King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD kept him safe from all his enemies.

Nathan answered, "Do whatever you have in mind, because the LORD is with you."

King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of a thousand men and units of a hundred men.

Then we will go and get God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king."

So David said, "This is where the Temple of the LORD God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings."

He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it.

David thought, "The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it." So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.

David said to him, "Son, I wanted to build a temple to honor the LORD my God.

He did, however, make me a promise. He said, 'You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon, because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security.

David continued, "Now, son, may the LORD your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him.

If you obey all the laws which the LORD gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid.

You have many workers. There are stonecutters to work in the quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of skilled workers of every sort who can work

David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon.

Now serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the LORD and all the other sacred objects used in worshiping him."

David stood before them and addressed them: "My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the LORD our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honor him,

The LORD, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel forever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father's family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel.

"The LORD said to me, 'Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

"So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the LORD's people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the LORD our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations forever."

You must realize that the LORD has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it---and do it with determination."

He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the Temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the LORD.

He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils,

for the silver tables, and for each gold table on which were placed the loaves of bread offered to God.

and how much pure gold in making the altar on which incense was burned and in making the chariot for the winged creatures that spread their wings over the LORD's Covenant Box.

King David said to his son Solomon, "Be confident and determined. Start the work and don't let anything stop you. The LORD God, whom I serve, will be with you. He will not abandon you, but he will stay with you until you finish the work to be done on his Temple.

King David announced to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the LORD God.

Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple.

and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the LORD?"

the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron.

The people had given willingly to the LORD, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

You know, O LORD, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.

I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you.

O LORD God, fulfill the promise you made to my father. You have made me king over a people who are so many that they cannot be counted,

so give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?"

When Asa heard the prophecy that Azariah son of Oded had spoken, he was encouraged. He did away with all the idols in the land of Judah and Benjamin and all the idols in the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He also repaired the altar of the LORD that stood in the Temple courtyard.

They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year that Asa was king.

They made a covenant in which they agreed to worship the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.

In a loud voice they took an oath in the LORD's name that they would keep the covenant, and then they shouted and blew trumpets.

The LORD blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early life and did not worship Baal.

The LORD gave Jehoshaphat firm control over the kingdom of Judah, and all the people brought him gifts, so that he became wealthy and highly honored.

In the third year of his reign he sent out the following officials to teach in the cities of Judah: Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah.

They took the book of the Law of the LORD and went through all the towns of Judah, teaching it to the people.

Even though King Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, he traveled regularly among the people, from Beersheba in the south to the edge of the hill country of Ephraim in the north, in order to call the people back to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

and instructed them: "Be careful in pronouncing judgment; you are not acting on human authority, but on the authority of the LORD, and he is with you when you pass sentence.

In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed Levites, priests, and some of the leading citizens as judges in cases involving a violation of the Law of the LORD or legal disputes between inhabitants of the city.

Whenever your fellow citizens from any of the cities bring before you a case of homicide or any other violation of a law or commandment, you must instruct them carefully how to conduct themselves during the trial, so that they do not become guilty of sinning against the LORD. Unless you do, you and your fellow citizens will feel the force of the LORD's anger. But if you do your duty, you will not be guilty.

Throughout all Judah, King Hezekiah did what was right and what was pleasing to the LORD his God.

He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

He removed from the Temple the foreign gods and the image that he had placed there, and the pagan altars that were on the hill where the Temple stood and in other places in Jerusalem; he took all these things outside the city and threw them away.

He also repaired the altar where the LORD was worshiped, and he sacrificed fellowship offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He commanded all the people of Judah to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.

Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.

In the eighth year that Josiah was king, while he was still very young, he began to worship the God of his ancestor King David. Four years later he began to destroy the pagan places of worship, the symbols of the goddess Asherah, and all the other idols.

He burned the bones of the pagan priests on the altars where they had worshiped. By doing all this, he made Judah and Jerusalem ritually clean again.

