1 Chronicles 28–29
1 Now David assembled all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the officers of the divisions of those ministering to the king, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, the stewards over all the property and livestock of the king and his sons with the eunuchs and the fighting men and all the brave warriors.
2 So King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, a footstool for the feet of our God, so I prepared to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have spilled much blood.’
4 “Still, the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever; for He chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 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. 6 For He said to me, ‘Solomon your son is the one who shall build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is fully committed to keep My commandments and My judgments as it is this day.’
8 “Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever. 9 As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your fathers and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing spirit, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will abandon you forever. 10 See now that the Lord chose you to build the house for His sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the building plans for the vestibule of the temple, its house, its treasury, its roof chambers, its inner rooms, and the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the plans, all of which were given to him by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of the Lord and for the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of the house of God, and the storehouses of the dedicated offerings; 13 for the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the implements of the service of the house of the Lord; 14 the weight of gold for all the golden implements of service, the implements of silver by weight for all implements of service, 15 and the weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for the tables of the showbread, table by table, and silver for the tables of silver; 17 and the pure gold forks, the basins, and the pitchers; for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
19 “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the works of this pattern.”
20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and take action. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work of the service of the house of the Lord. 21 Now, here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and all those who are willing and skillful for all the work will be with you for all the service; also the leaders and the people will be wholly at your command.”
Chapter 29
1 King David said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great since the palace is not for a man but for the Lord God. 2 So with all my might I have prepared for the house of my God: gold for the things of gold, silver for the things of silver, bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, along with onyx stones and stones for setting, stones of antimony, multicolored stones, and every precious stone, even alabaster in abundance. 3 Moreover, in my devotion to the house of my God I have offered from my own property, gold and silver, which I give for the house of my God, over and above that which I prepared for the holy dwelling place: 4 three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the house; 5 of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, even for all the handiwork of the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?”
6 Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and hundreds, and the officials of the king’s workers offered willingly. 7 Also they donated to the service of the house of God five thousand talents of gold and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had offered willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
10 So David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly, and David said,
“Blessed are You, O Lord,
the God of Israel,
our Father forever and ever.
11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power,
and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty,
for everything in the heavens and the earth is Yours.
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
and You exalt Yourself as head above all.
12 Riches and honor flow from You,
and You rule over all.
In Your hand are power and might,
and in Your hand it is to make great and to strengthen all.
13 So now, our God, we give thanks to You,
and praise Your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so freely as this? For everything comes from You, even from Your own hand we have given to You. 15 For we are strangers and sojourners before You, just as all our fathers were. Our days on earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name has come from Your hand, and all belongs to You. 17 I know, my God, that You test the heart, and with uprightness You are pleased, so in the uprightness of my heart I have offered freely all these things, and now I have seen Your people, those present here, offer freely and joyously to You. 18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the thoughts and intentions of the heart of Your people and direct their heart to You. 19 Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your statutes, to do all these things and to build the palace for which I have made preparation.”
20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless now the Lord your God.” So all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the Lord and the king.
21 On the following day, they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord: one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great joy.
And they made Solomon the son of David king a second time, for they anointed him to the Lord as a ruler and Zadok as a priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon.
25 The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had never been on any king in Israel before him.
26 Now David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 His tenure as king over Israel was forty years: In Hebron, he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he was king thirty-three years. 28 So he died at a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place.
29 Now the acts of David the king, first to last, are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer 30 with all his reign and his might and the times that overtook him, and Israel, and all the kingdoms of the lands.
John 9:24–41
24 So again they called the man who was blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25 He said, “I do not know if He is a sinner. I know one thing: I was blind, but now I see.”
26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they insulted him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30 The man answered, “Well, here is an amazing thing! You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered him, “You were completely born in sin. Are you teaching us?” And they threw him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and it is He who speaks with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Him.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we also blind?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”