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22 Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.”
Plans to Build the Temple
2 So David gave instructions to gather together those sojourning in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonemasons to cut hewn stones for building the house of God. 3 David also provided large quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps as well as an abundance of bronze beyond measure, 4 and cedar logs without number, for the Sidonians and the Tyrians brought much cedar wood to David.
5 Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all the lands. Therefore I will make preparation for it now.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then David called Solomon his son and commanded him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, 8 but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You shall not build a house for My name because you have shed much blood on the earth before Me. 9 A son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. Solomon will be his name, and I will give peace and tranquility to Israel in his days. 10 He will be the one to build a house for My name. He shall be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
11 “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you have success in building the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding and give you charge over Israel so you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will prosper if you carefully observe the statutes and the judgments which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed.
14 “With great difficulty I have prepared for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents[a] of gold and one million[b] talents of silver as well as innumerable quantities of bronze and iron, beyond measure. I have also prepared timber and stone to which you may add even more. 15 Moreover you have an abundance of workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men skilled in all kinds of work, 16 craftsmen in gold, silver, bronze, and iron without number. Rise up and work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David commanded all the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon his son, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? Has He not given you rest all around? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people. 19 Now dedicate your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Rise up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord along with the holy vessels of God into the house which is to be built for the name of the Lord.”
The Levites
23 Now David was old and full of days when he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 So he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.
3 The Levites from thirty years old and up were counted, and their head count of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Twenty-four thousand of these, David said, “shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord; six thousand shall be officers and judges, 5 four thousand shall be gatekeepers, and four thousand shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.”
6 David assigned them to divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Gershonites
7 From the Gershonites:
Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan were
first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel, three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei were
Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran, three.
These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan.
10 The sons of Shimei were
Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah.
These four were the sons of Shimei.
11 Now Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one unit for their father’s house.
Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath were
Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four in all.
13 The sons of Amram were
Aaron and Moses,
but Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to bless in His name forever. 14 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were
Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The son of Gershom was
Shubael the chief.
17 The son of Eliezer was
Rehabiah the chief.
Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 The son of Izhar was
Shelomith the chief.
19 The sons of Hebron were
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel were
Micah the first and Ishiah the second.
Merarites
21 The sons of Merari were
Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli were
Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters, so the sons of Kish, their brothers, took them as wives.
23 The sons of Mushi were
Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth, three.
24 These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ houses, the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were registered by the number of their names according to their head count, those doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and up.
25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its implements for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David, the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and up; 28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers, with the purifying of all holy things, even the work of service of the house of God, 29 and with the showbread, the fine flour for a grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and all measures of quantity and size, 30 to stand morning by morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise in the evening, 31 and to offer up all burnt offerings to the Lord, for Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, by number as the judgment concerning them, continually before the Lord, 32 and that they should keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary and attend to the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of the house of the Lord.
There Is None Righteous
9 What then? Are we better than they? No, not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin. 10 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;[a]
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks after God.[b]
12 They have all turned aside;
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.”[c]
13 “Their throats are an open grave;
with their tongues they have used deceit”;
“the poison of vipers is under their lips”;[d]
14 “their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;[f]
16 destruction and misery are in their paths;[g]
17 and they do not know the way of peace.”[h]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[i]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and all the world may become accountable to God. 20 Therefore by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. 22 This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ[j] to all and upon all who believe, for there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith, in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins previously committed, 26 to prove His righteousness at this present time so that He might be just and be the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law. 29 Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 seeing it is one God, who shall justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make the law void through faith? God forbid! Instead, we establish the law.
Psalm 12
For the Music Director. According to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for the godly man comes to an end,
for the faithful disappear from sons of men.
2 They speak empty words, each with his own neighbor;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
3 The Lord will cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 who have said, “With our tongue will we prevail;
our lips are in our control, who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered,
because the needy sigh,
now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he yearns.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words;
they are silver tried in an earthen furnace
refined seven times.
7 You will keep them, O Lord;
You will preserve them from this generation.
8 The wicked walk on every side,
when the worthless of mankind are exalted.
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father,
and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping of water.
14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers,
and a prudent wife is from the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.