Throughout the territory of the Northern Kingdom he smashed the altars and the symbols of Asherah, ground the idols to dust, and broke into bits all the incense altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The money that the Levite guards had collected in the Temple was turned over to Hilkiah the High Priest. (It had been collected from the people of Ephraim and Manasseh and the rest of the Northern Kingdom, and from the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem.)

the carpenters and the builders to buy the stones and the timber used to repair the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to decay.

Other Levites were in charge of transporting materials and supervising the workers on various jobs, and others kept records or served as guards.

He said to Shaphan, "I have found the book of the Law here in the Temple." He gave Shaphan the book,

We have taken the money that was kept in the Temple and handed it over to the workers and their supervisors."

When the king heard the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay

"Go and consult the LORD for me and for the people who still remain in Israel and Judah. Find out about the teachings of this book. The LORD is angry with us because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the LORD and have not done what this book says must be done."

and she told them to go back to the king and give him

They have rejected me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and so have stirred up my anger by all they have done. My anger is aroused against Jerusalem, and it will not die down.

and you repented and humbled yourself before me, tearing your clothes and weeping, when you heard how I threatened to punish Jerusalem and its people. I have heard your prayer,

King Josiah summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem,

He stood by the royal column and made a covenant with the LORD to obey him, to keep his laws and commands with all his heart and soul, and to put into practice the demands attached to the covenant, as written in the book.

King Josiah destroyed all the disgusting idols that were in the territory belonging to the people of Israel, and as long as he lived, he required the people to serve the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

During all the twelve years that I was governor of the land of Judah, from the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was emperor until his thirty-second year, neither my relatives nor I ate the food I was entitled to have as governor.

I put all my energy into rebuilding the wall and did not acquire any property. Everyone who worked for me joined in the rebuilding.

Every day I served one beef, six of the best sheep, and many chickens, and every ten days I provided a fresh supply of wine. But I knew what heavy burdens the people had to bear, and so I did not claim the allowance that the governor is entitled to.

The money she earns by commerce will be dedicated to the LORD. She will not store it away, but those who worship the LORD will use her money to buy the food and the clothing they need.

Kings will be like fathers to you; queens will be like mothers. They will bow low before you and honor you; they will humbly show their respect for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD; no one who waits for my help will be disappointed."

You will see this and be filled with joy; You will tremble with excitement. The wealth of the nations will be brought to you; From across the sea their riches will come.

All the sheep of Kedar and Nebaioth Will be brought to you as sacrifices And offered on the altar to please the LORD. The LORD will make his Temple more glorious than ever.

They are ships coming from distant lands, Bringing God's people home. They bring with them silver and gold To honor the name of the LORD, The holy God of Israel, Who has made all nations honor his people.

Day and night your gates will be open, So that the kings of the nations May bring you their wealth.

"The wood of the pine, the juniper, and the cypress, The finest wood from the forests of Lebanon, Will be brought to rebuild you, Jerusalem, To make my Temple beautiful, To make my city glorious.

"You will no longer be forsaken and hated, A city deserted and desolate. I will make you great and beautiful, A place of joy forever and ever.

For David served God's purposes in his own time, and then he died, was buried with his ancestors, and his body rotted in the grave.

I will be bold and speak only about what Christ has done through me to lead the Gentiles to obey God. He has done this by means of words and deeds,

by the power of miracles and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. And so, in traveling all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have proclaimed fully the Good News about Christ.

I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel!

What pay do I get, then? It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.

While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them; and even though I myself am not subject to the Law of Moses, I live as though I were when working with those who are, in order to win them.

Among the weak in faith I become weak like one of them, in order to win them. So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible.

But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me.

Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.

Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others.

The farmer who has done the hard work should have the first share of the harvest.

But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as a servant of God.

I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith.

My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ.

Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement! You have cheered the hearts of all of God's people.

My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for other Christians, even when they are strangers.

For they set out on their trip in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers.