from Proverbs 20
Wine is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.
The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
Most men will proclaim each his own goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
The righteous man walks in his integrity;
His children are blessed after him.
A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?
Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.
Even a child is known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The LORD has made them both.
Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
“It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Plans are established by counsel;
By wise counsel wage war.
He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.
Whoever curses his father or his mother,
His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
Will not be blessed at the end.
Do not say, “I will recompense evil”;
Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD,
And dishonest scales are not good.
A man’s steps are of the LORD;
How then can a man understand his own way?
It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.
A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
The glory of young men is their strength,
And the splendor of old men is their gray head.
Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
from 1Chronicles 27
the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.
Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the .. was
David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because the LORD had said He would multiply Israel like the stars of the heavens. Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for wrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.
from 1Chronicles 28
King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’ However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”
Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit
David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
from 1Chronicles 29
Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God. Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”
the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said:
“Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
“Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And of Your own we have given You.
For we are aliens and pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.
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