1 Chronicles 29
Open in the reader1Then King Beloved said to the whole assembly, “My son Peace, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for He-Who-Is God.
2Now with all my ability I have made provision for the house of my God—gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and slabs of marble—all in abundance.
3Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this devoted temple:
4three thousand talents of gold (the gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings,
5for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who is willing to consecrate himself to He-Who-Is today?”
6Then the leaders of the families, the officers of the tribes of Strives-with-God, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.
7Toward the service of God’s house they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.
8Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of He-Who-Is, under the care of God-Lives the Sojourners-There.
9And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to He-Who-Is freely and wholeheartedly. And King Beloved also rejoiced greatly.
10Then Beloved blessed He-Who-Is in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O He-Who-Is, God of our father Strives-with-God, from everlasting to everlasting.
11Yours, O He-Who-Is, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O He-Who-Is, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.
12Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all.
13Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious name.
14But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
15For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
16O He-Who-Is our God, from Your hand comes all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your devoted Name, and all of it belongs to You.
17I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.
18O He-Who-Is, God of our fathers Father-of-a-Multitude, He-Laughs, and Strives-with-God, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You.
19And give my son Peace a whole heart to keep and carry out all Your commandments, decrees, and statutes, and to build Your palace for which I have made provision.”
20Then Beloved said to the whole assembly, “Bless He-Who-Is your God.” So the whole assembly blessed He-Who-Is, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to He-Who-Is and to the king.
21The next day they offered sacrifices and presented burnt offerings to He-Who-Is: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Strives-with-God.
22That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of He-Who-Is. Then, for a second time, they designated Beloved’s son Peace as king, anointing him before He-Who-Is as ruler, and Righteous as the priest.
23So Peace sat on the throne of He-Who-Is as king in place of his father Beloved. He prospered, and all Strives-with-God obeyed him.
24All the officials and mighty men, as well as all of King Beloved’s sons, pledged their allegiance to King Peace.
25He-Who-Is highly exalted Peace in the sight of all Strives-with-God and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had not been bestowed on any king in Strives-with-God before him.
26Beloved son of Man-of-He-Who-Is was king over all Strives-with-God.
27The length of Beloved’s reign over Strives-with-God was forty years—seven years in Association and thirty-three years in Foundation-of-Peace.
28He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Peace reigned in his place.
29Now the acts of King Beloved, from first to last, are indeed written in the Chronicles of Heard-of-God the Seer, the Chronicles of He-Has-Given the Prophet, and the Chronicles of Fortune the Seer,
30together with all the details of his reign, his might, and the circumstances that came upon him and Strives-with-God and all the kingdoms of the lands.