the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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1 Chronicles 29
Gifts for Building the Temple
1 King David said to all the Israelites who were gathered together, "God chose my son Solomon. Solomon is young and does not know all that he needs to do this work. But the work is very important. This house is not for people; this house is for the Lord God. 2 I have done my best to provide what is needed for the building of my God's Temple. I have given gold for the things made of gold. I have given silver for the things made of silver. I have given bronze for the things made of bronze. I have given iron for the things made of iron. I have given wood for the things made of wood. I have also given onyx stones for the settings,[a] mosaic tiles,[b] all kinds of valuable stones in many different colors, and white marble stones. 3 I am making a special gift of gold and silver things for my God's Temple. I am doing this because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. I am giving all these things to build this holy Temple. 4 I have given 110 tons[c] of pure gold from Ophir. I have given 263 tons[d] of pure silver. The silver is for covering the walls of the buildings in the Temple. 5 I have given gold and silver for all the things made of gold and silver. I have given gold and silver so that skilled men can make all different kinds of things for the Temple. Now, how many of you Israelites are ready to give yourselves to the Lord today?"
6 The family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals, the captains, and the officials responsible for the king's work, were all ready and gave their valuable things. 7 These are the things they gave for God's house: 190 tons[e] of gold; 375 tons[f] of silver; 675 tons[g] of bronze; and 3750 tons[h] of iron. 8 People who had valuable stones gave them to the Lord's Temple. Jehiel took care of the valuable stones. He was from the Gershon family. 9 The people were very happy because their leaders were willing to give so much. The leaders had given freely to the Lord from good hearts. King David was also very happy.
David's Beautiful Prayer
10 Then David praised the Lord in front of all the people who were gathered together. David said,
"Lord, the God of Israel, our Father,
may you be praised forever and ever!
11 Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you,
because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you!
The kingdom belongs to you, Lord!
You are the head, the Ruler over everything.
12 Riches and honor come from you.
You rule everything.
You have the power and strength in your hand!
And in your hand is the power to make anyone great and powerful!
13 Now, our God, we thank you,
and we praise your glorious name!
14 All these things didn't come from me and my people.
All these things come from you.
We are only giving back to you things that came from you.
15 We are only strangers traveling through this world
like our ancestors.
Our time on earth is like a passing shadow,
and we cannot stop it.
16 Lord our God, we gathered all these things to build your Temple.
We build it to honor your name.
But all these things have come from you.
Everything belongs to you.
17 My God, I know that you test people,
and that you are happy when people do what is right.
I gladly give you all these things
with a pure, honest heart.
I see your people gathered here,
and I see that they are happy about giving these things to you.
18 Lord, you are the God of our ancestors,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Please help your people plan the right things.
Help them be loyal and true to you.
19 And help my son Solomon be true to you.
Help him always obey your commands, laws, and rules.
Help Solomon do these things.
And help him build this Temple that I have planned."
20 Then David said to all the group of people gathered together, "Now give praise to the Lord your God." So all the people gave praise to the Lord God, the God their ancestors worshiped. They bowed to the ground to give honor to the Lord and to the king.
Solomon Becomes King
21 The next day the people offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord—1000 bulls, 1000 rams, 1000 lambs, and the drink offerings that go with them. They offered these and many other sacrifices to the Lord for all the Israelites. 22 That day the people were very happy as they ate and drank there together with the Lord.
And they made David's son Solomon king the second time.[i] They anointed Solomon to be king, and they anointed Zadok to be priest. They did this in the place where the Lord was.
23 Then Solomon sat on the Lord's throne as king. Solomon took his father's place. He was very successful. All the Israelites obeyed him. 24 All the leaders, soldiers, and all of King David's sons accepted Solomon as king and obeyed him. 25 The Lord made Solomon very great. All the Israelites knew that the Lord was making him great. He gave Solomon the honor that a king should have. No king in Israel before Solomon had such honor.26-27 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel for 40 years. He was king in the city of Hebron for seven years. Then he was king in the city of Jerusalem for 33 years. 28 David died when he was old. He had lived a good, long life and had many riches and honors. His son Solomon became the new king after him.
29 The things that King David did, from beginning to end, are in the books written by Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer. 30 Those writings tell all about what David did as king of Israel. They tell about David's power and what happened to him and to Israel and to all the kingdoms around them.
