Delphi Septuagint

by Lancelot C L Brenton (ed)

  [9] And now, my son Solomon, know the God of thy fathers, and serve him with a perfect heart and willing soul: for the Lord searches all hearts, and knows every thought: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou shouldest forsake him, he will forsake thee for ever. [10] See now, for the Lord has chosen thee to build him a house for a sanctuary, be strong and do it.

  [11] And David gave Solomon his son the plan of the temple, and its buildings, and its treasuries, and its upper chambers, and the inner store-rooms, and the place of the atonement, [12] and the plan which he had in his mind of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, designed for the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the holy things, and of the chambers for resting: [13] and the plan of the courses of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and of the stores of vessels for ministration of the service of the house of the Lord. [14] And he gave him the account of their weight, both of gold and silver vessels. [15] He gave him the weight of the candlesticks, and of the lamps. [16] He gave him likewise the weight of the tables of shewbread, of each table of gold, and likewise of the tables of silver: [17] also of the flesh-hooks, and vessels for drink-offering, and golden bowls: and the weight of the gold and silver articles, and censers, and bowls, according to the weight of each. [18] And he shewed him the weight of the utensils of the altar of incense, which was of pure gold, and the plan of the chariot of the cherubs that spread out their wings, and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. [19] David gave all to Solomon in the Lord’s handwriting, according to the knowledge given him of the work of the pattern.

  [20] And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong, and play the man, and do: fear not, neither be terrified; for the Lord my God is with thee; he will not forsake thee, and will not fail thee, until thou hast finished all the work of the service of the house of the Lord. And behold the pattern of the temple, even his house, and its treasury, and the upper chambers, and the inner store-rooms, and the place of propitiation, and the plan of the house of the Lord. [21] And see, here are the courses of the priests and Levites for all the service of the house of the Lord, and there shall be with thee men for every workmanship, and every one of ready skill in every art: also the chief men and all the people, ready for all thy commands.

  Chapter 29

  [1] And David the king said to all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom the Lord has chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great; for it is not for man, but for the Lord God. [2] I have prepared according to all my might for the house of my God gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, onyx stones, and costly and variegated stones for setting, and every precious stone, and much Parian marble. [3] And still farther, because I took pleasure in the house of my God, I have gold and silver which I have procured for myself, and, behold, I have given them to the house of my God over and above, beyond what I have prepared for the holy house. [4] Three thousand talents of gold of Suphir, and seven thousand talents of fine silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the sanctuary: [5] for thee to use the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for every work by the hand of the artificers. And who is willing to dedicate himself in work this day for the Lord?

  [6] Then the heads of families, and the princes of the children of Israel, and the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and the overseers of the works, and the king’s builders, offered willingly. [7] And they gave for the works of the house of the Lord five thousand talents of gold, and ten thousand gold pieces, and ten thousand talents of silver, and eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. [8] And they who had precious stone, gave it into the treasuries of the house of the Lord by the hand of Jeiel the Gedsonite. [9] And the people rejoiced because of the willingness, for they offered willingly to the Lord with a full heart: and king David rejoiced greatly.

  [10] And king David blessed the Lord before the congregation, saying,

  Blessed art thou, O Lord God of Israel, our Father, from everlasting and to everlasting. [11] Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the might: for thou art Lord of all things that are in heaven and upon the earth: before thy face every king and nation is troubled. [12] From thee come wealth and glory: thou, O Lord, rulest over all, the Lord of all dominion, and in thy hand is strength and rule; and thou art almighty with thy hand to increase and establish all things. [13] And now, Lord, we give thanks to thee, and praise thy glorious name. [14] But who am I, and what is my people, that we have been able to be thus forward in offering to thee? for all things are thine, and of thine own have we given thee, [15] for we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days upon the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. [16] O Lord our God, as for all this abundance which I have prepared that a house should be built to thy holy name, it is of thy hand, and all is thine. [17] And I know, Lord, that thou art he that searches the hearts, and thou lovest righteousness. I have willingly offered all these things in simplicity of heart; and now I have seen with joy thy people here present, willingly offering to thee. [18] O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, preserve these things in the thought of the heart of thy people for ever, and direct their hearts to thee. [19] And to Solomon my son give a good heart, to perform thy commandments, and to observe thy testimonies, and thine ordinances, and to accomplish the building of thy house.

