David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, ¹  and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. ²  Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.

Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.” ¹ 

These were the areas where Aaron’s descendants lived: ¹  The following belonged to the Kohathite clan, for they received the first allotment: ² 

4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.” ¹ 

Because God fought for them, ¹  they killed many of the enemy. ²  They dispossessed the Hagrites and lived in their land until the exile. ³ 

They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. ¹ 

David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and brave! Do it! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ¹  For the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is finished.

These six were born to David ¹  in Hebron, where he ruled for seven years and six months. He ruled thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ² 

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

This includes 3,000 talents ¹  of gold from Ophir and 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings,

They had dedicated some of the plunder taken in battles to be used for repairs on the Lord’s temple.

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.

Two sons were born to Eber: the first was named Peleg, for during his lifetime the earth was divided; ¹  his brother’s name was Joktan.

King David replied to Ornan, “No, I insist on buying it for top price. ¹  I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice ²  that cost me nothing. ³ 

Their relatives, who lived in their settlements, came from time to time and served with them for seven-day periods.

From Zebulun there were 50,000 warriors who were prepared for battle, equipped with all kinds of weapons, and ready to give their undivided loyalty. ¹ 

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.

The men whose names are listed came during the time of King Hezekiah of Judah and attacked the Hamites’ settlements, ¹  as well as the Meunites they discovered there, and they wiped them out to this very day. They dispossessed them, ²  for they found pasture for their sheep there.

And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation ¹  in the earth? Their God ²  went to claim ³  a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds ⁴  when you drove out ⁵  nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods. ⁶ 

Now you are willing to bless your servant’s dynasty ¹  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.” ²