Page:JPS-1917-Universal.djvu/1106

22.7 said to Solomon: 'My son, as for me, it was in my heart to build a house unto the name of the  my God. But the word of the came to me, saying: Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars; thou shalt not build a house unto My name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in My sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name; and he shall be to Me for a son, and I will be to him for a father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. Now, my son, the be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the  thy God, as He hath spoken concerning thee. Only the give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of the  thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which the charged Moses with concerning Israel; be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed. Now, behold, in my straits I have prepared for the house of the a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight, for it is in abundance; timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all men that are skilful in any manner of work; of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and the be with thee.'

David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son: 'Is not the your God with you? and hath He not given you rest on every side? for He hath delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before the, and before His people. Now set your heart and your soul to seek after the your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the  God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the .'

Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of the ; and six thousand were officers and judges; and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised the 'with the instruments which I made to praise therewith.'

And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Of the Gershonites: Ladan, and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan. And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons