Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 9 April, 2023
1 Chronicles 22 picks up where the book of 2 Samuel ended.
To refresh your memory, in the last chapter of 2 Samuel, God threatened judgment against the nation of Israel, presumably because of widespread idolatry, but also due to David’s inappropriate way of conducting a census. David then confesseds his sin to God, and the angel of the LORD gives the Prophet Gad a message for King David: “Go up to erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing-floor of Araunah/Ornan the Jebusite.” So David went to this high place near Jerusalem where Ornan’s farm wass located, offered an animal sacrifice as an atonement for the sins of the people and of himself, and buys the farm.
This was the same Mt. Moriah where Abraham had built an altar to sacrifice his son Isaac, then sacrificed a ram as a substitute.
The command of the LORD to build an altar again there, combined with the appearance of the angel of the LORD again in this location, and this dramatic mitigation of the plague upon the nation of Israel, all came together in David’s mind, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to lead him to declare that the altar of burnt offering for all of Israel was no longer to be at the high place in Gibeah of Saul, but now it was to be at this spot.
Read my translation: Then David said, “This is it: the house of the God Yahweh! Now let this be the altar for whole-burnt-offering for Israel!” Then David said to gather {all} the foreigners which were in the country of Israel, and he hired rock-carvers {from among them} to quarry custom-cut rocks for building the house of God. David also prepared iron in abundance (for nails for the doors of the gates and for the couplings), as well as bronze in abundance (there was no weighing it), and cedar trees without number (for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought cedar trees in abundance to David). And David said, “Solomon my son is a young man and inexperienced, yet the house he is to build for Yahweh, he is to make supremely great in fame and in beauty for all the lands; now let me prepare it for him!” So David prepared to a great extent before his death. And David called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel, and he said to Solomon, {“My} son, as for me, it was on my heart to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, but the word of Yahweh was against me, saying, ‘Blood in abundance you have shed, and great wars you have waged. You shall not build the house for my name because you have shed a lot of blood on the ground before me. Look, a son will be born to you: he will be a man of rest, and I will cause rest for him from all his surrounding enemies, for Shalom will be his name, and so it will be peace and quiet that I supply over Israel during his days. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and he himself will become a son to me, and, as for me, I will become a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.’ Now, my son, Yahweh will be with you, and you will make progress, and you will build the house of Yahweh your God, just as He said concerning you! Moreover, when He has put you in charge over Israel, Yahweh will give to you insight and understanding, to keep the law of Yahweh your God. Then you will make progress if you are careful to do the statutes and the judicial-rulings which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and steadfast; do not be afraid, and do not become dismayed. And look, {I} in my poor way, have prepared for the house of Yahweh 7,500,000 pounds of gold and 75,000,000 pounds of silver, and, as for bronze and for iron, there is no weighing because it was in abundance, and I have prepared timbers and stones, although you might add to those. Also with you in abundance are men who will do the work: rock-carvers and craftsmen of stone and of wood. And of everyone who is skilled in every kind of work – in gold, in silver, and in bronze and in iron – there is no count. Get up and get it done, and Yahweh will be with you!” David also gave a charge to all the officers of Israel to help Solomon his son: “Your God Yahweh is with y’all, isn’t He? And He has made peace all-around for y’all, for He has given all the inhabitants of the land into {your} control, and the land has been conquered before Yahweh and before His people. Now, y’all devote your heart and your soul to seeking Yahweh your God, and y’all get up and build the sanctuary of the God Yahweh, in order to bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh (and God’s sacred utensils) into the house built for the name of Yahweh!”
Last Thursday, we, as a church, acquired a building after 17 years of not having a church building of our own. That is a big milestone in the life of a church, and I want to commemorate that. I also want to let God’s word teach us how to think and act in regard to a church building. There’s a lot we can learn from David on this point.
v.5 “...David prepared to a great extent before his death.”
Not only stone building blocks and cedar timbers
but also iron nails and other hardware for joining timbers together,
and bronze that was eventually cast into two big columns in the entryway.
The amounts of gold and silver in v.14 are staggering: I estimate 7.5 million pounds of gold1 and 75 million pounds of silver!!!
And David gathered so many skilled laborers that they couldn’t be counted!
There were those who could cut and place building blocks (according to 1 Kings 5:15, there were 80,000 men working on this particular task at one point).
In addition, there were skilled masons who could lay stones and mortar them in place,
woodsmen who could cut logs to the right size and secure them in place,
and skilled gold- and silver-smiths, as well as specialists in forging and casting bronze and iron.
These workmen were an important part of the project.
All these resources and more David collected to prepare for Solomon to build God’s temple.
This is what David was busy doing right before he died, instead of retirement; he was investing the last of his energies toward building the house of God.
What can we learn from this regarding a church building?
First, the fact that, for thousands of years before David, God required no brick and mortar temple gives us some context. Buildings are not essential to God, and they are not essential to God’s people. Christianity can exist without church buildings!
But, the fact that God encouraged the building of the tabernacle that Moses and Bezallel and Oholiab built, the temple that David and Solomon built, and the temple that Ezra and others built, through providing instruction and encouragement and then filling those buildings with His glory when they were completed, this tells us that there is a place in God’s plan for church buildings, and when it is appropriate, we can use buildings for God’s glory.
In v.5, David reasons that God’s temple should somehow reflect the fact that the God worshiped there is greater than all other Gods, awesome in glory, and the creator of everything that is beautiful. He says God’s temple should be “supremely great in fame and beauty,” and concludes that making God’s temple glorious required that those with skill and experience invest in it, not someone as youthful and inexperienced as his son Solomon2, so he, he as a highly skilled and experienced king, applied himself enthusiastically to the task, and he recruited the best labor to help.
