1 Chronicles 28 Cross References - BSB

¹ Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor. ² Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and as a footstool for our God. I had made preparations to build it, ³ but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My Name, because you are a man of war who has spilled blood.’ ⁴ Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He chose my father’s household, and from my father’s sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And of all my sons—for the LORD has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. ⁶ And He said to me, ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him as My son, and I will be his Father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom forever, if he resolutely carries out My commandments and ordinances, as is being done this day.’ ⁸ So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, keep and seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants forever. ⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider now that the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.” ¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat. ¹² The plans contained everything David had in mind for the courts of the house of the LORD, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the house of God and of the dedicated things, ¹³ for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of service in the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD: ¹⁴ the weight of all the gold articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service; ¹⁵ the weight of the gold lampstands and their lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; ¹⁶ the weight of gold for each table of showbread, and of silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ the weight of the pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls, and pitchers; the weight of each gold dish; the weight of each silver bowl; ¹⁸ the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense; and the plans for the chariot of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD. ¹⁹ “All this,” said David, “all the details of this plan, the LORD has made clear to me in writing by His hand upon me.” ²⁰ David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished. ²¹ The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man of every skill will be at your disposal for the work. The officials and all the people are fully at your command.”

² he summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers. “I am old and well along in years,” he said,

¹ Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

¹⁰ Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. ¹¹ This is the list of David’s mighty men: Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief of the officers; he wielded his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed at one time. ¹² Next in command was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At the place with a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ But Eleazar and David stationed themselves in the middle of the field and defended it. They struck down the Philistines, and the LORD brought about a great victory. ¹⁵ Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ So the Three broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD, ¹⁹ saying, “Far be it from me, my God, to do this! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” Because they had brought it at the risk of their lives, David refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men. ²⁰ Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Three, and he lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three. ²¹ He was doubly honored above the Three, and he became their commander, even though he was not included among the Three. ²² And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man five cubits tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s beam in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club, snatched the spear from his hand, and killed the Egyptian with his own spear. ²⁴ These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who won a name alongside the three mighty men. ²⁵ He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard. ²⁶ Now these were the mighty men: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁷ Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸ Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ²⁹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹ Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjamites, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ³² Hurai from the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴ the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite, ³⁵ Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur, ³⁶ Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai son of Ezbai, ³⁸ Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri, ³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai, ⁴² Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, chief of the Reubenites, and the thirty with him, ⁴³ Hanan son of Maacah, Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵ Jediael son of Shimri and his brother Joha the Tizite, ⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷ Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

² Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

¹ This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division: ² Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division, which was assigned the first month. There were 24,000 men in his division. ³ He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army commanders for the first month. ⁴ Dodai the Ahohite was in charge of the division for the second month, and Mikloth was the leader. There were 24,000 men in his division. ⁵ The third army commander, as chief for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. There were 24,000 men in his division. ⁶ This Benaiah was mighty among the Thirty and was over the Thirty, and his son Ammizabad was in charge of his division. ⁷ The fourth, for the fourth month, was Joab’s brother Asahel, and his son Zebadiah was commander after him. There were 24,000 men in his division. ⁸ The fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ⁹ The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹⁰ The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹¹ The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹² The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹³ The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹⁴ The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹⁵ The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel. There were 24,000 men in his division. ¹⁶ These officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel: Over the Reubenites was Eliezer son of Zichri; over the Simeonites was Shephatiah son of Maacah; ¹⁷ over Levi was Hashabiah son of Kemuel; over Aaron was Zadok; ¹⁸ over Judah was Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar was Omri son of Michael; ¹⁹ over Zebulun was Ishmaiah son of Obadiah; over Naphtali was Jerimoth son of Azriel; ²⁰ over the Ephraimites was Hoshea son of Azaziah; over one of the half-tribes of Manasseh was Joel son of Pedaiah; ²¹ over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead was Iddo son of Zechariah; over Benjamin was Jaasiel son of Abner; ²² and over Dan was Azarel son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. ²³ David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky. ²⁴ Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles of King David. ²⁵ Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses. Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. ²⁶ Ezri son of Chelub was in charge of the workers in the fields who tilled the soil. ²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats. ²⁸ Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the foothills. Joash was in charge of the stores of olive oil. ²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels. Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys. ³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these officials were in charge of King David’s property. ³² David’s uncle Jonathan was a counselor; he was a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hachmoni attended to the sons of the king. ³³ Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend. ³⁴ Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah, then by Abiathar. Joab was the commander of the king’s army.

