1 Chronicles: A Commentary

28 1/ 11/ Translation David assembled to Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel-the leaders of the tribes,1 the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of the thousands, the commanders of the hundreds, the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king, and his sons,2 together with the eunuchs and the mighty warriors- and all the men of substance . 2/ King David stood on his feet3 and said, "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my hearr to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and for the footstool of the feet of our God, and I had made preparations for building. 3/ But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of wars; you have shed blood.' 4/ Yahweh the God of Israel had chosen me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah to be leader, and within 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. 5/ And from all my sons-for Yahweh has given to me many sons- he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel. 6/ He said to me, 'Solomon, your son-he will build my house and my courts,5 for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7/ I will establish his kingdom forever if he is resolute in keeping my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.' 8/ And now in the sight of all the assembly of Yahweh,6 and in the hearing of our God, [I say] keep7 and seek all8 the commandments of Yahweh your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance9 to your children after you forever. 9/ And you,10 my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father11 and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing spirit, for Yahweh searches longingly all hearts and understands every motive behind thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will cast you off forever. 10/ See now that Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for him12 as a sanctuary. Be strong and do it." David gave to his son Solomon the plan of the vestibule and its rooms,13 its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room of the mercy seat; 12/ and the plan of everything that he had in mind:14 for the courts of the house of Yahweh and for all the surrounding chambers; for the treasuries of the house of God; for the treasuries of the dedicated gifts; 13/ for the divisions of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of Yahweh; for all 28:1-21 David's Speeches l Cl'~:JiZiil; LXX 'judges" (Cl'~!:liZiil). 2 That is, David's sons were among those assembled in jerusalem. Cf. Braun, 265; and Curtis and Madsen , 296. Others, including NRSV and NIV, make the property and cattle jointly owned by the king and his sons. See the commentary. 3 1''?l"l '?l.J; LXX "in the middle of the assembly." 4 ':J:J? Dl.J 'l~. Cf. l Chr 22:7 ':J:J? Cll.J il'il 'l~. 5 ·nn~m; LXX(w;th theexcept;onofL) "my court" ('n"l~n1). 6 il1il' '?ilp ?::>, with LXX; MT il1il' '?ilp '?~"lV' ?::> "all Israel, the assembly of Yahweh." 7 noili 1l'il?~ 'll~:J1; missing in LXX11 because a copyist skipped from one KCxt to the next one and left out everything in between. 8 Lacking in two LXX MSS. 1raaac;; rae;; became rae;;. 9 on?mil1; missing in some LXX MSS because a scribe's eye skipped from end of the first to the end of the last of the following words: a-ym'h}v KaL KamK/..TJpOVOJl~UTJrE avr~V. 10 iln~1; LXX "and now" (ilnl.J1). Braun, 266, follows LXX, arguing that the change to the MT reading was precipitated by what he judges to be the secondary insertion of v. 8, which also begins "and now." ll T:J...