Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/199

Rh blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an 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 an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his 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 judgements which the charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be dismayed. Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of the an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron

Solomon tells Hiram that David wished to build a temple, but was hindered from his design by war.

9. I will give him rest] Cp. 1 Kin. v. 4. The promise here made is of a period of peace sufficiently long for the work of Temple-building. Solomon's reign was not wholly peaceful; cp. 1 Kin. xi. 14, 23, 26.

10. for ever] Cp. 2 Sam. vii. 13—16.

13. be strong, and of good courage] Cp. Josh. i. 9.

14. in my affliction] LXX. , and so mg. in my low estate. The exact meaning of the phrase is not quite certain; Does it refer to the comparative slenderness of David's resources (in my poverty), or to the difficulties of the wars and rebellions which marked his reign, or does it cover both ideas? Render perhaps in my straitened circumstances. Some translate by my strenuous labour (cp. xxix. 2), but there is insufficient evidence for rendering the Heb. word by labour.

an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver] This sum is incredibly large. In 1 Kin. x. 14 it is told in illustration of the riches of Solomon—a wealthier king than David—that he received in one year 666 talents of gold, but even at this rate David would have amassed only 26,640 talents in forty years,