will be his father; and I will set up his kingdom’s throne over Israel forever.
11 Now, my son, may God be with you; succeed and build God’s house, as he has told you.
12 May God give you wisdom and understanding, and instruct you about Israel, so you can follow God’s law.
13 You will succeed if you carefully follow the rules and decisions that God gave Moses for Israel: be strong and brave; do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 Now, look, in my difficult time, I have prepared for God’s house one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver; and so much brass and iron they can’t be weighed because there’s so much; I have also prepared wood and stone; and you can add more.
15 You also have many workers: stonecutters, carpenters, and all kinds of skilled people for every job.
16 There’s so much gold, silver, bronze, and iron that it can’t be counted. Get up and start working, and God will be with you.
17 David also told all the leaders of Israel to support his son Solomon, saying,
18 Isn’t God with you? Hasn’t he given you peace all around? For he has let us defeat the people of the land, and now the land is under God’s control and his people’s.
19 Focus your heart and soul on searching for God; get up and build the holy place for God, to put the ark of God’s agreement and God’s sacred items in the temple made for God’s name.