World English Bible · The united kingdom
1 Chronicles 29
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the king said to all , " my son, whom alone has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for . Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, also onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my , since I have a of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my , over and above all that I have prepared for the house: even three thousand of gold, of the gold of , and seven thousand of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses; of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be made by the hands of artisans. Who then offers willingly to himself today to ?" Then the princes of the fathers' households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the over the king's work, offered willingly; and they gave for the of house of gold five thousand and ten thousand darics, of silver ten thousand , of bronze eighteen thousand , and of iron one hundred thousand . People with whom precious stones were found gave them to the of house, under the hand of the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect they offered willingly to ; and the king also rejoiced with great joy. Therefore before all ; and said, "You are , , the of Israel , and ever. Yours, , is the greatness, the , the , the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in and in the earth is yours. Yours is , , and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and come from you, and you all! In your hand is and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all! Now therefore, our , we thank you and your name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own. For we are strangers before you and , as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. our , all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your name comes from your hand, and is all your own. I know also, my , that you try and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you. , the of , of , and of Israel, our fathers, keep this in the of of your people, and prepare their for you; and give to my son a perfect , to keep your , your testimonies, and your , and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision." Then said to all , "Now your !" All , the of their fathers, and their heads and prostrated themselves before and the king. They to and offered burnt offerings to on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink and in abundance for all Israel, and ate and drank before on that day with great gladness. They made king the second time, and him before to be prince, and to be priest. Then sat on of as king instead of his , and prospered; and all Israel him. All the princes, the , and also all of the sons of King submitted themselves to the king. magnified exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and gave to him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. Now the son of reigned over all Israel. The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in , and he reigned thirty-three years in . He at a good old age, full of days, riches, and ; and his son reigned in his place. Now the acts of the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of the seer, and in the history of the , and in the history of Gad the seer, with all his reign and his might, and the events that involved him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the lands.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.