1 Chronicles 29:1-9 King James Version (KJV)

1 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.

2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

4 Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:

5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?

6 Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

7 And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

8 And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.


1 Chronicles 29:1-9 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Furthermore David H1732 the king H4428 said H559 unto all the congregation, H6951 Solomon H8010 my son, H1121 whom alone H259 God H430 hath chosen, H977 is yet young H5288 and tender, H7390 and the work H4399 is great: H1419 for the palace H1002 is not for man, H120 but for the LORD H3068 God. H430

2 Now I have prepared H3559 with all my might H3581 for the house H1004 of my God H430 the gold H2091 for things to be made of gold, H2091 and the silver H3701 for things of silver, H3701 and the brass H5178 for things of brass, H5178 the iron H1270 for things of iron, H1270 and wood H6086 for things of wood; H6086 onyx H7718 stones, H68 and stones to be set, H4394 glistering H6320 stones, H68 and of divers colours, H7553 and all manner of precious H3368 stones, H68 and marble H7893 stones H68 in abundance. H7230

3 Moreover, because I have set my affection H7521 to the house H1004 of my God, H430 I have H3426 of mine own proper good, H5459 of gold H2091 and silver, H3701 which I have given H5414 to the house H1004 of my God, H430 over and above H4605 all that I have prepared H3559 for the holy H6944 house, H1004

4 Even three H7969 thousand H505 talents H3603 of gold, H2091 of the gold H2091 of Ophir, H211 and seven H7651 thousand H505 talents H3603 of refined H2212 silver, H3701 to overlay H2902 the walls H7023 of the houses H1004 withal:

5 The gold H2091 for things of gold, H2091 and the silver H3701 for things of silver, H3701 and for all manner of work H4399 to be made by the hands H3027 of artificers. H2796 And who then is willing H5068 to consecrate H4390 his service H3027 this day H3117 unto the LORD? H3068

6 Then the chief H8269 of the fathers H1 and princes H8269 of the tribes H7626 of Israel, H3478 and the captains H8269 of thousands H505 and of hundreds, H3967 with the rulers H8269 of the king's H4428 work, H4399 offered willingly, H5068

7 And gave H5414 for the service H5656 of the house H1004 of God H430 of gold H2091 five H2568 thousand H505 talents H3603 and ten thousand H7239 drams, H150 and of silver H3701 ten H6235 thousand H505 talents, H3603 and of brass H5178 eighteen H8083 H7239 thousand H505 talents, H3603 and one hundred H3967 thousand H505 talents H3603 of iron. H1270

8 And they with whom precious stones H68 were found H4672 gave H5414 them to the treasure H214 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 by the hand H3027 of Jehiel H3171 the Gershonite. H1649

9 Then the people H5971 rejoiced, H8055 for that they offered willingly, H5068 because with perfect H8003 heart H3820 they offered willingly H5068 to the LORD: H3068 and David H1732 the king H4428 also rejoiced H8055 with great H1419 joy. H8057


1 Chronicles 29:1-9 American Standard (ASV)

1 And David the king said unto all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Jehovah God.

2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the `things of' gold, and the silver for the `things of' silver, and the brass for the `things of' brass, the iron for the `things of' iron, and wood for the `things of' wood; onyx stones, and `stones' to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

3 Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

4 even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, wherewith to overlay the walls of the houses;

5 of gold for the `things of' gold, and of silver for the `things of' silver, and for all manner of work `to be made' by the hands of artificers. Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah?

6 Then the princes of the fathers' `houses', and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work, offered willingly;

7 and they gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and of iron a hundred thousand talents.

8 And they with whom `precious' stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of Jehovah, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Jehovah: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.


1 Chronicles 29:1-9 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And David the king saith to all the assembly, `Solomon my son -- the one on whom God hath fixed -- `is' young and tender, and the work `is' great, for not for man is the palace, but for Jehovah God;

2 and with all my power I have prepared for the house of my God, the gold for `things of' gold, and the silver for `those of' silver, and the brass for `those of' brass, the iron for `those of' iron, and the wood for `those of' wood, shoham stones, and settings, and stones of painting and of diverse colours, and all `kinds of' precious stone, and stones of white marble, in abundance.

3 `And again, because of my delighting in the house of my God, the substance I have -- a peculiar treasure of gold and silver -- I have given for the house of my God, even over and above all I have prepared for the house of the sanctuary:

4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses,

5 even gold for `things of' gold, and silver for `those of' silver, and for all the work by the hand of artificers; and who `is' he that is offering willingly to consecrate his hand to-day to Jehovah?'

6 And the heads of the fathers, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, and the heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, even to the heads of the work of the king, offer willingly.

7 And they give for the service of the house of God, of gold -- talents five thousand, and drams a myriad; and of silver -- talents ten thousand, and of brass -- a myriad and eight thousand talents; and of iron -- a hundred thousand talents;

8 and he with whom stones are found hath given to the treasury of the house of Jehovah, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 And the people rejoice because of their offering willingly, for with a perfect heart they have offered willingly to Jehovah; and also David the king hath rejoiced -- great joy.


1 Chronicles 29:1-9 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And king David said to all the congregation, Solomon my son, the one whom God has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great; for this palace is not to be for man, but for Jehovah Elohim.

2 And I have prepared according to all my power for the house of my God gold for [things of] gold, and silver for [things of] silver, and brass for [things of] brass, iron for [things of] iron, and wood for [things of] wood; onyx stones, and [stones] to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and white marble in abundance.

3 And moreover, in my affection for the house of my God I have given of my own property of gold and silver, for the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the house of the sanctuary:

4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;

5 gold for [things of] gold, and silver for [things of] silver, and for all manner of work by the hands of artificers. And who is willing to offer to Jehovah this day?

6 And the chief fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and the comptrollers of the king's business, offered willingly.

7 And they gave for the service of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

8 And they with whom stones were found gave [them] to the treasure of the house of Jehovah, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 And the people rejoiced because they offered willingly, for with perfect heart they offered willingly to Jehovah; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.


1 Chronicles 29:1-9 World English Bible (WEB)

1 David the king said to all the assembly, Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Yahweh God.

2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the [things of] gold, and the silver for the [things of] silver, and the brass for the [things of] brass, the iron for the [things of] iron, and wood for the [things of] wood; onyx stones, and [stones] to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of various colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

3 In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

4 even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses;

5 of gold for the [things of] gold, and of silver for the [things of] silver, and for all manner of work [to be made] by the hands of artificers. Who then offers willingly to consecrate himself this day to Yahweh?

6 Then the princes of the fathers' [houses], and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work, offered willingly;

7 and they gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and of iron a hundred thousand talents.

8 They with whom [precious] stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of Yahweh, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.


1 Chronicles 29:1-9 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 And David the king said to all the people, Solomon my son, the only one who has been marked out by God, is still young and untested, and the work is great, for this great house is not for man, but for the Lord God.

2 Now as far as I am able, I have made ready what is needed for the house of my God; the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the silver things, and the brass for the brass things, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; beryls and jewels to be framed, and stones of different colours for ornament; all sorts of stones of great price, and polished building-stone, as much as is needed and more.

3 And because this house of God is dear to me, I give my private store of gold and silver to the house of my God, in addition to all I have got ready for the holy house;

4 Even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of the best silver, for plating the walls of the house:

5 Gold for the gold things, and silver for the silver things, and for every sort of work to be done by the expert workmen. Who then will come forward, offering himself this day for the Lord's work?

6 Then the heads of families and the chiefs of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the controllers of the king's business, freely gave themselves;

7 And they gave for the use of the house of the Lord, five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron.

8 And those who had stones of great price gave them to the store of the house of the Lord, under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

9 Then the people were glad because their offerings were freely given, for with a true heart they freely gave what they had to the Lord; and David the king was full of joy.

Commentary on 1 Chronicles 29 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 29

1Ch 29:1-9. David Causes the Princes and People to Offer for the House of God.

1, 2. Solomon … is yet young and tender—Though Solomon was very young when he was raised to the sovereign power, his kingdom escaped the woe pronounced (Ec 10:16). Mere childhood in a prince is not always a misfortune to a nation, as there are instances of the government being wisely administered during a minority. Solomon himself is a most illustrious proof that a young prince may prove a great blessing; for when he was but a mere child, with respect to his age, no nation was happier. His father, however, made this address before Solomon was endowed with the divine gift of wisdom, and David's reference to his son's extreme youth, in connection with the great national undertaking he had been divinely appointed to execute, was to apologize to this assembly of the estates—or, rather, to assign the reason of his elaborate preparations for the work.

3, 4. Moreover … I have of mine own proper good, &c.—In addition to the immense amount of gold and silver treasure which David had already bequeathed for various uses in the service of the temple, he now made an additional contribution destined to a specific purpose—that of overlaying the walls of the house. This voluntary gift was from the private fortune of the royal donor, and had been selected with the greatest care. The gold was "the gold of Ophir," then esteemed the purest and finest in the world (Job 22:24; 28:16; Isa 13:12). The amount was three thousand talents of gold and seven thousand talents of refined silver.

5. who then is willing to consecrate his service—Hebrew, "fill his hand"; that is, make an offering (Ex 32:29; Le 8:33; 1Ki 13:33). The meaning is, that whoever would contribute voluntarily, as he had done, would be offering a freewill offering to the Lord. It was a sacrifice which every one of them could make, and in presenting which the offerer himself would be the priest. David, in asking freewill offerings for the temple, imitated the conduct of Moses in reference to the tabernacle (Ex 25:1-8).

6-8. Then the chief of the fathers—or heads of the fathers (1Ch 24:31; 27:1).

princes of the tribes—(1Ch 27:16-22).

rulers of the king's work—those who had charge of the royal demesnes and other possessions (1Ch 27:25-31).

offered willingly—Influenced by the persuasive address and example of the king, they acted according to their several abilities, and their united contributions amounted to the gross sum—of gold 5,000 talents and 10,000 drams; and of silver, 10,000 talents, besides brass and iron.

7. drams—rather, darics, a Persian coin, with which the Jews from the time of the captivity became familiar, and which was afterwards extensively circulated in the countries of Western Asia. It is estimated as equal in value to 25s. of British currency.

of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron—In Scripture, iron is always referred to as an article of comparatively low value, and of greater abundance and cheaper than bronze [Napier].

8. and they with whom precious stones were found—rather, "whatever was found along with it of precious stones they gave" [Bertheau]. These gifts were deposited in the hands of Jehiel, whose family was charged with the treasures of the house of the Lord (1Ch 26:21).

1Ch 29:10-25. His Thanksgiving.

10-19. Wherefore David blessed the Lord—This beautiful thanksgiving prayer was the effusion overflowing with gratitude and delight at seeing the warm and widespread interest that was now taken in forwarding the favorite project of his life. Its piety is displayed in the fervor of devotional feeling—in the ascription of all worldly wealth and greatness to God as the giver, in tracing the general readiness in contributing to the influence of His grace, in praying for the continuance of this happy disposition among the people, and in solemnly and earnestly commending the young king and his kingdom to the care and blessing of God.

16. all this store that we have prepared—It may be useful to exhibit a tabular view of the treasure laid up and contributions stated by the historian as already made towards the erection of the proposed temple. Omitting the brass and iron, and precious stones, which, though specified partly (1Ch 29:7), are represented in other portions as "without weight" (1Ch 22:3, 14), we shall give in this table only the amount of gold and silver; and taking the talent of gold as worth £5475 (the talent being 125 pounds in weight), the value of the gold will be about 73s. per ounce. The talent of silver is given at £342 3s. 9d., or 4s.d. per ounce. The total amount of the contributions will be:

Sum accumulated, and in public treasury (1Ch 22:14):       Gold £547,500,000       Silver 342,187,500 Contributed by David from his private resources [1Ch 29:4]:       Gold 16,425,000       Silver 2,395,312 Contributed by the assembled rulers [1Ch 29:7]:       Gold 28,000,000       Silver 3,421,875 A grand total of approximately £939,929,687

Though it has been the common practice of Eastern monarchs to hoard vast sums for the accomplishment of any contemplated project, this amount so far exceeds not only every Oriental collection on record, but even the bounds of probability, that it is very generally allowed that either there is a corruption of the text in 1Ch 22:14, or that the reckoning of the historian was by the Babylonian, which was only a half, or the Syrian, which was only a fifth part, of the Hebrew talent. This would bring the Scripture account more into accordance with the statements of Josephus, as well as within the range of credibility.

20. all the congregation … worshipped the Lord, and the king—Though the external attitude might be the same, the sentiments of which it was expressive were very different in the two cases—of divine worship in the one, of civil homage in the other.

21, 22. they sacrificed … And did eat and drink—After the business of the assembly was over, the people, under the exciting influence of the occasion, still remained, and next day engaged in the performance of solemn rites, and afterwards feasted on the remainder of the sacrifices.

22. before the Lord—either in the immediate vicinity of the ark, or, perhaps, rather in a religious and devout spirit, as partaking of a sacrificial meal.

made Solomon … king the second time—in reference to the first time, which was done precipitately on Adonijah's conspiracy (1Ki 1:35).

they … anointed … Zadok—The statement implies that his appointment met the popular approval. His elevation as sole high priest was on the disgrace of Abiathar, one of Adonijah's accomplices.

23. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord—As king of Israel, he was the Lord's vicegerent.

24. submitted themselves—Hebrew, "put their hands under Solomon," according to the custom still practised in the East of putting a hand under the king's extended hand and kissing the back of it (2Ki 10:15).

1Ch 29:26-30. His Reign and Death.

26. Thus David … reigned—(See 1Ki 2:11).