So the Lord's messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves.

David said to Ornan, "Sell me the threshing floor so I can build on it an altar for the Lord -- I'll pay top price -- so that the plague may be removed from the people."

Ornan told David, "You can have it! My master, the king, may do what he wants. Look, I am giving you the oxen for burnt sacrifices, the threshing sledges for wood, and the wheat for an offering. I give it all to you."

King David replied to Ornan, "No, I insist on buying it for top price. I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice that cost me nothing.

So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold.

David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. He called out to the Lord, and the Lord responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar.

Now the Lord's tabernacle (which Moses had made in the wilderness) and the altar for burnt sacrifices were at that time at the worship center in Gibeon.

But David could not go before it to seek God's will, for he was afraid of the sword of the Lord's messenger.

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 ordered the resident foreigners 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.

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,

David said, "My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, 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. Therefore I will make preparations for its construction." So David made extensive preparations before he died.

He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel.

But the Lord said to me: 'You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me.

"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.

Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord's temple. I have stored up 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more!

He told them, "The Lord your God is with you! He has made you secure on every side, for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region and the region is subdued before the Lord and his people.

4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship."

The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei's sons -- four in all.

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel -- four in all.

For David said, "The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem.

They also took care of the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring.

They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders of their families, for they were highly respected.

They cast lots, both young and old, according to their families, to determine which gate they would be responsible for.

The lot for the east gate went to Shelemiah. They then cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise adviser, and the lot for the north gate went to him.

Each day there were six Levites posted on the east, four on the north, and four on the south. At the storehouses they were posted in pairs.

At the court on the west there were four posted on the road and two at the court.

As for the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites:

They had dedicated some of the plunder taken in battles to be used for repairs on the Lord's temple.

As for the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were given responsibilities outside the temple as officers and judges over Israel.

As for the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 respected men, were assigned responsibilities in Israel west of the Jordan; they did the Lord's work and the king's service.

As for the Hebronites: Jeriah was the leader of the Hebronites according to the genealogical records. In the fortieth year of David's reign, they examined the records and discovered there were highly respected men in Jazer in Gilead.

What follows is a list of Israelite family leaders and commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, as well as their officers who served the king in various matters. Each division was assigned to serve for one month during the year; each consisted of 24,000 men.

He was a descendant of Perez; he was in charge of all the army officers for the first month.

David did not count the males twenty years old and under, for the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Jonathan, David's uncle, was a wise adviser and scribe; Jehiel son of Hacmoni cared for the king's sons.

King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the Lord's covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God. I have made the preparations for building it.

But God said to me, 'You must not build a temple to honor me, for you are a warrior and have spilled blood.'

He said to me, 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my temple and my courts, for I have chosen him to become my son and I will become his father.

So now, in the sight of all Israel, the Lord's assembly, and in the hearing of our God, I say this: Carefully observe all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may possess this good land and may leave it as a permanent inheritance for your children after you.

"And you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, for the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one's thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.

David gave to his son Solomon the blueprints for the temple porch, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper areas, its inner rooms, and the room for atonement.

He gave him the blueprints of all he envisioned for the courts of the Lord's temple, all the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of God's temple, and the storehouses for the holy items.

He gave him the regulations for the divisions of priests and Levites, for all the assigned responsibilities within the Lord's temple, and for all the items used in the service of the Lord's temple.

He gave him the prescribed weight for all the gold items to be used in various types of service in the Lord's temple, for all the silver items to be used in various types of service,

for the gold lampstands and their gold lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps, for the silver lampstands, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps, according to the prescribed use of each lampstand,

for the gold used in the display tables, including the amount to be used in each table, for the silver to be used in the silver tables,

for the pure gold used for the meat forks, bowls, and jars, for the small gold bowls, including the weight for each bowl, for the small silver bowls, including the weight for each bowl,

and for the refined gold of the incense altar. He gave him the blueprint for the seat of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and provide shelter for the ark of the Lord's covenant.

David said to his son Solomon: "Be strong and brave! Do it! Don't be afraid and don't panic! For the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you before all the work for the service of the Lord's temple is finished.

King David said to the entire assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is just an inexperienced young man, and the task is great, for this palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

So I have made every effort to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster.

Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple.

This includes 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir and 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings,

for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?"

They donated for the service of God's temple 5,000 talents and ten thousand darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.

The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the Lord with a willing attitude; King David was also very happy.

For we are resident foreigners and nomads in your presence, like all our ancestors; our days are like a shadow on the earth, without security.

O Lord our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you.

Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations."

The next day they made sacrifices and offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord (1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, 1,000 lambs), along with their accompanying drink offerings and many other sacrifices for all Israel.

Solomon son of David solidified his royal authority, for the Lord his God was with him and magnified him greatly.

Solomon and the entire assembly went to the worship center in Gibeon, for the tent where they met God was located there, which Moses the Lord's servant had made in the wilderness.

(Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.

Now, Lord God, may your promise to my father David be realized, for you have made me king over a great nation as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Now give me wisdom and discernment so I can effectively lead this nation. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours."

God said to Solomon, "Because you desire this, and did not ask for riches, wealth, and honor, or for vengeance on your enemies, and because you did not ask for long life, but requested wisdom and discernment so you can make judicial decisions for my people over whom I have made you king,

They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt, and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.

Solomon ordered a temple to be built to honor the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.

Solomon sent a message to King Huram of Tyre: "Help me as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs for the construction of his palace.

I will build a great temple, for our God is greater than all gods.

Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him.

Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants

to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple.

Huram also said, "Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.

Solomon laid the foundation for God's temple; its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.

It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold 18,000 gallons.

He made ten washing basins; he put five on the south side and five on the north side. In them they rinsed the items used for burnt sacrifices; the priests washed in "The Sea."

He made the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars,

the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar),

and the pots, shovels, and meat forks. All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord's temple were made from polished bronze.

Solomon also made these items for God's temple: the gold altar, the tables on which the Bread of the Presence was kept,

the pure gold trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

O Lord, I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently."

The Lord told my father David, 'It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.

But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.'

The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David's place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel

and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with the Israelites."

Solomon had made a bronze platform and had placed it in the middle of the enclosure. It was seven and one-half feet long, seven and one-half feet wide, and four and one-half feet high. He stood on it and then got down on his knees in front of the entire assembly of Israel. He spread out his hands toward the sky,

But respond favorably to your servant's prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you.

Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant's prayer for this place.

Respond to the requests of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably and forgive.

"If your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you, then if they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help before you in this temple,

When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their intense pain and spread out their hands toward this temple,

"When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to you toward this chosen city and this temple I built for your honor,

then listen from heaven to their prayers for help and vindicate them.

"The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.

When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray, we have done evil!'