² When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.

¹⁵ you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.

²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.

¹ After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ² he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

⁴⁷ The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than your own name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king has bowed in worship on his bed,

¹⁷ Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.

³¹ These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there.

¹ Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. ² Even in times past, while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And the LORD your God said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’” ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where David made a covenant with them before the LORD. And they anointed him king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD through Samuel.

¹ After David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.” ² And Nathan replied to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

⁷ And David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea, the pillars, and various bronze articles. ⁹ When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son Hadoram to greet King David and bless him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze, ¹¹ and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all these nations—from Edom and Moab, and from the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites.

² So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, from whom he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God. ³ David provided a large quantity of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, together with more bronze than could be weighed ⁴ and more cedar logs than could be counted; for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David. ⁵ And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent—famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for it.” So David made lavish preparations before his death.

¹⁴ Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them.

²² I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.

⁵ Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy!

³ “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” ⁶ We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. ⁷ Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool. ⁸ Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.

¹⁴ “This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.

¹ This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?

¹ How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of His anger! He has cast the glory of Israel from heaven to earth. He has abandoned His footstool in the day of His anger.

⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or where will My place of repose be?

¹¹ For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. ¹² He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

⁵ “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in? ⁶ For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling. ⁷ In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’ ⁸ Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you. ¹² And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

³ “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.

⁴ “Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build Me a house in which to dwell.

⁸ but this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me.

⁸ But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart. ⁹ Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’

⁸ Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. ⁹ Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

¹ Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.” ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel told him, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” ¹² So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

¹ Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”

⁸ Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you. ¹² And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I moved out of your way. ¹⁶ Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”

² And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.

²³ And now, O LORD, let the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house be established forever. Do as You have promised,

²⁷ So now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”

¹⁹ He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

⁷ Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.

⁶⁸ But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved. ⁶⁹ He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever. ⁷⁰ He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance. ⁷² So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.

¹⁶ They rejoice in Your name all day long, and in Your righteousness they exult. ¹⁷ For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is exalted. ¹⁸ Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁹ You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people. ²⁰ I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him. ²¹ My hand will sustain him; surely My arm will strengthen him. ²² No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. ²³ I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. ²⁴ My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him, and through My name his horn will be exalted. ²⁵ I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers. ²⁶ He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’ ²⁷ I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

⁸ Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.

¹⁰ He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man. ¹¹ The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.

¹ These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second was Daniel by Abigail of Carmel; ² the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith; ³ the fifth was Shephatiah by Abital; and the sixth was Ithream by his wife Eglah. ⁴ These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. And David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years, ⁵ and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel. ⁶ David’s other sons were Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, ⁷ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet—nine in all. ⁹ These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.

³ And David took more wives in Jerusalem and became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴ These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

¹⁴ But I will set him over My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.”

⁹ But a son will be born to you who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and I will grant to Israel peace and quiet during his reign. ¹⁰ He is the one who will build a house for My Name. He will be My son, and I will be his Father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

¹ When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.

¹ Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.

²³ So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

⁸ Solomon replied to God: “You have shown much loving devotion to my father David, and You have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to my father David be fulfilled. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

¹ Of Solomon. Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness. ² May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice. ³ May the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills bring righteousness. ⁴ May he vindicate the afflicted among the people; may he save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor. ⁵ May they fear him as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains, through all generations. ⁶ May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth. ⁷ May the righteous flourish in his days and prosperity abound, until the moon is no more. ⁸ May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth. ⁹ May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust. ¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. ¹¹ May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him. ¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. ¹³ He will take pity on the poor and needy and save the lives of the oppressed. ¹⁴ He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight. ¹⁵ Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him; may they bless him all day long. ¹⁶ May there be an abundance of grain in the land; may it sway atop the hills. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon, and its people like the grass of the field. ¹⁷ May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed. ¹⁸ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. ¹⁹ And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen. ²⁰ Thus conclude the prayers of David son of Jesse.

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

¹³ He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

¹¹ And when your days are fulfilled and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He will build a house for Me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his Father, and he will be My son. And I will never remove My loving devotion from him as I removed it from your predecessor. ¹⁴ But I will set him over My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.”

⁹ Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to my father David be fulfilled. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

¹² And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD. ¹³ Yes, He will build the temple of the LORD; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’

³ For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.