  [20] And David said to the whole congregation, Bless ye the Lord our God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and they bowed the knee and worshipped the Lord, and did obeisance to the king. [21] And David sacrificed to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord on the morrow after the first day, a thousand calves, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, and their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. [22] And they ate and drank joyfully that day before the Lord: and they made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and anointed him king before the Lord, and Sadoc to the priesthood.

  [23] And Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and was highly honoured; and all Israel obeyed him. [24] The princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons of king David his father, were subject to him. [25] And the Lord magnified Solomon over all Israel, and gave him royal glory, such as was not upon any king before him.

  [26] And David the son of Jessae reigned over Israel forty years; [27] seven years in Chebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. [28] And he died in a good old age, full of days, in wealth, and glory: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. [29] And the rest of the acts of David, the former and the latter, are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer, [30] concerning all his reign, and his power, and the times which went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the earth.

  2 Chronicles

  Chapter 1

  [1] And Solomon the son of David was established over his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and increased him exceedingly. [2] And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands, and to the captains of hundreds, and to the judges, and to all the rulers over Israel, even the heads of the families; [3] and Solomon and all the congregation went to the high place that was in Gabaon, where was God’s tabernacle of witness, which Moses the servant of the Lord made in the wilderness. [4] But David had brought up the ark of God out of the city of Cariathiarim; for David had prepared a place for it, for he had pitched a tabernacle for it in Jerusalem. [5] And the brazen altar which Beseleel the son of Urias, the son of Or, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord: and Solomon and the congregation enquired at it. [6] And Solomon brought victims thither to the brazen altar that was before the Lord in the tabernacle, and offered upon it a thousand whole-burnt-offerings.

  [7] In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, Ask what I shall give thee. [8] And Solomon said to God, Th
ou hast dealt very mercifully with my father David, and hast made me king in his stead. [9] And now, O Lord God, let, I pray thee, thy name be established upon David my father; for thou hast made me king over a people numerous as the dust of the earth. [10] Now give me wisdom and understanding, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who shall judge this thy great people?

  [11] And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked great wealth, nor glory, nor the life of thine enemies, and thou hast not asked long life; but hast asked for thyself wisdom and understanding, that thou mightest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: [12] I give thee this wisdom and understanding; and I will give thee wealth, and riches, and glory, so that there shall not have been any like thee among the kings before thee, neither shall there be such after thee.

  [13] And Solomon came from the high place that was in Gabaon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of witness, and reigned over Israel.

  [14] And Solomon collected chariots and horsemen: and he had fourteen hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he set them in the cities of chariots, and the people were with the king in Jerusalem. [15] And the king made silver and gold in Jerusalem to be as stones, and cedars in Judea as sycamores in the plain for multitude. [16] And Solomon imported horses from Egypt, and the charge of the king’s merchants for going was as follows, and they traded, [17] and went and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty pieces of silver: and so they brought for all the kings of the Chettites, and for the kings of Syria by their means.

  Chapter 2

  [1] And Solomon said that he would build a house to the name of the Lord, and a house for his kingdom. [2] And Solomon gathered seventy thousand men that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers of stone in the mountain, and there were three thousand six hundred superintendents over them.

  [3] And Solomon sent to Chiram king of Tyre, saying, Whereas thou didst deal favourably with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build for himself a house to dwell in, [4] behold, I also his son am building a house to the name of the Lord my God, to consecrate it to him, to burn incense before him, and to offer shewbread continually, and to offer up whole-burnt-offerings continually morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the feasts of the Lord our God: this is a perpetual statute for Israel. [5] And the house which I am building is to be great: for the Lord our God is great beyond all gods. [6] And who will be able to build him a house? for the heaven and heaven of heavens do not bear his glory: and who am I, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him? [7] And now send me a man wise and skilled to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in blue, and one that knows how to grave together with the craftsmen who are with me in Juda and in Jerusalem, which materials my father David prepared. [8] And send me from Libanus cedar wood, and wood of juniper, and pine; for I know that thy servants are skilled in cutting timber in Libanus: and, behold, thy servants shall go with my servants, [9] to prepare timber for me in abundance: for the house which I am building must be great and glorious. [10] And, behold, I have given freely to thy servants that work and cut the wood, corn for food, even twenty thousand measures of wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil.