I don’t know what it was about those foreign stonecutters3, but they were the ones David went to in order to do the quarry work, and the oldest manuscripts have an extra word that the younger Hebrew text doesn’t have, indicating that he didn’t just employ them all indiscriminately, but he chose the most qualified “from among them.”
Likewise, the best lumber in the world came from the cedar forests of Lebanon, so that’s where David went to get his lumber and his lumberjacks.
And, when it came to metal, bronze was on its way out; this was the “Iron Age” and iron was the new and better technology, so David didn’t neglect to get the newest technology for God’s temple.
Furthermore, David saw that the greatness of God called for generous quantities of provision so that there would be no scrimping or cutting corners in the building of God’s temple. Verses 2-4 say that David provided iron, bronze, and lumber “in abundance/in great quantities of such a large number, that they couldn’t even count them all.”
I believe that there is a lesson for us in this, that the building we maintain for the glory of God should somehow reflect the greatness and beauty and glory of our God. It should not be developed with the cheapest building supplies in the lowest quantity that we can get away with, we should give it our best to show the world that, as David said, our God is “supremely great in fame and beauty.” In Psalm 68:29, he wrote, “Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring presents to You.” (NKJV) Because of the temple.
First of all, David explains the history and context of the temple project to his son.
David explains that this job is no mere expectation imposed by a father on his son, but is a calling which God Himself has laid upon Solomon. David also explains to Solomon why it is that David himself cannot do this job, even though he had wanted to: David had been a man of war4, but God wants the builder to be a man of peace.
There is a pun in the Hebrew text of verse 9 that’s hard to bring over into English, but it is based on the fact that the root of Solomon’s name is Shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace,” so the man named “Shalom-on” will bring on “Shalom.” His very name is part of God’s calling on his life.
It was important for David to explain all this to his son rather than just assume it.
Then David backs it up with scripture.
David quotes5 Nathan’s prophecy to him from 2 Samuel 7:12-16 “...I will cause an offspring of yours to get going after you who will come out from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for my name. Then I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. As for me, I will belong to him as a father, and, as for him, he will belong to me as a son, who, when he does wrong, I will then bring justice to bear on him using the rod of men and using blows from the sons of mankind, but, as for my lovingkindness, {I} will not turn it away from him like when I turned it away from being with Saul whom I turned away from before {my} presence. So your dynasty and your kingdom will be secure for ever before {my} presence; your throne will be established for ever.” (NAW)
David explains how Solomon will fulfill this prophecy, although, we must hasten to add, Solomon was only the first installment; Jesus would come later and be the greater fulfillment of this prophecy, instituting the kingdom of God literally “forever.”
David also quotes from the books of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua to give the larger context to Solomon:
He summarizes the covenant blessing passage in Leviticus 25:18 “And y'all must act on my statutes, and y'all must keep my judgments and act on them, then y'all will reside upon the land confidently” (NAW)
and Moses’ reiteration of the law in Deuteronomy 6 "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that Yahweh your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear Yahweh your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it…” (NAW) Moses repeated that phrase over 20 more times in the book of Deuteronomy: “be careful to do” God’s laws – plus two more times at the beginning of the book of Joshua.
And the phrase “do not be afraid or dismayed” comes from Joshua 10:25, where Joshua told the Israelites “...Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage…” (KJV), of course summarizing what God had commanded Joshua at the beginning of the book of Joshua.
Scripture carries the authority of God Himself and establishes the truth absolutely.
Finally, in verses 11-16, David gives Solomon encouragement:
He reminds his son that God will be with him and will bless him and give him wisdom as he does the work God has called him to do.
He also reminds Solomon of the many resources he has at his disposal to get the work done – the millions of pounds of gold and silver, the building materials, and all the skilled workmen who had been mobilized to do the work.
Finally, David encourages Solomon to steel himself mentally and emotionally for this challenging project: “Be strong and steadfast; do not be afraid, and do not become dismayed… Get up and get it done, and Yahweh will be with you!”
What can we learn from David’s commissioning of Solomon?
One clear point is that not everybody can do everything. David wanted to be the builder, but God told him not to. That job was for Solomon, not David.
In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, we see that God gives different spiritual gifts to different people in the church congregation so that we all have to do different things and depend on each other to complete the work God has called us to do as a church.
And earlier in 1 Corinthians 3, we see that, in the church development process, there were some apostles who “planted” churches, and others who “watered” churches, so even the apostles had different roles!
So, understanding what your role is in God’s kingdom – what your spiritual gifts are, is strategic so that you can invest what God has given you to complete the functions of a healthy church. And then helping your children understand their spiritual gifts and calling is the next step!
Then, instead of competing with the other church members because you wish you could do what they do, you can humbly take the helping role that David took with his own son.
God had given David a lot of great political connections as a result of all the wars he had fought throughout his life, so that’s what David leveraged to generate the natural resources and building materials that Solomon would need to be successful in building a glorious temple for God.
And then David, the wildly-famous war celebrity, walked off center stage in order to become a cheerleader for Solomon, when it came time to build God’s temple.
Are there ways that you, too, can encourage others to step up to new levels of responsibility in God’s kingdom – even at the expense of your own pride?
Also, David’s admonition to Solomon in v.13 “to keep and obey” God’s commands and statutes and rules is a good reminder to us that having a building is no substitute for our personal devotion to God, our study of His word, and our obedience to Him.
We can have the fanciest, most beautiful church in the world, but if the people inside don’t love God or one another, it doesn’t do anybody any good! We must remain diligent, each one of us, to “carefully do” what God has told us.
And notice in v.12 how David switches from calling Yahweh “my God” to calling Him “your God.” That is the expectation the Bible teaches us to have, that God will be the God of our children after us.
One other thought, and that is the succession of father to son:
David needed a man to oversee the building of the most magnificent temple in the world, so whom did he pick? He groomed his own son for the job!
Are there special tasks in the kingdom of God that you fathers and mothers see need to be done, which you could groom your own children to tackle as a life calling? Obviously, God’s calling trumps our parental wishes, but are we at least thinking strategically in generational terms?
In a letter to his wife, John Adams, who later became the second President of the United States wrote, “I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography... architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.” During Adams’ time, America had to fight a war for independence and become established politically as a nation, but John was telling his wife that the next generation needed to be educated in the skills that would develop the economic infrastructure of an undeveloped country like America was at the time, and then, in subsequent generations, it would be time to cultivate the arts and culture of the nation. That’s thinking generationally about preparing children for their place in this world.
And it doesn’t work to merely expect your children to pick up on what’s going on historically and spiritually. You have to explain it to them, like David did: What is the history behind where we are at? Who is God calling to do what? Why do you have to do one task and your children another? Give them a good understanding of all this!
Be sure to let your children know that God will be with them, and let them know what resources they have at their disposal to fulfill their calling, and then steel them mentally and emotionally for the work: “Be strong and steadfast; do not be afraid, and do not become dismayed… Get up and get it done, and Yahweh will be with you!”
David tells the leaders of the land that it is their responsibility to help Solomon get this building project done.
He also reminds them that God is with them, and he offers, in proof of this, the fact that the nation of Israel now owns the Promised Land and has no more hostile enemies domestically, for all the Canaanites in Israel’s territory have been conquered.
The oldest-known and most widely-used manuscripts of verse 18 say “your hand” instead of “my hand,” but the governing of Israel was done by the officers as the regional leaders as well as by David as the national leader, so there is no contradiction in meaning.
In v.19, David exhorts the leaders of Israel to devote their heart and soul to seeking God.
And then he paints a picture in their minds of how great it will be in the future when they finish the building and carry the ark of the covenant into its splendid new edifice!
Reminding people to keep seeking God and getting people excited about reaching a goal in the future, those are strategies of a great leader. Remember to implement those strategies in your leadership at work and at home.
So, the idea of “building a house” for God starts with David, and it becomes a major theme of First and Second Chronicles, followed by the destruction of that temple at the end of the kings of Israel. But a temple to provide a locus for the presence of God on earth is a major theme throughout the rest of the Bible!
At the end of 2 Chronicles, God commands the Persian king Cyrus to rebuild a house for Yahweh, and Cyrus does so through the agency of Ezra (perhaps using the extensive blueprints recorded at the end of the book of Ezekiel), and the prophets Haggai and Zachariah provide divine encouragement to complete that temple.
Herod the Great rebuilt the temple once again during the intertestamental time, and it was in Herod’s temple that Jesus taught and the church was birthed, but Jesus prophecied the end of that temple as well, and indeed it was totally destroyed by the Roman army in 70 A.D.,
and that is the end of the Bible’s focus on an earthly temple, although the temple of God in heaven remains, as the vision which God gave the Apostle John assures us.
But there is a significant shift in this temple theme in the New Testament from a brick-and-mortar structure to our own human bodies.
In Matthew 16:17-18 Jesus said to Peter, “...your name means ‘stone’ and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not be as strong as she!” (NAW)
Then in John 2:19-22 Jesus called His own physical body a “temple,” “‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ ... Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that...” (NKJV)
Then Steven, in Acts 7:44-50 pointed out, "Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house. "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 'HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS MY FOOTSTOOL. WHAT HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME? SAYS THE LORD, OR WHAT IS THE PLACE OF MY REST? HAS MY HAND NOT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?'” (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 “...You are God's field – God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise architect, I laid a foundation and another is building upon it. But let each look to how he is building upon it, for no one is able to lay another foundation besides the one which is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any one builds up gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, [or] straw upon the foundation, the work of each will become apparent, for the day will show that by fire it is revealed, and the fire will test the work of each one, as to what quality it is. If the work of someone remains which he has built up, he will receive a reward; if the work of someone gets burned down, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved – yet as through fire! Haven't y'all known that y'all are the inner-sanctum of God, and [that] the Spirit of God resides in y'all? When someone ruins the inner-sanctum of God, God will ruin that person, for the inner-sanctum of God is holy, which is what you yourselves are.” (NAW)6
And that doctrine is echoed again in 1 Peter 2:4-10 “While y'all are drawing near to Him [that is Jesus] – the living Stone who has been despised by men but who is select [and] precious according to God – you yourselves also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual household, into a holy priesthood in order to offer up acceptable spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. In proof of which it is contained in Scripture, ‘Look, I am laying a stone in Zion – a precious, select cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him shall never be put to shame.’ This Precious One therefore is yours – for you who believe, (but as for those who remain non-compliant, ‘this stone which the builders rejected became the corner stone.’ And [this] ‘stone of stumbling’ or ‘rock of scandal’ which they stumble upon while being non-compliant with the Word, is that into which also they were appointed.) Y'all, however, are a select kind, a priestly royalty, a holy ethnicity, a people made to be around [Him] in such a way that y'all might extol the virtues of Him who called y'all out of darkness into His marvelous light – y'all who back then were not a people but now are the people of God – the ones who had not been shown mercy yet now have been shown mercy.” (NAW)
So the important thing is the Spirit of God living in your body – in the bodies of those who love God, who depend upon Jesus to make them right with God forever, and who work together with Him to build up other believers. The brick-and-mortar building is mostly to facilitate a group of us meeting together. We who are holy in relationship to Jesus are what make the building holy, not the other way around, although it can be a special location where we can grow in holiness because we can see one another there and build one another up in God’s love.
May God help us to make our new building a place that reflects how He is “supremely great in fame and beauty.”
May each of us grow in understanding and using the gifts God has given us to complete the functions of a healthy church. And then may we help the next generation understand their spiritual gifts and cheer them on and set them up for success as they step into God’s callings on their lives.
May we as a church “to keep and obey” God’s word in personal devotion to Him and may we “Be strong and steadfast; not afraid, and never dismayed” as we rise up and do the work of entering into this new building and using it for the glory of God!
Greek OT |
Brenton |
Vulgate |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
Peshitta |
1 Καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ οἶκος κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τοῦτο τὸ θυσιαστήριον εἰς ὁλοκαύτωσιν τῷ Ισραηλ. |
1 And David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for whole-burnt-offering for Israel. |
1 X dixitque David haec est domus X Dei et hoc altare in holocaustum Israhel |
1
Then David said, This is
the house of the LORD God, and this is
the altar |
1 Then David said, “This is it: the house of the God Yahweh! Now let this be the altar for whole-burnt-offering for Israel!” |
1 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֔יד זֶ֣ה ה֔וּא בֵּ֖ית יְהוָ֣ה הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְזֶה־ מִּזְבֵּ֥חַ לְעֹלָ֖ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ |
1 ואמר דויד דהנו ביתה דמריא אלהא והנו מדבחא דעלותא דאיסריל |
2 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ συναγαγεῖν [πάντας] τοὺς προσηλύτους ἐν γῇ Ισραηλ καὶ κατέστησεν λατόμους λατομῆσαι λίθους ξυστοὺς τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι οἶκον τῷ θεῷ. |
2 And David gave orders to gather [allB] the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he appointed stone-hewers to hew polished stones to build the house to God. |
2
et praecepit X ut congregarentur [omnes]
proselyti de terra Israhel et constituit
[ex eis] latomos ad
caedendos lapides [et]
polien |
2 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. |
2 Then David said to gather {all} the foreigners which were in the country of Israel, and he hired rock-carvers {from among them} to quarry custom-cut rocks for building the house of God. |
2 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֔יד לִכְנֹוס֙ אֶת־ הַגֵּרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֣רֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיַּעֲמֵ֣ד חֹֽצְבִ֗ים לַחְצֹוב֙ אַבְנֵ֣י גָזִ֔ית לִבְנֹ֖ות בֵּ֥ית הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ |
2 ואמר דויד למכנשׁו [לכלהון] גיורא דאית הוו בארעא דאיסריל ונעבדון [מנהון] פסולא ונפסקון כאפא X לביתה דמריא |
3 καὶ σίδηρον πολὺν εἰς τοὺς ἥλους τῶν θυρωμάτων καὶ τῶν πυλῶν καὶ τοὺς στροφεῖς ἡτοίμασεν Δαυιδ καὶ χαλκὸν εἰς πλῆθος, οὐκ ἦν σταθμός· |
3 And David prepared much iron for the nails of the doors and the gate; the hinges also and brass in abundance, there was no weighing of it. |
3 ferrum quoque plurimum ad clavos ianuarum [et ad] commissuras atque iuncturas praeparavit David et aeris X X pondus innumerabile |
3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; |
3 David also prepared iron in abundance (for nails for the doors of the gates and for the couplings), as well as bronze in abundance (there was no weighing it), |
3 וּבַרְזֶ֣ל׀ לָ֠רֹב לַֽמִּסְמְרִ֞ים לְדַלְתֹ֧ות הַשְּׁעָרִ֛ים וְלַֽמְחַבְּרֹ֖ותC הֵכִ֣ין דָּוִ֑יד וּנְחֹ֥שֶׁת לָרֹ֖ב אֵ֥ין מִשְׁקָֽל׃ |
3
ו[למעבד
מנהון קיניא
עבדי]
פרזלא
ל |
4 καὶ ξύλα κέδρινα, οὐκ ἦν ἀριθμός, ὅτι ἐφέροσαν οἱ Σιδώνιοι καὶ οἱ Τύριοι ξύλα κέδρινα εἰς πλῆθος τῷ Δαυιδ. |
4 And cedar trees without number: for the Sidonians and the Tyrians brought cedar trees in abundance to David. |
4 ligna quoque cedrina non [poterant] aestimari quae Sidonii et Tyrii deportaverant X X X X ad David |
4
Also cedar trees |
4 and cedar trees without number (for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought cedar trees in abundance to David). |
4 וַעֲצֵ֥י אֲרָזִ֖ים לְאֵ֣ין מִסְפָּ֑ר כִּֽי הֵ֠בִיאוּ הַצִּֽידֹנִ֨ים וְהַצֹּרִ֜ים עֲצֵ֧י אֲרָזִ֛ים לָרֹ֖ב לְדָוִֽיד׃ |
4 וקיסא דארזא דלית להון מנינא מטל דאיתיו צוריא וצידניא קיסא דארזא סוגאא דטב לדויד |
5 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ Σαλωμων ὁ υἱός μου παιδάριον X ἁπαλόν, καὶ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι τῷ κυρίῳ εἰς μεγαλωσύνην ἄνω, εἰς ὄνομα καὶ εἰς δόξαν εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἑτοιμάσω αὐτῷ· καὶ ἡτοίμασεν Δαυιδ εἰς πλῆθος ἔμπροσθεν τῆς τελευτῆς αὐτοῦ. -- |
5 And David said, My son Solomon is a tender X child, and the house [for meD] to build to the Lord is for superior magnificence for a name and for a glory through all the earth: I will make preparation for it. And David prepared abundantly before his death. |
5 et dixit David Salomon filius meus puer parvulus est et delicatus domus autem quam aedificari [volo] Domino talis esse debet X X X X ut in cunctis regionibus nominetur praeparabo ergo ei [necessaria] et X ob hanc causam ante mortem suam omnes paravit inpensas |
5
And David said, Solomon my son is
young and tender,
and the house that
is to [be]
builded for the LORD must
|
5 And David said, “Solomon my son is a young man and inexperienced, yet the house he is to build for Yahweh, he is to make supremely great in fame and in beauty for all the lands; now let me prepare it for him!” So David prepared to a great extent before his death. |
