Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.He went up to the Lord’ s temple. The people of Judah and Jerusalem went with him. So did the priests and prophets. All of them went, from the least important of them to the most important. The king had all the words of the Book of the Covenant read to them. The book had been found in the Lord’ s temple.The king stood next to his pillar. He agreed to the terms of the covenant in front of the Lord. The king promised to serve the Lord and obey his commands, directions and rules. He promised to obey them with all his heart and with all his soul. So he agreed to the terms of the covenant written down in that book. Then all the people committed themselves to the covenant as well.
With all my riches I’ve done everything I could for the temple of my God. I’ve provided gold for the gold work and silver for the silver work. I’ve provided bronze for the bronze work and iron for the iron work. I’ve given wood for the things that will be made out of wood. I’ve given onyx and turquoise for the settings. I’ve given stones of different colors and all kinds of fine stone and marble. I’ve provided everything in huge amounts.With all my heart I want the temple of my God to be built. So I’m giving my personal treasures of gold and silver for it. I’m adding them to everything else I’ve provided for the holy temple.I’m giving 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of pure silver. Cover the walls of the buildings with it.Use it for the gold work and the silver work. Use it for everything the skilled workers will do. How many of you are willing to set yourselves apart to the Lord today?”Many people were willing to give. They included the leaders of families and the officers of the tribes of Israel. They included the commanders of thousands of men and commanders of hundreds. They also included the officials who were in charge of the king’s work.All of them gave to the work on God’s temple. They gave more than 190 tons of gold and 380 tons of silver. They also gave 675 tons of bronze and 3,800 tons of iron.Anyone who had valuable jewels added them to the treasure for the Lord’ s temple. Jehiel was in charge of the temple treasure. He was from the family line of Gershon.The people were happy when they saw what their leaders had been willing to give. The leaders had given freely. With their whole heart they had given everything to the Lord. King David was filled with joy.
