And the sons of the Levites took up the ark of God, lifting it by its rods, as the Lord had said to Moses.

And the Levites wilt set up He-man son of Joel; and from his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth;

and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead.

So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.

And he apportioned, to every one of Israel, both man and woman, - to every one, a loaf of bread, and a sweet drink, and a raisin cake.

O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

which he set before Jacob for a decree, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying,

Tremble from before him, all ye earth: also the habitable globe shall be set up, it shall not be shaken.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

And Zadok the priest with his brethren the priests set he before the tabernacle of the LORD at the hill altar of Gibeon,

And with the said Heman and Jeduthun were trumpets and sounding cymbals, and instruments of the melody of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.

Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.

Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.

'Go, and thou hast said unto David My servant, Thus said Jehovah, Thou dost not build for Me the house to dwell in:

'And now, thus dost thou say to My servant, to David, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have taken thee from the habitation, from after the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel,

And I have been with thee in all thou tookest in hand, and have weeded out all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a name like the name of the greatest men of the earth.

And I will set a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall live in their place and shall be moved no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,

And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

He will be the builder of my house, and I will make the seat of his authority certain for ever.

But I will make his place in my house and in my kingdom certain for ever; and the seat of his authority will never be overturned.

And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

And this hath been a small thing in thy sight, O God; and thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, Jehovah Elohim.

And what one nation as thy people Israel, in the earth, whom God went to redeem to him a people to set up to thee a name of greatnesses and terrible things, to thrust out nations from before thy people, whom thou didst redeem from Egypt?

Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

And thy name continue and wax great forever, that it be said, 'the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel is God in Israel, and the house of David thy servant be stable before thee.'

And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have said you will give this good thing to your servant:

And David struck Hadadezer, king of Zobah-Hamath, as he set up his monument at the Euphrates River.

Then David set up [garrisons] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bearing tribute. And Yahweh delivered David wherever he went.

and set, in Edom, garrisons, and all Edom became servants unto David, - and Yahweh gave David the victory, whithersoever he went.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over
the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
and David’s sons were the chief officials at the king’s side.

And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?

Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

and the sons of Ammon come out and set battle in array at the opening of the city, and the kings who have come are by themselves in the field.

Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.

And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.

And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.

Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight.

And when the Aramaeans saw that Israel had overcome them, they sent men to get the Aramaeans who were on the other side of the River, with Shophach, the captain of Hadadezer's army, at their head.

And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.

And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.

He brought out the people who were in it, and put them [to work] with saws, iron picks, and axes. David dealt in this way with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

David said, "This is where the LORD God's Temple will be, along with the altar of burnt offerings for Israel."

And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

And Joab said, Jehovah make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel?

This command was also evil in God’s sight, so He afflicted Israel.

And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

And the Lord said to Gad, David’s seer,

Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Three -- I am stretching out unto thee; choose for thee one of these, and I do it to thee.'

So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.

And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.

Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.

And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.

And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.

So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site.

Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:

But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

But you will have a son who will be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from wars on every side. His name will be Solomon, and in his time I will give Israel peace and quiet;

He will be the builder of a house for my name; he will be to me a son, and I will be to him a father; and I will make the seat of his rule over Israel certain for ever.

Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.

And of gold, silver, brass and iron there is no number. Up, therefore, and set upon it, and the LORD shall be with thee."

Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

After David had reached old age, and had completed his reign, he set his son Solomon as king over Israel.

Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges:

Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, attend to His service, and to bless [worshipers] in His name forever.

For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:

For their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purifying of all holy things, and for the work of the service of the house of God;

and for the loaves to be set in rows, and for the fine flour for the oblation, and for the unleavened cakes, and for what is baked in the pan, and for that which is saturated with oil, and for all measure of capacity and size;

And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:

Moreover David and the captains of the host set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of them that did the work according to their service was:

Of sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, are by the side of Asaph, who is prophesying by the side of the king.

Of Jeduthun: sons of Jeduthun, Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, Shisshah, are by the side of their father Jeduthun; with a harp he is prophesying, for giving of thanks and of praise to Jehovah.

All these are by the side of their father in the song of the house of Jehovah, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God; by the side of the king are Asaph, and Jeduthun, and Heman.

And to Hosah from the sons of Merari, Shimri the head, (for he was not the first-born, and his father will set him for head;)

At the colonnade on the west side [of the outer court of the temple] there were four at the road and two at the colonnade.

and all that Samuel the seer, and Saul son of Kish, and Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah sanctified, every one sanctifying any thing -- it is by the side of Shelomith and his brethren.

And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valour, a thousand and seven hundred, were officers among them of Israel on this side Jordan westward in all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king.

But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.

Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.

And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.

And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

And I set up his kingdom even to forever, if he shall be strong to do my commands and my judgments as this day.

Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.

Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,

and gold by weight for the tables of the loaves to be set in rows, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver;

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.

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.