5 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֗יד שְׁלֹמֹ֣ה בְנִי֮ נַ֣עַר וָרָךְ֒E וְהַבַּ֜יִת לִבְנֹ֣ות לַיהוָ֗ה לְהַגְדִּ֨יל׀ לְמַ֜עְלָה לְשֵׁ֤ם וּלְתִפְאֶ֙רֶת֙ לְכָל־הָ֣אֲרָצֹ֔ות אָכִ֥ינָה נָּ֖א לֹ֑ו וַיָּ֧כֶן דָּוִ֛יד לָרֹ֖ב לִפְנֵ֥י מֹותֹֽו׃ |
5
ואמר
דויד שׁלימון
ברי עדמא להשׁא
|
6 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Σαλωμων τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι [τὸν] οἶκον τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ Ισραηλ. |
6 And he called Solomon his son, and commanded him to build the house for the Lord God of Israel. |
6 X vocavitque Salomonem filium suum et praecepit ei ut aedificaret domum Domino Deo Israhel |
6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. |
6 And David called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel, |
6 וַיִּקְרָ֖א לִשְׁלֹמֹ֣ה בְנֹ֑ו וַיְצַוֵּ֙הוּ֙ לִבְנֹ֣ות בַּ֔יִת לַיהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ |
6
וקרא
לשׁלימון ברה
ו |
7 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ Σαλωμων Τέκνον X, ἐμοὶ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ ψυχῇ X τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι οἶκον τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου θεοῦ. |
7 And David said to Solomon, [My] child, X it was in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord God. |
7 X dixitque David ad Salomonem fili mi [voluntatis] meae fuit ut X X aedificarem domum nomini Domini Dei mei |
7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: |
7 and he said to Solomon, {“My} son, as for me, it was on my heart to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, |
7 וַיֹּ֥אמֶר דָּוִ֖יד לִשְׁלֹמֹ֑ה בְּנֹוH אֲנִי֙ הָיָ֣ה עִמ־לְבָבִ֔י לִבְנֹ֣ות בַּ֔יִת לְשֵׁ֖ם יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃ |
|
8 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ λόγος κυρίου λέγων Αἷμα εἰς πλῆθος ἐξέχεας καὶ πολέμους μεγάλους ἐποίησας· οὐκ οἰκοδομήσεις οἶκον τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ὅτι αἵματα πολλὰ ἐξέχεας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐναντίον μου. |
8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast carried on great wars: thou shalt not build a house to my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth before me. |
8
sed factus est ad me [sermo]
Domini dicens multum sanguinem
effudisti et plurima bella |
8
But the word of the LORD |
8 but the word of Yahweh was against me, saying, ‘Blood in abundance you have shed, and great wars you have waged. You shall not build the house for my name because you have shed a lot of blood on the ground before me. |
8 וַיְהִ֨י עָלַ֤י דְּבַר־יְהוָה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר דָּ֤ם לָרֹב֙ שָׁפַ֔כְתָּ וּמִלְחָמֹ֥ות גְּדֹלֹ֖ות עָשִׂ֑יתָ לֹֽא־תִבְנֶ֥ה בַ֙יִת֙ לִשְׁמִ֔י כִּ֚י דָּמִ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים שָׁפַ֥כְתָּ אַ֖רְצָה לְפָנָֽי׃ |
8
מטל
|
9 ἰδοὺ υἱὸς τίκτεταί σοι, οὗτος ἔσται ἀνὴρ ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ ἀναπαύσω αὐτὸν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐχθρῶν κυκλόθεν, ὅτι Σαλωμων ὄνομα αὐτῷ, καὶ εἰρήνην καὶ ἡσυχίαν δώσω ἐπὶ Ισραηλ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ. |
9
Behold, a son shall be born to thee, he shall be a man of rest;
and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for
his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness |
9
X filius [qui]
nascetur tibi [et]
erit vir quietissimus faciam enim eum requiescere ab
omnibus inimicis suis per circuitum [et]
ob hanc |
9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. |
9 Look, a son will be born to you: he will be a man of rest, and I will cause rest for him from all his surrounding enemies, for Shalom will be his name, and so it will be peace and quiet that I supply over Israel during his days. |
9 הִנֵּה־בֵ֞ן נֹולָ֣ד לָ֗ךְ ה֤וּא יִהְיֶה֙ אִ֣ישׁ מְנוּחָ֔הI וַהֲנִחֹ֥ותִי לֹ֛ו מִכָּל־אֹויְבָ֖יו מִסָּבִ֑יב כִּ֤י שְׁלֹמֹה֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה שְׁמֹ֔ו וְשָׁלֹ֥ום וָשֶׁ֛קֶטJ אֶתֵּ֥ן עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּיָמָֽיו׃ |
9
ברא
דין דמתילד
לך הו נהוא גברא
דניחא ואניח
לה מן כלהון
בעלדבוהי דחדירין
לה ושׁלימון
נהוא שׁמה ושׁלמא
וניחא |
10
οὗτος οἰκοδομήσει
οἶκον τῷ ὀνόματί
μου, καὶ οὗτος
ἔσται μοι εἰς
υἱὸν κἀγὼ αὐτῷ
εἰς πατέρα, καὶ
ἀνορθώσω θρόνον
βασιλείας
αὐτοῦ |
10
He shall build a house to my name; and he shall be a son to me,
and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom |
10 ipse aedificabit domum nomini meo et ipse erit mihi in filium et ego [ero] ei in patrem X firmaboque solium regni eius super Israhel in aeternum |
10 He X shall build an house for my name; and he X shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. |
10 He is the one who will build a house for my name, and he himself will become a son to me, and, as for me, I will become a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.’ |