⁶ But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

⁵ And again, as He says in the passage above: “They shall never enter My rest.”

⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them. ⁷ Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.

² “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. ³ And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, ⁴ and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

¹² “As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. ¹³ And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”

⁶¹ So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”

⁴ And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, ⁵ then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁴ For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.

⁹ Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ Although He had warned Solomon explicitly not to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command. ¹¹ Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. ¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

¹³ Then you will succeed, if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁰ Consider now that the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”

²⁸ I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast. ²⁹ I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. ³⁰ If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, ³¹ if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments, ³² I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes. ³³ But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness. ³⁴ I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips. ³⁵ Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—I will not lie to David— ³⁶ his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun, ³⁷ like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

¹² If your sons keep My covenant and the testimony I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever and ever.”

⁴⁴ In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

¹ Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

⁶ Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

²⁶ I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.

³² So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.

¹⁰ All of you are standing today before the LORD your God—you leaders of tribes, elders, officials, and all the men of Israel,

¹⁵ but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God, as well as with those who are not here today.

¹² Now, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, leaving it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’

⁴ You have ordained Your precepts, that we should keep them diligently.

¹⁰ With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. ¹¹ I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

²⁷ Make clear to me the way of Your precepts; then I will meditate on Your wonders.

³³ Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep them to the end. ³⁴ Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.

⁴⁴ I will always obey Your law, forever and ever.

¹ My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, ² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, ³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;

²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.

¹⁶ Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of these will go missing, not one will lack her mate, because He has ordered it by His mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.

¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”

¹¹ Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world ¹⁶ as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

⁵ Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

²¹ When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

¹³ And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.

¹⁶ Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

² The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

³⁵ You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

¹⁶ And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them. ¹⁷ On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’

²¹ And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.”

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”

⁶ Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

³⁹ be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—

⁴³ then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

⁶ But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, ⁷ then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples. ⁸ And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ⁹ And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”

³ “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

² And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

⁹ And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly.

¹⁷ I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You. ¹⁸ O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You. ¹⁹ And give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”

² So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”

¹¹ If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. ¹² But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

⁹ Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.

¹⁰ Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

² The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

²⁶ He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

² I will ponder the way that is blameless—when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart.

² You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

¹ My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, ² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, ³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

³ A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

²⁸ But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.

¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I say what is right.

⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. ⁷ Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

²⁴ But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

²⁰ O LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

¹² O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

¹⁶ He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.

⁷ I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.

¹³ You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

³⁴ No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

¹⁰ This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

¹ Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!

⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

⁷ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

²⁵ He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.

²⁴ God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

⁵⁵ You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word.

³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

¹⁷ Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

²⁴ And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

²³ For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

³⁰ Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

³⁴ Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

⁷ Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

³⁸ But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” ³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

⁸ Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. ¹¹ Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

²³ Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

¹⁶ in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.” ¹⁷ Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon: ¹⁸ “Is not the LORD your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and soul to seek the LORD your God. Get started building the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.”

⁶ And He said to me, ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him as My son, and I will be his Father.

¹⁶ Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹⁷ And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸ Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat, ¹⁹ one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold. ²⁰ And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat. ²¹ Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark. ²² And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

⁴⁰ See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

³⁰ So you are to set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

⁴² The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁴³ And Moses inspected all the work and saw that they had accomplished it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

²⁰ Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark. ²¹ Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³ The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.

⁵ Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms. ⁶ The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.

¹⁰ He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.

¹⁶ He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. ¹⁷ And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long. ¹⁸ The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen. ¹⁹ Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. ²⁰ The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.

²⁶ But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God. ²⁷ They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they were responsible for guarding it and opening it every morning. ²⁸ Some of them were in charge of the articles used in worship, to count them whenever they were brought in or taken out. ²⁹ Others were put in charge of the furnishings and other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, frankincense, and spices.

²⁰ Now their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things. ²¹ From the descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and heads of the families of Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli, ²² the sons of Jehieli, Zetham, and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the LORD. ²³ From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: ²⁴ Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries. ²⁵ His relatives through Eliezer included Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son. ²⁶ This Shelomith and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders. ²⁷ They had dedicated some of the plunder from their battles to the repair of the house of the LORD.

¹⁹ “All this,” said David, “all the details of this plan, the LORD has made clear to me in writing by His hand upon me.”

³ The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, according to the old standard. ⁴ The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. ⁵ He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains. ⁶ He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls. ⁸ Then he made the Most Holy Place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper area with gold. ¹⁰ In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold.

