1 Then David said, ¡°Here is where the Temple of Yahweh God will be; and this is where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.¡±


Preparations for the building of the temple

2 David gave orders to gather all the strangers living in the land of Israel and he set stonecutters to prepare stone blocks for building the Temple of God.

3 David furthermore stored up great quantities of iron to make nails for the wooden gates and for clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed;

4 logs of cedar too, beyond number, the Sidonians and Tyrians having brought cedar logs to David in great quantities.

5 Then David said, ¡°My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the Tem ple to be built for Yahweh must be of great splendor, and famous for its magnificence in every country. I will make preparations for him.¡± And so, before he died, David laid away large amounts of the materials needed.

6 He then sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel,

7 ¡°My son, my heart was set on building a temple for the name of Yahweh my God.

8 But Yahweh told me, ¡®You have shed much blood and fought great battles; it is not for you to build a temple for my name, since you have shed so much blood on the earth in my presence.

9 But now a son is born to you. He shall be a man of peace, and I will give him peace from all the enemies that surround him; for Solomon is his name, and in his days I will give Israel peace and quiet.

10 He shall build a temple for my name; he shall be a son to me and I a father to him. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.

11 Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and give you success in building a temple for Yahweh your God, as he has said concerning you.

12 Yet may he give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law.

13 Success will be yours if you carefully observe the statutes and the ordinances that Yahweh has prescribed to Moses for Israel. Be strong and stand fast, be fearless, be confident.

14 Poor as I am, I have set aside for the Temple of Yahweh four thousand tons of gold, and nearly forty thousand tons of silver and more bronze and iron than can be weighed; I have stored up wood and stone too, to which you must add more.

15 You will have many workmen, stonecutters, masons, carpenters, skilled artisans of every kind,

16 while your supply of gold and silver, bronze and iron, will be unlimited. Set to work, then, and may Yahweh be with you!¡±

17 David then commanded all the Israelite leaders to help his son Solomon,

18 ¡°Is not Yahweh your God with you? He has given you peace on all sides, since he has let me conquer all the people who lived in this land, and the land has been subdued for Yahweh and for his people.

19 So now devote heart and soul to the search for Yahweh your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of Yahweh your God, so that the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy things of God may be brought to the Temple that is built for the name of Yahweh.¡±