so it may become a reality and you may gain lasting fame, as people say, ‘The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel.’ David’s dynasty will be established before you,

Now you are willing to bless your servant’s dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future.”

David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

“Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.”’”

So the Lord’s messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. He called out to the Lord, and the Lord responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar.

But David could not go before it to seek God’s will, for he was afraid of the sword of the Lord’s messenger.

David said to Solomon: “My son, I really wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God.

David said, “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges;

and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations.

They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.

David did not count the males twenty years old and under, for the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.

He gave him the blueprints of all he envisioned for the courts of the Lord’s temple, all the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of God’s temple, and the storehouses for the holy items.

and for the refined gold of the incense altar. He gave him the blueprint for the seat of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and provide shelter for the ark of the Lord’s covenant.

O Lord our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you.

O Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, maintain the motives of your people and keep them devoted to you.

They held a feast before the Lord that day and celebrated. Then they designated Solomon, David’s son, as king a second time; before the Lord they anointed him as ruler and Zadok as priest.

Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king in place of his father David; he was successful and all Israel was loyal to him.

But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, was in front of the Lord’s tabernacle. Solomon and the entire assembly prayed to him there.)