Books

2 Kings 23

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

Switch Version:

¹ But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for My Name (Presence), because you are a man of war and have shed blood.'

² However, the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from all in my father's house to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be the leader; and in the house (tribe) of Judah he chose the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.

³ Of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.

⁴ He said to me, 'Solomon your son shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him.

⁵ [1] I will establish his kingdom forever if he loyally and continually obeys My commandments and My ordinances, as is done today.'

⁶ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the LORD your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever.

⁷ "As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but[2] if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever.

⁸ Consider this carefully, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be courageous and strong and do it."

⁹ Then David gave to his son Solomon the plan for the porch of the temple, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner rooms, and for the place for the [ark and its] mercy seat;

¹⁰ and the plan of all that he had in[3] mind, for the courts of the house of the LORD, and for all the surrounding rooms, for the storerooms of the house of God and for the storerooms for the dedicated gifts and offerings;

¹¹ the plan for the divisions of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service in the house of the LORD and for all the utensils for service in the house of the LORD;

¹² for the golden utensils, the weight of gold and silver for all the gold and silver articles for every kind of service;

¹³ and the weight of gold for the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand;

¹⁴ the gold by weight for each table of showbread, and the silver for the tables of silver;

¹⁵ and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl;

¹⁶ and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the Lord's covenant.

¹⁷ "All this," said David, "the LORD made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the work and details [to be done] according to this plan."

¹⁸ Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and take action; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor[4] abandon you [but will guide you in the construction] until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

¹⁹ And see, [you have] the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the service of God's house, and every willing, skillful man will be with you in all the kinds of work for any kind of service. Also the officers and all the people will be entirely at your command."

²⁰ And King David said to all the assembly, "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the[1] temple is not for man but for the LORD God.

²¹ So with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, as well as onyx stones and stones to be inlaid, stones of antimony (a brittle, silvery-white metal) and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance.

²² Moreover, because I delight in the house of my God, the [personal] treasure that I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, in addition to all that I have already provided for the holy house:

²³ namely, 3,000 talents of gold from the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings;

²⁴ gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work to be done by craftsmen. Now who is willing to[2] consecrate himself today to the LORD?"

²⁵ Then the rulers of the fathers' households, and leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers of the king's work, offered willingly

²⁶ and gave for the service of the house of God: 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.

²⁷ Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

²⁸ Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the LORD. King David also rejoiced greatly.

²⁹ Therefore David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said, "Blessed (praised, adored, and thanked) are You, O LORD God of Israel (Jacob) our father, forever and ever.

³⁰ Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion and kingdom, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

³¹ Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone.

³² Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

³³ "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

³⁴ For we are[3] sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining].

³⁵ O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name, it is from Your hand, and is all Your own.

³⁶ I know also, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness and integrity. In the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. So now with joy I have seen Your people who are present here, make their offerings willingly and freely to You.

³⁷ O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the minds of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You;

#	AMP
1	But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for My Name (Presence), because you are a man of war and have shed blood.'
2	However, the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from all in my father's house to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be the leader; and in the house (tribe) of Judah he chose the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.
3	Of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
4	He said to me, 'Solomon your son shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him.
5	[1] I will establish his kingdom forever if he loyally and continually obeys My commandments and My ordinances, as is done today.'
6	Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the LORD your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever.
7	"As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but[2] if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever.
8	Consider this carefully, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be courageous and strong and do it."
9	Then David gave to his son Solomon the plan for the porch of the temple, its buildings, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner rooms, and for the place for the [ark and its] mercy seat;
10	and the plan of all that he had in[3] mind, for the courts of the house of the LORD, and for all the surrounding rooms, for the storerooms of the house of God and for the storerooms for the dedicated gifts and offerings;
11	the plan for the divisions of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service in the house of the LORD and for all the utensils for service in the house of the LORD;
12	for the golden utensils, the weight of gold and silver for all the gold and silver articles for every kind of service;
13	and the weight of gold for the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand;
14	the gold by weight for each table of showbread, and the silver for the tables of silver;
15	and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl;
16	and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the Lord's covenant.
17	"All this," said David, "the LORD made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the work and details [to be done] according to this plan."
18	Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and take action; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor[4] abandon you [but will guide you in the construction] until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
19	And see, [you have] the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the service of God's house, and every willing, skillful man will be with you in all the kinds of work for any kind of service. Also the officers and all the people will be entirely at your command."
20	And King David said to all the assembly, "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the[1] temple is not for man but for the LORD God.
21	So with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, as well as onyx stones and stones to be inlaid, stones of antimony (a brittle, silvery-white metal) and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance.
22	Moreover, because I delight in the house of my God, the [personal] treasure that I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, in addition to all that I have already provided for the holy house:
23	namely, 3,000 talents of gold from the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings;
24	gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work to be done by craftsmen. Now who is willing to[2] consecrate himself today to the LORD?"
25	Then the rulers of the fathers' households, and leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers of the king's work, offered willingly
26	and gave for the service of the house of God: 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.
27	Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.
28	Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the LORD. King David also rejoiced greatly.
29	Therefore David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said, "Blessed (praised, adored, and thanked) are You, O LORD God of Israel (Jacob) our father, forever and ever.
30	Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion and kingdom, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.
31	Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone.
32	Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.
33	"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
34	For we are[3] sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining].
35	O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name, it is from Your hand, and is all Your own.
36	I know also, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness and integrity. In the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. So now with joy I have seen Your people who are present here, make their offerings willingly and freely to You.
37	O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the minds of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You;

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Holy Bible

2 Kings 23

Select Commentary