10 הֽוּא־ יִבְנֶ֥ה בַ֙יִת֙ לִשְׁמִ֔י וְהוּא֙ יִהְיֶה־לִּ֣י לְבֵ֔ן וַאֲנִי־לֹ֖וK לְאָ֑ב וַהֲכִ֨ינֹותִ֜י כִּסֵּ֧א מַלְכוּתֹ֛ו עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַד־עֹולָֽם׃ |
10[ו]הו נבנא ביתא לשׁמי והו נהוא לי איך ברא ואנא [אהוא] לה איך אבא ואתקן כורסיא דמלכותה על איסריל לעלם [עלמין] |
11
καὶ νῦν, υἱέ
μου, ἔσται μετὰ
σοῦ κύριος,
καὶ εὐοδώσ |
11
And now, my son, the Lord shall be with thee, and prosper
|
11 nunc [ergo] fili mi sit Dominus tecum et prosperare et aedifica domum Domino Deo tuo sicut locutus est de te |
11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. |
11 Now, my son, Yahweh will be with you, and you will make progress, and you will build the house of Yahweh your God, just as He said concerning you! |
11 עַתָּ֣ה בְנִ֔י יְהִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה עִמָּ֑ךְ וְהִצְלַחְתָּ֗L וּבָנִ֙יתָ֙ בֵּ֚ית יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר דִּבֶּ֥ר עָלֶֽיךָ׃ |
11
ואף
השׁא ברי נהוא
מריא עמך ותכשׁר
ותבנא ביתא
דמריא אלהך
איכנא דאמר
|
12
ἀλλ᾿ ἢ δῴη σοι
σοφίαν
καὶ σύνεσιν
κύριος καὶ
κατισ |
12
Only may the Lord give thee wisdom
and prudence, and |
12
det quoque tibi Dominus prudentiam
et sensum ut reg |
12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. |
12 Moreover, when He has put you in charge over Israel, Yahweh will give to you insight and understanding, to keep the law of Yahweh your God. |
12 אַ֣ךְ יִֽתֶּנ־לְּךָ֤ יְהוָה֙ שֵׂ֣כֶל וּבִינָ֔ה וִֽיצַוְּךָ֖ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלִשְׁמֹ֕ור אֶת־תֹּורַ֖ת יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ |
12 והו נתל לך X חכמת ונביותא ונפקדך על איסריל ותטר נמוסוהי דמריא אלהך [איכנא דפקדך לי] |
13
τότε εὐοδώσ |
13
Then will |
13
tunc enim proficere |
13
Then shalt thou prosper,
if thou takest heed to |
13 Then you will make progress if you are careful to do the statutes and the judicial-rulings which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and steadfast; do not be afraid, and do not become dismayed. |
13 אָ֣ז תַּצְלִ֔יחַ אִמ־תִּשְׁמֹ֗ור לַעֲשֹׂות֙ אֶת־ הַֽחֻקִּ֣ים וְאֶת־ הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔יםM אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֖ה עַלN־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל חֲזַ֣ק וֶאֱמָ֔ץ אַל־תִּירָ֖א וְאַל־תֵּחָֽתO׃ |
13
והידין
תכשׁר
ואן הו דתטר
ותעבד פוקדנא
[הלין
ונמוסא]
ודינא
|
14
καὶ ἰδοὺ |
14 And, behold, I according to my poverty have prepared for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a million talents of silver, and X brass and X iron without measure; for it is abundant; and I have prepared timber and stones; and do thou add to these. |
14
ecce |
14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and X iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stoneX have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. |
14 And look, {I} in my poor way, have prepared for the house of Yahweh 7,500,000 pounds of gold and 75,000,000 pounds of silver, and, as for bronze and for iron, there is no weighing because it was in abundance, and I have prepared timbers and stones, although you might add to those. |
14 וְהִנֵּ֨הP בְעָנְיִ֜יQ הֲכִינֹ֣ותִיR לְבֵית־יְהוָ֗ה זָהָ֞ב כִּכָּרִ֤ים מֵֽאָה־אֶ֙לֶף֙ וְכֶ֗סֶף אֶ֤לֶף אֲלָפִים֙ כִּכָּרִ֔ים וְלַנְּחֹ֤שֶׁת וְלַבַּרְזֶל֙ אֵ֣ין מִשְׁקָ֔לS כִּ֥י לָרֹ֖ב הָיָ֑ה וְעֵצִ֤ים וַאֲבָנִים֙ הֲכִינֹ֔ותִי וַעֲלֵיהֶ֖ם תֹּוסִֽיףT׃ |
14
ו[כלמדם]
הא
|
15 καὶ μετὰ σοῦU εἰς πλῆθος ποιούντων ἔργα τεχνῖται καὶ οἰκοδόμοι λίθων καὶ τέκτονες ξύλων καὶ πᾶς σοφὸς ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ. |
15 And [of them thatV] are with thee [do thou addW] to the multitude of X workmen; let there be artificers and masons, and carpenters, and every skilful workman in every work; |
15
|
15 Moreover there are X workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. |
15 Also with you in abundance are men who will do the work: rock-carvers and craftsmen of stone and of wood. And of everyone who is skilled in every kind of work - |
15 וְעִמְּךָ֤ לָרֹב֙ עֹשֵׂ֣י מְלָאכָ֔הX חֹצְבִ֕ים וְחָרָשֵׁ֥י אֶ֖בֶן וָעֵ֑ץ וְכָל־ חָכָ֖ם בְּכָל־ מְלָאכָֽה׃ |
15 ואסגא עבדי עבידתא פסולא וארדכלא ונגרא דקיסא Y |
16 ἐν χρυσίῳ, ἐν ἀργυρίῳ, ἐν χαλκῷ καὶ ἐν σιδήρῳ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός. ἀνάστηθι καὶ ποίει, καὶ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. -- |
16 in gold and silver, brass and iron, [of whichZ] there is no number. Arise and do, and the Lord be with thee. |
16
in auro |
16 Of the gold, X the silver, and X the brass, and X the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. |
16 in gold, in silver, and in bronze and in iron - there is no count. Get up and get it done, and Yahweh will be with you!” |
16 לַזָּהָ֥ב לַכֶּ֛סֶף וְלַנְּחֹ֥שֶׁת וְלַבַּרְזֶ֖ל אֵ֣ין מִסְפָּ֑ר ק֣וּם וַעֲשֵׂ֔הAA וִיהִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה עִמָּֽךְ׃ |
16
|
17 καὶ ἐνετείλατο Δαυιδ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἄρχουσιν Ισραηλ ἀντιλαβέσθαι τῷ Σαλωμων υἱῷ αὐτοῦ |
17 And David charged all the chief men of Israel to help Solomon his son, [saying,AD] |
