1 Chronicles 28 - 29

David Assembles His Commanders

And David assembled at Jerusalem all the commanders of Israel, the commanders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that ministered to the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the commanders over all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people; I had it within my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and for the footstool of the feet of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet, Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be a ruler; and in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 Now of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel. 6 And He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 7 And I will establish his kingdom forever if he will be strong to do My commandments and My judgments, as is done now.’ 8 So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of Yahweh, and in the hearing of our God, keep and seek after all the commandments of Yahweh your God so that you may possess the good land and cause your sons after you to inherit it forever. 9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a delighted soul; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 See now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and act.” 11 Then David gave to his son Solomon the pattern of the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat; 12 and the pattern of all that he had in mind, for the courts of the house of Yahweh, and for all the surrounding chambers, for the treasuries of the house of God, and for the treasuries of the holy things; 13 also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of Yahweh and for all the utensils of service in the house of Yahweh; 14 for the golden utensils, the weight of gold for all utensils for every kind of service; for the silver utensils, the weight of silver for all utensils for every kind of service; 15 and the weight of gold for the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the service of each lampstand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; 17 and the flesh hooks, the bowls, and the jars of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; 18 and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot, even the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. 19 “All this,” said David, “has been granted to me as insight in writing by the hand of Yahweh, all the details of this pattern.” 20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is completed. 21 Now behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man with wisdom will be with you in all the work for all the service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

Offerings for the Temple

Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for Yahweh God. 2 Now with all my power I have prepared for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. 3 Moreover, in my pleasure in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already prepared for the holy house, 4 namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; 5 of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the hand of craftsmen. Who then would offer willingly to ordain himself this day to Yahweh?” 6 Then the commanders of the fathers’ households, and the commanders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the commanders of the king’s work, offered willingly; 7 and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of Yahweh, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people were glad because they had offered so willingly, for they made their freewill offering to Yahweh with a whole heart, and King David also was exceedingly glad.

David Blesses Yahweh

10 So David blessed Yahweh in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the kingdom, O Yahweh, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 So now, our God, we are thanking You and praising Your glorious name. 14 “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as willingly as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. 15 For we are sojourners before You, and foreign residents, like all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. 16 O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. 17 And I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness. I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these things. So now with gladness I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 18 O Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and prepare their heart to You; 19 and give to my son Solomon a whole heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made preparation.” 20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God.” And all the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed low and prostrated themselves to Yahweh and to the king.

Sacrifices to Yahweh

21 And on the next day they made sacrifices to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank that day before Yahweh with great gladness.

David’s Officials and Sons Pledge Allegiance

And they made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and they anointed him as ruler for Yahweh and Zadok as priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father; and he succeeded, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 And all the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David pledged allegiance to King Solomon. 25 And Yahweh highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and granted to him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel. 26 Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 And the time which he reigned over Israel was forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years and in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

Death of David

28 Then he died in a good old age, full of days, riches and glory; and his son Solomon became king in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, behold, they are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet and in the chronicles of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign, his might, and the circumstances which came on him, on Israel, and on all the kingdoms of the lands.

Revelation 8

The Seventh Seal

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense went up with the prayers of the saints, out of the angel’s hand, before God. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. 7 And the first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 8 And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea—those which had life—died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter. 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way. 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Ecclesiastes 11

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what calamity may occur on the earth. 3 If the clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. 4 He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. 5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who works all things. 6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not put your hands down in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good. 7 The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 8 Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him be glad in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be vanity. 9 Be glad, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be merry during the days of young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sights of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away evil from your flesh because childhood and the prime of life are vanity.