  [11] And Chiram king of Tyre answered in writing, and sent to Solomon, saying, Because the Lord loved his people, he made thee king over them. [12] And Chiram said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to king David a wise son, and one endowed with knowledge and understanding, who shall build a house for the Lord, and a house for his kingdom. [13] And now I have sent thee a wise and understanding man who belonged to Chiram my father [14] (his mother was of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a Tyrian), skilled to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in stones and wood; and to weave with purple, and blue, and fine linen, and scarlet; and to engrave, and to understand every device, whatsoever thou shalt give him to do with thy craftsmen, and the craftsmen of my lord David thy father. [15] And now, the wheat, and the barley, and the oil, and the wine which my lord mentioned, let him send to his servants. [16] And we will cut timber out of Libanus according to all thy need, and we will bring it on rafts to the sea of Joppa, and thou shalt bring it to Jerusalem.

  [17] And Solomon gathered all the foreigners that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father numbered them; and there were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. [18] And he made of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers of stone, and three thousand six hundred taskmasters over the people.

  Chapter 3

  [1] And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in the mount of Amoria, where the Lord appeared to his father David, in the place which David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite. [2] And he began to build in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

  [3] And thus Solomon began to build the house of God: the length in cubits — even the first measurement from end to end, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. [4] And the portico in front of the house, its length in front of the breadth of the house was twenty cubits, and its height a hundred and twenty cubits: and he gilded it within with pure gold. [5] And he lined the great house with cedar wood, and gilded it with pure gold, and carved upon it palm-trees and chains. [6] And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty; and he gilded it with gold of the gold from Pharuim. [7] And he gilded the house, and its inner walls, and the door-posts, and the roofs, and the doors with gold; and he carved cherubs on the walls.

  [8] And he built the holy of holies, its length was according to the front of the other house, the breadth of the house was twenty cubits, and the length twenty cubits: and he gilded it with pure gold for cherubs, to the amount of six hundred talents. [9] And the weight of the nails, even the weight of each was fifty shekels of gold: and he gilded the upper chamber with gold.

  [10] And he made two cherubs in the most holy house, wood-work, and he gilded them with gold. [11] And the wings of the cherubs were twenty cubits in length: and one wing of five cubits touched the wall of the house: and the other wing of five cubits touched the wing of the other cherub. [12] 13 And the wings of these cherubs expanded were of the length of twenty cubits: and they stood upon their feet, and their faces were toward the house. [14] And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and wove cherubs in it.

  [15] Also he made in front of the house two pillars, in height thirty-five cubits, and their chapters of five cubits. [16] And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. [17] And he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left: and he called the name of the one on the right hand ‘Stability,’ and the name of the one on the left ‘Strength.’

  Chapter 4

  [1] And he made a brazen altar, the length of it twenty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits, and the height ten cubits. [2] And he made the molten sea, in diameter ten cubits, entirely round, and the height of it five cubits, and the circumference thirty cubits. [3] And beneath it the likeness of calves, they compass it round about: ten cubits compass the laver round about, they cast the calves two rows in their casting, [4] wherein they made them twelve calves, — three looking northwards, and three westwards, and three southwards, and three eastwards: and the sea was upon them above, and their hinder parts were inward. [5] And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim as the brim of a cup, graven with flowers of lilies, holding three thousand measures: and he finished it.

  [6] And he made ten lavers, and set five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them the instruments of the whole-burnt-offerings, and to rinse the vessels in
them; and the sea was for the priests to wash in.

  [7] And he made the ten golden candlesticks according to their pattern, and he put them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.

  [8] And he made ten tables, and put them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left: and he made a hundred golden bowls. [9] Also he made the priests’ court, and the great court, and doors to the court, and their panels were overlaid with brass. [10] And he set the sea at the corner of the house on the right, as it were fronting the east.

  [11] And Chiram made the fleshhooks, and the fire-pans, and the grate of the altar, and all its instruments: and Chiram finished doing all the work which he wrought for king Solomon in the house of God: [12] two pillars, and upon them an embossed work for the chapiters on the heads of the two pillars, and two nets to cover the heads of the chapiters which are on the heads of the pillars; [13] and four hundred golden bells for the two nets, and two rows of pomegranates in each net, to cover the two embossed rims of the chapiters which are upon the pillars. [14] And he made the ten bases, and he made the lavers upon the bases; [15] and the one sea, and the twelve calves under it; [16] and the foot-baths, and the buckets, and the caldrons, and the flesh-hooks, and all their furniture (which Chiram made, and brought to king Solomon in the house of the Lord) of pure brass. [17] In the country round about Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground in the house of Socchoth, and between that and Saredatha.