17 praecepit quoque David cunctis principibus Israhel ut adiuvarent Salomonem filium suum |
17 David also commanded X all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, |
17 David also gave a charge to all the officers of Israel to help Solomon his son: |
17 וַיְצַ֤ו דָּוִיד֙ לְכָל־שָׂרֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לַעְזֹ֖ר לִשְׁלֹמֹ֥ה בְנֹֽוAE׃ |
17 ופקד דויד לכולהון קשׁישׁא דאיסריל [ואמר להון] עדרו לשׁלימון ברי |
18
Οὐχὶ κύριος
X X μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν;
καὶ ἀνέπαυσεν
ὑμᾶς κυκλόθεν,
ὅτι ἔδωκεν ἐν
χερ |
18
Is not the Lord X X with
you? and he has given you rest round about, for he has given into
|
18
[cernitis inquiens]
quod Dominus Deus vester vobiscum sit et dederit vobis
requiem per circuitum et tradiderit |
18
Is
not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not
[given]
you rest [on
every] |
18 “Your God Yahweh is with y’all, isn’t He? And He has made peace all-around for y’all, for He has given all the inhabitants of the land into {your} control, and the land has been conquered before Yahweh and before His people. |
18 הֲלֹ֨א יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְהֵנִ֥יחַ לָכֶ֖ם מִסָּבִ֑יב כִּ֣י׀ נָתַ֣ן בְּיָדִ֗י אֵ֚ת יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ וְנִכְבְּשָׁ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה וְלִפְנֵ֥י עַמֹּֽו׃ |
18
[מטל]
|
19
νῦν δότε καρδί |
19
Now set your heart[s]
and soul[s]
to seek after the Lord your God: and rise, and build |
19
praebete igitur corda vestra et animas vestras ut quaeratis
Dominum Deum vestrum et consurgite et aedificate sanctuarium
Domino Deo ut introducatur arca foederis Domini et vasa |
19
Now |
19 Now, y’all devote your heart and your soul to seeking Yahweh your God, and y’all get up and build the sanctuary of the God Yahweh, in order to bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh (and God’s sacred utensils) into the house built for the name of Yahweh!” |
19 עַתָּ֗ה תְּנ֤וּ לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְנַפְשְׁכֶ֔ם לִדְרֹ֖ושׁ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְק֗וּמוּ וּבְנוּ֙ אֶת־מִקְדַּשׁ֙ יְהוָ֣ה הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים לְהָבִ֞יא אֶת־ אֲרֹ֣ון בְּרִית־ יְהוָ֗ה וּכְלֵי֙ קֹ֣דֶשׁ הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים לַבַּ֖יִת הַנִּבְנֶ֥ה לְשֵׁמ־יְהוָֽה׃ |
19
[ו]אף
השׁא אתקנו
לבכון ונפשׁכון
ל |
1Matthew Henry estimated “6000 tons of gold,” but Josephus reduced the figures by an order of 10 in his Antiquities. Slotki, Gill, and Henry noted that there were a number of different standards of measurement in use around that time, so it is hard to determine for sure what the weight or value of these kikkars was. Keil makes a good case that these were according to the “kings shekel” rather than the “temple shekel” which was twice the weight, and that such vast hordes of wealth were not uncommonly reported in antiquity. (For instance, Alexander amassed in Ecbatana a sum of almost twice as much gold - 180,000 talents - as David did.)
2Rashi estimated Solomon’s age at 12, Gill at 20, Keil at under 20, noting that he was conceived after the Syrio-Ammonite war.
3Maybe they had expertise the Jews didn’t have, or maybe it was manual labor deemed fitting for slaves instead of citizens. Matthew Henry and John Gill mentioned both possibilities, Slotki only the latter. Gill suggested that it was primarily, however, to record that Gentiles were instrumental in building God’s temple as a foreshadowing of the role of Gentiles in the New Covenant.
4Matthew Henry rebutted the suggestion that the bloodshed refers to David’s assassination of Uriah with the fact that “that honour was forbidden him before he had shed that blood; therefore it must be meant... of the blood he shed in his wars...”
5Albeit with slightly different spelling here and there and with slightly different word order, consistent with the Hebrew editorial style differences between 1 Chron. and 2 Sam.
6cf. Ephesians 2:19-22 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (NKJV)
AMy
original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. NAW is my translation, LXX
is Rahlfs’ edition, and Peshitta is the Leiden edition in
Hebrew letters. When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew
text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or
greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When
one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other
translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a
translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the
root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar
form of the original text, I use strikeout. And
when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert
an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is
plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use
colors to help the reader see correlations between the various
editions and versions when there are more than two different
translations of a given word.
