1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 28
1David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, the captains of the companies who served the king by division, the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, to Jerusalem. 2Then David the king stood up on his feet, and said, “Hear me, my brothers, and my people! As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, and for the footstool of our God; and I had prepared for the building. 3But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of war, and have shed blood.’ 4However Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel. 6He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues to do my commandments and my ordinances, as it is today.’
8Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, Yahweh’s assembly, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Yahweh your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever. 9You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
11Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat; 12and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of Yahweh’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things; 13also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of Yahweh’s house, and for all the vessels of service in Yahweh’s house; 14of gold by weight for the gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service; 15by weight also for the lamp stands of gold, and for its lamps, of gold, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps; and for the lamp stands of silver, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps, according to the use of every lamp stand; 16and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver; 17and the forks, the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl; 18and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the plans for the chariot, and the cherubim that spread out and cover the ark of Yahweh’s covenant. 19“All this”, David said, “I have been made to understand in writing from Yahweh’s hand, even all the works of this pattern.”
20David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished. 21Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of God’s house. Every willing man who has skill, for any kind of service, shall be with you in all kinds of work. Also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
Commentary
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What others are saying
5 commentators · 69 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
A great deal of service David had done in his day, had served his generation according to the will of God, Act 13:36. But now the time draws night that he must die, and, as a type of the Son of David, the nearer he comes to his end the more busy he is, and…
As for the general charge that David gave his son to seek God and serve him, the book of the law was, in that, his only rule, and there needed no other; but, in building the temple, David was now to give him three things: - 1. A model of the building, because…
John Gill21
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes,.... Whose names are given in 1 Chronicles 27:16. and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course; monthly, each having 24,000 men under him, whose names are…
Then David the king stood up upon his feet,.... Rose from the bed or couch on which he lay, as Kimchi thinks, being somewhat recovered of his paralytic disorder, and being willing to exert himself on this occasion; or he rose up from the seat or throne, on…
But God said unto me, thou shalt not build an house for my name,.... This he said by Nathan the prophet, 2 Samuel 7:5. because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood: see 1 Chronicles 22:8.
Adam Clarke14
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
David assembled - This refers to the persons whose names and offices we have seen in the preceding chapter.
David - stood up upon his feet - He was now very old, and chiefly confined to his bed, (see Kg1 1:47); and while he was addressing his son Solomon, he continued on the bed; but when all the principal nobles of his kingdom came before him he received strength…
Thou shalt not build a house - See Sa2 7:6, Sa2 7:13, and the observations at the end of that chapter.
Keil & Delitzsch20
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes,.... Whose names are given in Ch1 27:16. and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course; monthly, each having 24,000 men under him, whose names are expressed…
Then David the king stood up upon his feet,.... Rose from the bed or couch on which he lay, as Kimchi thinks, being somewhat recovered of his paralytic disorder, and being willing to exert himself on this occasion; or he rose up from the seat or throne, on…
But God said unto me, thou shalt not build an house for my name,.... This he said by Nathan the prophet, Sa2 7:5. because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood: see Ch1 22:8.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown12
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
Hear me, my brethren, and my people--This was the style of address becoming a constitutional king of Israel (Deu 17:20; Sa1 30:23; Sa2 5:1). I had in mine heart--I proposed, or designed. to build an house of rest--a solid and permanent temple. for the…
thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood--The church or spiritual state of the world, of which the temple at Jerusalem was to be a type, would be presided over by One who was to be pre-eminently the Prince of Peace, and therefore would be represented…
he hath chosen Solomon--The spirit of David's statement is this:--It was not my ambition, my valor, or my merit that led to the enthronement of myself and family; it was the grace of God which chose the tribe, the family, the person--myself in the first…
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