1 Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God, as well as the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

2 So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, from whom he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God.

3 David provided a large quantity of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, together with more bronze than could be weighed 4and more cedar logs than could be counted; for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David.

5 And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent — famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for it.” So David made lavish preparations before his death.

6 Then David called for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.

7“My son,” said David to Solomon, “it was in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God, 8but this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me. 9But a son will be born to you who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and I will grant to Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10He is the one who will build a house for My Name. He will be My son, and I will be his Father. 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 succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as He said you would. 12Above all, may the Lord give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the Lord your God. 13Then you will succeed, if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

14 Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord— 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them.

15 You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men skilled in every kind of work — 16in gold and silver, bronze and iron— craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon: 18“Is not the Lord your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the Lord and His people. 19Now set your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God. Begin building the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”

1 When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. 2Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

3 The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000 . 4“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the Lord, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, 54,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

6 Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi:

24 These were the descendants of Levi by their families— the heads of families, registered individually by name— those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the Lord.

25 For David had said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. 26So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

27 For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, 28but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, 29as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

30 They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening. 31Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the Lord in the numbers prescribed for them. 32So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the Lord.

9 What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:

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 the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

25 God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. 26He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.