BThe Arabic, Peshitta, LXX and Vulgate all insert an “all” which is not in the Masoretic text. This points to the liklihood that the MT dropped the word rather than that all these different ancient versions added it.
CThis word only appears one other place in the Hebrew Bible, and that is 2 Chr. 34:11, where different versions translate it: joists, couplings, rafters, or beams. BDB translates it “binder, clamp, joint” and TWOT notes the passive participle form “that which is joined” is used of the connected curtains of the tabernacle in Ex. 26:10 & 36:10. Syriac reads rather differently with “axes and hatchets for hewing stone.” Slotki explained them as “couplings which joined one board to another” and Keil as “iron cramps.”
D“for me” was an insertion by Brenton; it is not in the Vaticanus or LXX, but is perhaps based on the Vulgate Latin, which makes the Hebrew infinitive into a first person indicative.
EThis Hebrew word is used to mean 1) green/inexperienced/tenderfoot/weak due to youth/not toughened up yet, or 2) it can mean gentle/sensitive/soft-spoken, or 3) it can have a negative meaning of weakness due to fear or physical infirmity or laziness due to affluence, or naïveté. Often Biblical Hebrew pairs this word with a synonym that narrows down the meaning. In this case, the synonym is “boy/young man/lad,” so the first meaning is probably what David intended.
FSyriac adds that it “is written in the book concerning him.”
GSyriac has the same gist, but is a little wordier (“everything that was needed for the house and lacked nothing”) and states the timing positively as “while he was living” instead the Hebrew and Greek and Latin “in face of his death.”
HMT reads “...said to Solomon his son, ‘As for me it was on my heart...’” but the Qere reads בְּנִ֕י (“...said to Solomon, “My son, as for me, it was on my heart...’”), as do Vulgate & Targums. Septuagint omits the pronoun (“...said to Solomon, ‘Son, it was on my heart...’”), but they all mean the same thing. Keil, in a departure from his usual trust in the Kethib sided with the Qere here.
Icf. 1 Kings 8:56 "Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.” (NKJV)
JThis noun is a hapex legomenon, but its verb form occurs 41 times, and in the history books it almost always means “not being at war.” (Viz. 2Chron. 14:6 “And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest.” and 2Chron. 20:29-30 “And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.” ~NKJV)
KAncient Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate versions insert a verb of being here (“I will be”), but the LXX and MT don’t. There is no difference in meaning, however, because verbs of being are not necessary to make explicit in Hebrew, and the context requires that one be understood there, both by necessity of meaning and by ellipses (since the previous parallel clause has a verb of being written in the Hebrew text).
LTargums = "may the Word of the Lord be thine help."
MThis wording hearkens back to God’s blessings in Lev. 25:18 and Moses’ reiteration of the law in Deut. 4:6, 5:1, 6:1-3, etc.
NSyriac and Vulgate read “to teach,” while MT and LXX read “upon.”
OThese are the same words the LORD spoke to Joshua 4x in chapter 1 (substituting the synonym ערצ for ירא) and word-for-word what Joshua said to Israel in Josh. 10:25. David also repeats this positive set of commands to the people of God in Psalms 27:14 & 31:25.
PSyriac, Vulgate, and Septuagint all insert an emphatic “I,” which must have dropped out of the MT. There would be no reason to add it if it weren’t there in the pre-Masoretic Hebrew used by the ancient versions.
QThe Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, Davidson’s Analytical Lexicon, and the Westminster Morphology all agree that this is a singular noun. It literally means “lowly,” and, for most of Christian history, it has been interpreted “poverty” (viz. the Vulgate and Septuagint, also Luther), although Keil and Slotki interpreted it as the modern English versions as “affliction.” Gill supported both meanings.
RThe Peshitta repeats the phrase “I have prepared for you” before each item on the list.
SThe Peshitta explains the reason why its weight was not known: because no son of man on this earth could know!
TAn indeed he did, according to 2 Chron. 2.
UVaticanus (the oldest-known Greek manuscript) inserts προσθες (“you put in”).
VThis phrase is not in the Vaticanus or majority text of the Septuagint, but was added interpretively by Brenton in his English translation.
WSee endnote V.
XThe only other occurrence of this phrase “doers of work” is in the context of seafaring merchants in Psalm 107:23.
YThe Leiden Peshitta reproduced here does not have the last part of this verse about “everyone wise in all kinds of work,” and that’s the way it is in Murdock’s English translation of the Peshitta, but Lamsa’s English translation does not have this omission, for it puts this phrase at the beginning of the next verse, which means that either Lamsa made a mistake or Lamsa was reading a different edition of the Peshitta unavailable to me.
ZBrenton mistakenly followed the Vulgate instead of the Vaticanus with the insertion of this indefinite pronoun!
AATechnically, this is the Hebrew verb for “take action/do,” not the verb for “labor/work.”
AB“workers of” is repeated before each metal.
AC“Help” (Lamsa), “Benefit” (Murdock), which is also the wording of the Targums, instead of the MT “be.”
ADOnce again, Brenton seems to be following the Vulgate and Peshitta’s insertion rather than the LXX, although the Lucian Rescription does insert και ειπεν.
AEVulgate, Peshitta, and Lucian Rescription add “saying.” It’s hard to say whether the more terse reading is original or not. The text makes sense either way, so the insertion is not necessary, but it is more smooth/clear with the insertion.
AFMT = “delivered into my hand,” Vaticanus = “delivered into your hands,” LXX majority = “delivered into the hands of the inhabitants,” Vulgate = “delivered all the enemies into your hands.”
AGVulgate omits “LORD,” but it is in the Septuagint majority as it is in the MT and Peshitta.
AHSyriac reads “to pray” instead of “to seek,” but the ideas are related.