⁷ Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.

³⁸ A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. ³⁹ For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”

⁵ and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.”

⁸ Then he measured the portico of the gateway inside; ⁹ it was eight cubits deep, and its jambs were two cubits thick. And the portico of the gateway faced the temple.

¹⁵ And the distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its inner portico was fifty cubits.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the side pillars of the portico to be five cubits on each side. The width of the gateway was fourteen cubits and its sidewalls were three cubits on either side. ⁴⁹ The portico was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep, and ten steps led up to it. There were columns by the side pillars, one on each side.

⁶ The side rooms were arranged one above another in three levels of thirty rooms each. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be fastened into the wall of the temple itself. ⁷ The side rooms surrounding the temple widened at each successive level, because the structure surrounding the temple ascended by stages corresponding to the narrowing of the temple wall as it rose upward. And so a stairway went up from the lowest story to the highest, through the middle one. ⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the full length of a rod, six long cubits. ⁹ The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick, and the open area between the side rooms of the temple ¹⁰ and the outer chambers was twenty cubits wide all around the temple. ¹¹ The side rooms opened into this area, with one entrance on the north and another on the south. The open area was five cubits wide all around.

¹³ Then he measured the temple to be a hundred cubits long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits. ¹⁵ Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits. The outer sanctuary, the inner sanctuary, and the porticoes facing the court, ¹⁶ as well as the thresholds and the beveled windows and the galleries all around with their three levels opposite the threshold, were overlaid with wood on all sides. They were paneled from the ground to the windows, and the windows were covered. ¹⁷ In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary on all the walls, spaced evenly around the inner and outer sanctuary,

¹⁰ As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure the plan, ¹¹ and if they are ashamed of all they have done, then make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement and its exits and entrances—its whole design along with all its statutes, forms, and laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.

¹ Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,

⁵ The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

² A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. ⁶ When everything had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to perform their sacred duties. ⁷ But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸ By this arrangement the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.

² “See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

²⁶ He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.

¹⁵ And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁸ So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:

⁸ Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.

¹⁵ Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

²⁰ Now their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things.

²⁶ This Shelomith and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders. ²⁷ They had dedicated some of the plunder from their battles to the repair of the house of the LORD. ²⁸ Everything that had been dedicated by Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah, along with everything else that was dedicated, was under the care of Shelomith and his brothers.

¹ Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace. ² He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams. ³ The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row. ⁴ There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers. ⁵ All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers. ⁶ Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico. ⁷ In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. ⁸ And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married. ⁹ All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. ¹⁰ The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long. ¹¹ Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. ¹² The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD. ¹³ Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre. ¹⁴ He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work. ¹⁵ He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. ¹⁶ He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high. ¹⁷ For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital. ¹⁸ Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars. ¹⁹ And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high. ²⁰ On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital. ²¹ Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz. ²² And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed. ²³ He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea. ²⁵ The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths. ²⁷ In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. ²⁸ This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, ²⁹ and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. ³¹ The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep, with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide. And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round. ³² There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter. ³³ The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. ³⁴ Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand. ³⁵ At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high. The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand. ³⁶ He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. ³⁷ In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape. ³⁸ He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands. ³⁹ He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. ⁴⁰ Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: ⁴¹ the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars; ⁴² the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars); ⁴³ the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands; ⁴⁴ the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea; ⁴⁵ and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined. ⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹ the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; ⁵⁰ the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple. ⁵¹ So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

²⁹ Others were put in charge of the furnishings and other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, frankincense, and spices.

⁶ Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

¹ These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ³ With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service. ⁴ Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than those of Ithamar, they were divided accordingly. There were sixteen heads of families from the descendants of Eleazar and eight from the descendants of Ithamar. ⁵ Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants. ⁶ The scribe, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officers: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar, and then one from Ithamar. ⁷ The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹ the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹ This was their appointed order for service when they entered the house of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

¹ Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service: ² From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. These sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. ³ From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah—six in all—under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to the LORD. ⁴ From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these sons of Heman the king’s seer were given him through the promises of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ All these were under the direction of their fathers for the music of the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king. ⁷ Together with their relatives, who were all trained and skillful in the songs of the LORD, they numbered 288. ⁸ They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil. ⁹ The first lot, which was for Asaph, fell to Joseph, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; the second to Gedaliah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁰ the third to Zaccur, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹¹ the fourth to Izri, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹² the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹³ the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁴ the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁵ the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁶ the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁷ the tenth to Shimei, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁸ the eleventh to Azarel, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ¹⁹ the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁰ the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²¹ the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²² the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²³ the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁴ the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁵ the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁶ the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁷ the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁸ the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ²⁹ the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ³⁰ the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all; ³¹ and the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all.

