¹And David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for the burnt offering for Israel.” ²And David gave word to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he appointed hewers to hew stone, to build the house of God. ³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the cramp irons, and copper in abundance beyond weighing, ⁴and innumerable cedar trees, for the Sidonians and the Tyrians brought cedar trees in abundance to David. ⁵And David said, “Solomon my son is just a lad and is tender, but the house which is to be built for the Lord is to be sublimely great, for fame and splendour in all the lands. Let me then make preparations for it.” So David made preparations in abundance before his death. ⁶And he called for Solomon his son, and he ordered him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon his son, “As for me, it was in my heart to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. ⁸But the word of the Lord came to me and said, ‘You have shed blood in abundance and waged great wars. You shall not build a house for my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth before me. ⁹Look, a son is to be born to you. He will be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about. For Solomon will be his name, and I will grant peace and quiet over Israel in his days. ¹⁰He will build a house for my name, and he will be a son to me, and I a father to him. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel age-abidingly.’ ¹¹So now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God as he has spoken concerning you. ¹²But may the Lord give you intelligence and understanding, and may he put you in charge of Israel, and charge you to keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³Then you will prosper – if you take heed to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous; do not fear and do not be dismayed. ¹⁴And look, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold, and one million talents of silver, and copper and iron beyond weighing, for it was present in abundance, and I have prepared wood and stone to which you can add. ¹⁵And there are craftsmen with you in abundance – hewers and artisans in stone and wood, and every kind of skilled person in every kind of artisanry – ¹⁶and they are innumerable, artisans in gold, in silver, in copper and in iron. Arise and act, and may the Lord be with you.” ¹⁷Then David commanded all the senior officials of Israel to assist Solomon his son. ¹⁸And he said, “Is not the Lord your God with you, and hasn't he given you rest all around? For he delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land was conquered before the Lord and before his people. ¹⁹Now apply your hearts and souls to seeking the Lord your God, and arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, for bringing the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy equipment of God to the house which is to be built for the name of the Lord.”