Shimei had 16 sons and six daughters, but his relatives did not have many children, nor did their entire family multiply like the Judeans did.

they destroyed the survivors of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

and David went out to meet them. He told them, "If you've come in peace to be of help to me, then you'll have my commitment. But if you've come to betray me to my enemies, even though I'm innocent of wrongdoing, then may the God of our ancestors watch and judge."

When you hear the sound of marching coming from the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, because God will have gone out ahead of you to destroy the Philistine army."

"Do everything you have in mind," Nathan replied to David, "because God is with you."

"""You won't be building a house for me to inhabit, will you? After all, I haven't lived in a house from the day I brought out Israel until today. Instead, I've lived from tent to tent and from one place to another.

Wherever I've moved within all of Israel, did I ever ask even one judge of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, "Why haven't you built me a cedar house?'"'

"""Furthermore, I have remained with you everywhere you have gone, annihilating all your enemies right in front of you. I will make your reputation great, like the reputation of the great ones who have lived on earth.

"Who am I, LORD God, and what is my household, since you have brought me to this? Furthermore, this is a small thing to you, God, and yet you have spoken concerning your servant's household for a great while to come, and you have seen in me the fulfillment of man's purpose, LORD God.

LORD, for the sake of your servant, and consistent with your heart, you have done all of these great things and are now making these great things known.

"LORD, there is no one like you, and we have heard from no god other than you.

What other one nation on the earth is like your people Israel, God, which you have redeemed from slavery to become your own people, making a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You did awesome miraculous deeds, driving out nations that stood in their way.

You took your people Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

"And now, LORD, let what you have spoken concerning your servant and his household be done forever and let it be done just as you've promised.

"Because of you, my God, I have been bold to pray to you, as you have told your servant that you will build him a dynasty.

And now, LORD, you are God, and you have promised all of these good things to your servant.

After they had departed, David was informed about the men, so he sent word to them, since they had been deeply humiliated. He told them, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return."

David responded to God, "I sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly."

David told God, "Wasn't I the one who ordered the census of the population? Wasn't it I who sinned and acted wickedly? Now as for these sheep, what have they done? LORD God, please let your hand be against me and my ancestral household, but don't let your people be ravaged by plague!"

David addressed Solomon: "I have attempted to build a temple to the name of the LORD my God.

"You have shed a lot of blood and fought great battles. You won't be building a house for my name, since you have shed so much blood on the earth in my sight. But look! A son born to you will live comfortably, because I will give him rest from all his enemies that surround him on every side, since his name will be "Solomon" - I will give peace and quiet for Israel during his lifetime.

At great effort I have provided for the Temple of the LORD 100,000 gold talents, 1,000,000 silver talents, as well as bronze and iron beyond calculation, since there is so much of it. I've also provided timber and stone, but you'll need to obtain more.

You already have plenty of workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and an innumerable group of artisans who are skilled at working in

with 4,000 gatekeepers, and with 4,000 offering praises to the LORD with the musical instruments that I have had crafted."

Jahath served as chief and Zizah was second in rank, but since Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, they were enrolled as a single family unit.

King David rose to his feet and said, "My fellow citizens, may I have your attention. I intended to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, for a footstool of our God, so I began preparations for its construction.

But then God told me, "You will not build a temple to my name, because you are a man of war, and you have committed bloodshed.'

"I chose your son Solomon to be the one who will construct my Temple and my courts, because I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever, assuming he remains strongly committed to carry out my commandments and ordinances, as he is doing today.'

Now look! Here are the ranks of the priests and the descendants of Levi for the entire service of the Temple of God, and in all of the work there will be all types of volunteers who have skills for anything needed for the services. Furthermore, the officers and all of the people will be at your complete command."

To the extent that I have been able to do so, I have provided supplies for the Temple of my God, including gold for what is to be made of gold, silver for what is to be made of silver, bronze for what is to be made of bronze, iron for what is to be made of iron, wood for what is to be made of wood, and great quantities of onyx, precious stones, antimony, colored stones, all types of other semi-precious stones, and plenty of marble.

"In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following:

For we are aliens and vagrants in your presence, as were all of our ancestors. Our days on the earth pass away like shadows, and we have no hope.

LORD our God, all of this abundance that we have given for building a temple for your great name was provided by you and all of it belongs to you.

And I know, God, that it is you who searches the heart and you who finds pleasure in righteousness. With a righteous heart I have freely given all these things, and now I have seen all of these people of yours giving freely and joyfully to you!

granting to my son Solomon to keep with a devoted heart your commands, your decrees, and your statutes, carrying out all of them, and that he may build the Temple for which I have made the preparations.