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David Prepares for Temple Building
22 Then David said, “(A)This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
2 So David [a]gave orders to gather (B)the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and (C)he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. 3 David (D)prepared large quantities of iron [b]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more (E)bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for (F)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 David said, “My son (G)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
Solomon Charged with the Task
6 Then (H)he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “(I)My son, [c]I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘(J)You have shed much blood and have [d]waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and (K)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for (L)his name shall be [e]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 (M)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, (N)the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 (O)Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may (P)keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 (Q)Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. (R)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, [f]with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord (S)100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and (T)bronze and iron beyond weight, for [g]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may (U)the Lord be with you.”
17 (V)David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And (W)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. 19 Now (X)set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, (Y)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built (Z)for the name of the Lord.”
Solomon Reigns
23 (AA)Now when David [h]reached old age, (AB)he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.
Offices of the Levites
3 (AC)The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and (AD)their number by [i]census of men was 38,000. 4 Of these, 24,000 were (AE)to oversee the work of the house of the Lord; and 6,000 were (AF)officers and judges, 5 and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and (AG)4,000 were praising the Lord with the instruments which [j]David made for giving praise. 6 David divided them into divisions (AH)according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Gershonites
7 Of the Gershonites were [k]Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. 10 The sons of Shimei were Jahath, [l]Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one [m]class.
Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath were four: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 13 (AI)The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And (AJ)Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, (AK)to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever. 14 But as for (AL)Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The [n]son of Gershom was [o]Shebuel the chief. 17 The [p]son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The [q]son of Izhar was [r]Shelomith the chief. 19 The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth. 20 The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
Merarites
21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi were three: Mahli, Eder and Jeremoth.
Duties Revised
24 (AM)These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were [s]counted, in the number of names by their [t]census, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, (AN)from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel (AO)has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 Also, (AP)the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. 28 For their office is [u]to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, 29 (AQ)and with the showbread, and (AR)the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or (AS)what is baked in the pan or (AT)what is well-mixed, and (AU)all measures of volume and size. 30 They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and to offer all burnt offerings to the Lord, (AV)on the sabbaths, the new moons and (AW)the fixed festivals in the number set by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord. 32 Thus (AX)they are to keep charge of the tent of meeting, and charge of the holy place, and (AY)charge of the sons of Aaron their [v]relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.
9 What then? [a](A)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both (B)Jews and (C)Greeks are (D)all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“(E)There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “(F)Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“(G)The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “(H)Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “(I)Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “(J)There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the (K)Law says, it speaks to (L)those who are [b]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and (M)all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because (N)by the works [c]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for [d](O)through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Justification by Faith
21 But now apart [e]from the Law (P)the righteousness of God has been manifested, being (Q)witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the (R)righteousness of God through (S)faith (T)in Jesus Christ for (U)all those [f]who believe; for (V)there is no distinction; 23 for all [g](W)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift (X)by His grace through (Y)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as (Z)a [h]propitiation [i](AA)in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, [j]because in the (AB)forbearance of God He (AC)passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who [k]has faith in Jesus.
27 Where then is (AD)boasting? It is excluded. By (AE)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 [l]For (AF)we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works [m]of the Law. 29 Or (AG)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed (AH)God (AI)who will justify the [n]circumcised [o]by faith and the [p]uncircumcised through faith (AJ)is one.
31 Do we then nullify [q]the Law through faith? (AK)May it never be! On the contrary, we (AL)establish the Law.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak [b]falsehood to one another;
With (C)flattering [c]lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [d]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.