1And David said, This is the house of the Lord the [true] God, and this is the altar for the burnt-offering for Israel.

2And David ordered to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel: and he appointed [them] to be masons to hew cut stones to build the house of God.

3And iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings, did David prepare; and copper in abundance, [which] could not be weighed;

4Also cedar-trees [which] could not be counted; for the Zidonians and the Tyrians had brought cedar-trees in abundance to David.

5And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built [in honor] of the Lord must be exceedingly great, for fame and for glory throughout all the countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David made abundant preparation before his death.

6And he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for the Lord the God of Israel.

7And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God;

8But there came concerning me the word of the Lord, saying, Blood in abundance hast thou shed, and great wars hast thou made: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because much blood hast thou shed upon the earth before me.

9Behold, a son will be born to thee, he it is who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for Solomon [[The Peaceful]] shall be his name, and peace and quietness will I bestow on Israel in his days.

10He it is who shall build a house unto my name; and he shall be unto me as a son, and I will be unto him as a father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

11Now, my son, may the Lord be with thee, that thou mayest prosper, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken concerning thee.

12Only may the Lord give thee intelligence and understanding, and give thee charge over Israel, so that thou mayest observe the law of the Lord thy God.

13Then wilt thou prosper, if thou observe to practise the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; be not afraid, nor be thou dismayed.

14And, behold, during my affliction have I prepared for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand times thousand talents of silver; and of copper and iron [as much as] cannot be weighed; for in [such] abundance was it: and wood and stone have I prepared; and thou must add thereto.

15Moreover there are with thee in abundance workmen, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of skilful men for every kind of work.

16The gold, the silver, and the copper, and the iron cannot be numbered: arise, [therefore,] and be doing, and may the Lord be with thee.

17And David gave a charge to all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, [saying,]

18Behold the Lord your God is with you; and he hath given you rest on every side; for he hath given up into my hand the inhabitants of the land, and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people.

19Now direct your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; and arise, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord the [true] God, [in order] to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built unto the name of the Lord.