The Histories · Old Testament

1 Chronicles 22

1 Chronicles 22: David prepares for the temple and charges Solomon

General context

David declares Ornan's threshingfloor "the house of the Lord God" and "the altar of the burnt offering for Israel". He gathers the strangers in the land and sets masons to hew stone, prepares iron for nails and joints, brass "without weight", and cedar brought by the Zidonians and Tyrians. He says Solomon is "young and tender" and the house must be "exceeding magnifical", so he will prepare for it; the narrator notes he did so "abundantly before his death". He calls Solomon and charges him to build. He recounts that he had wanted to build, but the Lord's word came: he had shed much blood and made great wars and would not build; a son would be born, "a man of rest", named Solomon, in whose days Israel would have peace, and he would build the house and be God's son with a throne established for ever. David prays the Lord be with Solomon, that he prosper, receive wisdom and understanding, keep the law, and be strong and of good courage. He lists what he has prepared "in my trouble": a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million of silver, brass and iron beyond weight, timber, stone and workmen. He tells Solomon, "Arise therefore, and be doing". He then commands the princes of Israel to help Solomon, reminding them that the Lord has given rest and subdued the land, and tells them to set their hearts to seek the Lord and build the sanctuary to house the ark and the holy vessels.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 22:1, 1 Chronicles 22:2, 1 Chronicles 22:3, 1 Chronicles 22:4, 1 Chronicles 22:5, 1 Chronicles 22:6, 1 Chronicles 22:7, 1 Chronicles 22:8, 1 Chronicles 22:9, 1 Chronicles 22:10, 1 Chronicles 22:11, 1 Chronicles 22:12, 1 Chronicles 22:13, 1 Chronicles 22:14, 1 Chronicles 22:16, 1 Chronicles 22:17, 1 Chronicles 22:18, 1 Chronicles 22:19

1 Chronicles 22 (KJV)

¹Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

²And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;

⁴Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

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

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

⁸But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

⁹Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

¹⁰He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

¹¹Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee.

¹²Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God.

¹³Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

¹⁴Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.

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

¹⁶Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.

¹⁷David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,

¹⁸Is not the Lord your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people.

¹⁹Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

David reports a word of the Lord that gave a reason for the refusal, bloodshed and wars, and that named Solomon and explained the name through peace. Chapter 17's oracle through Nathan contained neither the reason nor the name. The book presents both as the Lord's word to David without saying when or how the second came. The temple site is fixed by David's declaration at the threshingfloor, and the workforce begins with "the strangers that were in the land", who are not described further. The quantities of gold and silver are David's own figures in his speech; the narrator's summary is simply "abundantly". The phrase "in my trouble" is not explained. Solomon is "young and tender" here, and David is preparing "before his death", so the chapter is set late in the reign, though no year is given. The charge is addressed to Solomon alone in this chapter; chapters 28 and 29 repeat it before the assembly.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 22:8, 1 Chronicles 22:9, 1 Chronicles 17:11, 1 Chronicles 22:2, 1 Chronicles 22:14, 1 Chronicles 22:5, 1 Chronicles 22:6

Literary context

One sentence turns the plague site into the temple site, and the rest of the chapter is preparation and charge. Materials are piled up in lists, iron, brass, cedar, stone, gold, silver, with the repeated "in abundance" and "without weight" giving a sense of excess that matches David's word "magnifical". The speech to Solomon has a clear shape: David's wish, the Lord's refusal, the Lord's promise, a blessing, a warning about the law, and an order to act. The refusal is stated bluntly, "thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight", and the son is defined by contrast, "a man of rest". The command "be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed" is the language of commissioning. The short second speech to the princes repeats the key words, rest, seek, arise, build, so the private charge becomes public work. The chapter is the first of the preparation chapters that run to the end of the book.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 22:1, 1 Chronicles 22:3, 1 Chronicles 22:16, 1 Chronicles 22:5, 1 Chronicles 22:8, 1 Chronicles 22:9, 1 Chronicles 22:13, 1 Chronicles 22:19

Key moments

This is the house of the Lord (1 Chronicles 22:1). David names Ornan's threshingfloor as the site of God's house and altar.
Masons and materials (1 Chronicles 22:2). David gathers the strangers in the land and sets masons to hew stone.
Young and tender (1 Chronicles 22:5). David prepares abundantly because Solomon is young and the house must be great.
Blood and the refusal (1 Chronicles 22:8). David tells Solomon the Lord barred him from building because of bloodshed.
A man of rest named Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:9). The promised son is named for the peace of his days.
Arise and be doing (1 Chronicles 22:16). David lists his stores and tells Solomon to begin.
The princes charged (1 Chronicles 22:19). David commands Israel's leaders to seek the Lord and build the sanctuary.

For reflection

David is told he cannot build because of the blood he has shed, and he answers by gathering everything the builder will need. What does it look like to prepare for work you have been told you will not do yourself?