David addresses Israel’s leaders

¹David assembled all of Israel’s leaders in Jerusalem, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, as well as the officers, warriors, and all the valiant men.

²Then King David stood up and said:

¹¹Then David gave his son Solomon the plan for the entrance hall, its buildings, treasuries, upper and inner rooms, and the room for the cover.[#28.11 Or mercy seat or perhaps reconciliation cover (Heb )]

¹²He provided all of the plans he had in mind: for the courtyards of the LORD ’s temple, and for all its surrounding rooms where the treasures of God’s temple and the dedicated gifts would be stored;

¹³for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all their responsibilities within the LORD ’s temple, and for all the equipment used in its service;

¹⁴for the weight of all the gold equipment used for every kind of service, and the weight of all the silver equipment used for every kind of service;

¹⁵for the weight of the gold lampstands and their gold lamps—the weight of gold for each lampstand with its lamps—and for the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps depending on how each would be used;

¹⁶for the weight of gold for each table with the stacks of bread, and the silver for the silver tables;

¹⁷for the forks, bowls, and cups of pure gold; for the weight of each gold dish and the weight of each silver dish;

¹⁸for the weight of the incense altar made of refined gold; and for the construction of the chariot—with the gold winged creatures spreading their wings and covering the chest containing the LORD ’s covenant.

¹⁹All of this the LORD made clear to David directly in a document, including the plan for all of the work.[#28.19 LXX; MT to me]

²⁰“Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the LORD God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the LORD ’s temple is done.

²¹Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites who will perform all the service of God’s temple. For all this work you will have willing and able workers with you to do it. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your instructions.”