²⁵ and I weighed out to them the contribution of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites there had offered for the house of our God. ²⁶ I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, ²⁷ 20 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold. ²⁸ Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. ²⁹ Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.” ³⁰ So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.

³³ On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.

³¹ Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals. ³² Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ³³ There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extend from the lampstand. ³⁴ And on the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ³⁵ For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a bud must be under the first pair of branches, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair. ³⁶ The buds and branches are to be all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. ³⁷ Make seven lamps and set them up on the lampstand so that they illuminate the area in front of it. ³⁸ The wick trimmers and their trays must be of pure gold. ³⁹ The lampstand and all these utensils shall be made from a talent of pure gold.

¹⁹ And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.

⁷ He made ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

² “What do you see?” he asked. “I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps. ³ There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left.”

¹¹ Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?” ¹² And I questioned him further, “What are the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes from which the golden oil pours?” ¹³ “Do you not know what these are?” he inquired. “No, my lord,” I replied. ¹⁴ So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.

²⁰ This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

²³ You are also to make a table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ²⁴ Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. ²⁵ And make a rim around it a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. ²⁶ Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷ The rings are to be close to the rim, to serve as holders for the poles used to carry the table. ²⁸ Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. ²⁹ You are also to make the plates and dishes, as well as the pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold. ³⁰ And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

⁸ Additionally, he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold bowls.

¹⁹ Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of God: the golden altar; the tables on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

¹³ His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ¹⁴ one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;

¹³ or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling ¹⁴ and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹ the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; ⁵⁰ the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

²⁰ the lampstands of pure gold and their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed; ²¹ the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold—of purest gold; ²² the wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers of purest gold; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place as well as the doors of the main hall.

¹ “You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense. ² It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns must be of one piece. ³ Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it. ⁴ And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it. ⁵ Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony—before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. ⁸ When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come. ⁹ On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”

⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

²³ In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood. ²⁴ One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits. ²⁵ The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape, ²⁶ and the height of each cherub was ten cubits. ²⁷ And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched. ²⁸ He also overlaid the cherubim with gold. ²⁹ Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. ³⁰ And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

¹⁰ He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands—thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.

¹ For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

¹ The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!

¹⁵ When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. ¹⁶ The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷ As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. ¹⁸ Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. ¹⁹ So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²² Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal. ²³ And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one also had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

² And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in. ³ Now when the man went in, the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple, and a cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks. ⁶ When the LORD commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some of the fire that was among them. And he put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who received it and went out. ⁸ (The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.) ⁹ Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. And the wheels gleamed like a beryl stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved. ¹² Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels. ¹³ I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” ¹⁴ Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle. ¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the River Kebar. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ¹⁸ Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim. ¹⁹ As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them. ²⁰ These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings. ²² Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.

⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat. ¹² The plans contained everything David had in mind for the courts of the house of the LORD, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the house of God and of the dedicated things,

³ the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.

¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.

²² And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”

⁷ Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. ⁸ The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

⁵ No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them. ⁷ Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

¹ Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread? ² When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

¹³ For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.

³¹ What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

¹³ Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship,

²⁵ Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun: blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen.

¹⁷ Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon: ¹⁸ “Is not the LORD your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and His people.

¹ These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ³ With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service. ⁴ Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than those of Ithamar, they were divided accordingly. There were sixteen heads of families from the descendants of Eleazar and eight from the descendants of Ithamar. ⁵ Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants. ⁶ The scribe, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officers: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar, and then one from Ithamar. ⁷ The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹ the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹ This was their appointed order for service when they entered the house of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him. ²⁰ Now these were the remaining descendants of Levi: From the sons of Amram: Shubael; from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah. ²¹ As for Rehabiah, from his sons: The first was Isshiah. ²² From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath. ²³ From the sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴ From the sons of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir. ²⁵ The brother of Micah: Isshiah; from the sons of Isshiah: Zechariah. ²⁶ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

¹³ for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of service in the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD:

³ Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.

¹ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

¹ Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,