1. David said, “The Temple of the Lord God will be built here. And the altar for burnt offerings for Israel will be built here.”
2. So David gave an order for all foreigners living in Israel to be gathered together. From that group David chose stonecutters. Their job was to cut stones to be used in building the Temple of God.
3. David supplied a large amount of iron. It was used for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed.
4. And he supplied more cedar logs than could be counted. Much of the cedar had been brought to David by the people from Sidon and Tyre.
5. David said, “We should build a great Temple for the Lord. It should be famous everywhere for its greatness and beauty. But my son Solomon is young. He hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know. So I will prepare for the building of it.” So David got many of the materials ready before he died.
6. Then David called for his son Solomon. He told Solomon to build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel.
7. David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God.
8. But the Lord spoke his word to me, ‘David, you have killed too many people. You have fought too many wars. So you cannot build a temple for worship to me. You have killed too many people.
9. But, you will have a son. He will be a man of peace and rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies around him. His name will be Solomon. And I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king.
10. Solomon will build a temple for worship to me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong. Someone from his family will rule Israel forever.’”