¹And David convened all the officials of Israel – the officials of the tribes and the officials of the divisions who served the king, and the commanders of a thousand and the commanders of a hundred, and the officials over all the property and cattle of the king and his sons – together with the eunuchs and the warriors and every valiant warrior, in Jerusalem. ²Then King David got up on his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and as a footstool for the feet of our God, and I made preparations for building, ³but God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for my name, for you are a man of warfare, and you have shed blood.’ ⁴And the Lord God of Israel chose me from the whole house of my father to be king over Israel age-abidingly, for he chose Judah to be a leader, and in the house of Judah – the house of my father and among my father's sons – he was pleased to make me king over all of Israel. ⁵And of all my sons – for the Lord has given me many sons – he chose my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶And he said to me, ‘It is Solomon your son who will build my house and my courtyards, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. ⁷And I will establish his kingdom age-abidingly, providing he is steadfast in carrying out my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.’ ⁸So now, in the sight of the whole of Israel – the convocation of the Lord – and with our God hearing, keep and apply yourself to all the commandments of the Lord your God, in order that you may inherit the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you age-abidingly. ⁹And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him wholeheartedly, and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts, and he understands every thought which presents itself. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you desert him, he will reject you throughout the age. ¹⁰Now observe that the Lord has chosen you to build a house as a sanctuary. Be strong and act.” ¹¹Then David gave to Solomon his son the design of the portico and its houses and its treasuries and its upper rooms and its inner rooms and the house of the atonement cover, ¹²and the design of everything that had come to him by the spirit, of the courtyards of the house of the Lord, and of all the offices round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the holy places, ¹³and the scheme of the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the execution of the work of the house of the Lord, and for all the equipment for the work of the house of the Lord, ¹⁴and the design of the golden equipment with the weight of gold needed, of all equipment for all kinds of service, and of all silver equipment with its weight, for all equipment for all kinds of service, ¹⁵including the weight of the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps, and the design of the silver lampstands, with the weight of the lampstand and its lamps, according to the service of each lampstand, ¹⁶and he specified the weight of gold for the showbread tables for each table, and of the silver for the silver tables, ¹⁷and gold for the forks and basins and bowls of pure gold, and for the golden cups by weight for each cup, and for the silver cups by weight for each cup, ¹⁸and for the incense altar of refined gold he specified its weight, and the design of the carriage, and the golden cherubim who spread their wings and cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹David said, “Everything is in writing from the hand of the Lord to me, to give instruction in all the intricacies of the design.” ²⁰And David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and be of good courage and act. Do not fear and do not be afraid, for the Lord God – my God – is with you. He will not forsake you, and he will not desert you during the completion of the execution of all the work of the house of the Lord. ²¹And there are divisions of the priests and the Levites for every item of work on the house of God, and they are with you in all the craftsmanship, with every willing man, in wisdom, for all the work, and the officials and all the people are available at every word of yours.”

Reference(s) in Chapter 28: v.9 ↔ Revelation 2:23.