Gifts to help build the temple
1 Then King David spoke to all the people who were meeting together. He said, ‘God has clearly chosen my son Solomon to do this great work. But he is still young and he has no special skills. It is a very important work for him to build the temple. It will not be a palace for people, but for the Lord God himself! 2 I have tried to provide the things that he will need to build the temple for my God. They include gold, silver, bronze, iron and wood to make things. I have also given many valuable stones, including onyx, antimony and other jewels, as well as a lot of marble. 3 I want very much to build a beautiful temple for my God. So I have added my own gold and silver to help to build it. I have added that to the other things that I have provided for God's holy temple. 4 I have given 110 tons of the best gold and 260 tons of pure silver to cover the walls of the buildings. 5 Workers with special skills can also use that gold and silver to make beautiful things. So now, who else will make a gift today to serve the Lord?’
29:2Onyx and antimony were valuable stones. Marble was a very hard stone that was good for building and looked beautiful.
6 Then the Israelite leaders and officers agreed to offer gifts to help the Lord's work. They included the leaders of clans and the leaders of Israel's tribes, the army officers who led 1,000 men and who led 100 men, and the officers with authority for the king's work. 7 They gave these gifts for God's temple:
190 tons of gold.10,000 gold coins.380 tons of silver.675 tons of bronze.3,750 tons of iron. 8 People who had valuable stones gave them for the Lord's house. Jehiel from Gershon's clan stored them in a safe place. 9 The people were very happy that their leaders gave these things. They were pleased to give to help the Lord's work. King David was also very happy.
