1 Furthermore, Dauid the King said vnto all the congregation, Solomon my sonne, whome alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the worke is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.
2 Now I haue prepared with all my might for the house of my God, the gold for things to be made of gold, the siluer for things of siluer, and the brasse for things of brasse, the yron for things of yron, and wood for things of wood, onix stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of diuers colours, and all maner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
3 Moreouer, because I haue set my affection to the house of my God, I haue of mine owne proper good, of gold and siluer, which I haue giuen to the house of my God, ouer & aboue all that I haue prepared for the holy house:
4 Euen three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seuen thousand talents of refined siluer, to ouerlay the walles of the houses withall.
5 The gold for things of golde, and the siluer for things of siluer, and for all maner of worke to be made by the hands of Artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his seruice this day vnto the Lord?
6 ¶ Then the chiefe of the fathers and Princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captaines of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers ouer the Kings worke, offered willingly,
7 And gaue for the seruice of the house of God, of gold fiue thousand talents, and ten thousand drammes: and of siluer, ten thousand talents: and of brasse, eighteene thousand talents: and one hundred thousand talents of yron.
8 And they with whom precious stones were found, gaue them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Iehiel the Gershonite.
9 Then the people reioyced, for that they offred willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and Dauid the King also reioyced with great ioy.
10 ¶ Wherefore Dauid blessed the Lord before all the Congregation: and Dauid saide, Blessed bee thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for euer and euer.
11 Thine, O Lord, is the greatnes, and the power, and the glory, & the victorie, and the maiestie: for all that is in the heauen & in the earth, is thine: thine is the kingdome, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head aboue all.
12 Both riches, and honour come of thee, and thou reignest ouer all, and in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to make great, and to giue strength vnto all.
13 Now therefore, our God, wee thanke thee, and praise thy glorious Name.
14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine owne haue we giuen thee.
15 For we are strangers before thee, and soiourners, as were all our fathers: Our dayes on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
16 O Lord our God, all this store that we haue prepared to build thee an house for thine holy Name, commeth of thine hand, and is all thine owne.
17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in vprightnesse. As for me, in the vprightnes of mine heart I haue willingly offered all these things: and now haue I seene with ioy, thy people which are present here, to offer willingly vnto thee.
18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel our fathers, keepe this for euer in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart vnto thee:
19 And giue vnto Solomon my sonne a perfect heart to keepe thy Commaundements, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to doe all these things, and to build the pallace, for the which I haue made prouision.
20 ¶ And Dauid said to all the Congregation: Nowe blesse the Lord your God. And all the Congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed downe their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the King.
21 And they sacrificed sacrifices vnto the Lord, & offered burnt offerings vnto the Lord on the morrow after that day, euen a thousand bullockes, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambes, with their drinke offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:
22 And did eate and drinke before the Lord on that day with great gladnesse, and they made Solomon the sonne of Dauid King the second time, and anointed him vnto the Lord to be the chiefe gouernour, and Zadok to be Priest.
23 Then Solomon sate on the throne of the Lord, as king in stead of Dauid his father, and prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.
24 And all the princes and the mightie men, and all the sonnes likewise of king Dauid, submitted themselues vnto Solomon the King.
25 And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed vpon him such royal maiestie, as had not bene on any king before him in Israel.
26 ¶ Thus Dauid the sonne of Iesse, reigned ouer all Israel.
27 And the time that he reigned ouer Israel, was fourtie yeeres. Seuen yeeres reigned hee in Hebron, and thirtie and three yeeres reigned hee in Ierusalem.
28 And he died in a good old age, full of dayes, riches and honour: and Solomon his sonne reigned in his stead.
29 Now the acts of Dauid the King first and last, behold, they are written in the booke of Samuel the Seer, and in the booke of Nathan the Prophet, and in the booke of Gad the Seer,
30 With all his reigne and his might, and the times that went ouer him, and ouer Israel, and ouer all the kingdomes of the countreys.
David induces the princes and people to offer willingly. (1-9) His thanksgiving and prayer. (10-19) Solomon enthroned. (20-25) David's reign and death. (26-30)1-9 What is done in works of piety and charity, should be done willingly, not by constraint; for God loves a cheerful giver. David set a good example. This David offered, not from constraint, or for show; but because he had set his affection to the house of God, and thought he could never do enough towards promoting that good work. Those who would draw others to good, must lead the way themselves.
10-19 We cannot form a right idea of the magnificence of the temple, and the buildings around it, about which such quantities of gold and silver were employed. But the unsearchable riches of Christ exceed the splendour of the temple, infinitely more than that surpassed the meanest cottage on earth. Instead of boasting of these large oblations, David gave solemn thanks to the Lord. All they gave for the Lord's temple was his own; if they attempted to keep it, death would soon have removed them from it. They only use they could make of it to their real advantage, was, to consecrate it to the service of Him who gave it.
20-25 This great assembly joined with David in adoring God. Whoever is the mouth of the congregation, those only have the benefit who join him, not by bowing down the head, so much as by lifting up the soul. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord. Solomon's kingdom typified the kingdom of the Messiah, whose throne is the throne of the Lord.
26-30 When we read the second book of Samuel, we could scarcely have expected to behold David appear so illustrious in his closing scene. But his repentance had been as remarkable as his sin; and his conduct during his afflictions, and towards the end of his life, appears to have had a good effect on his subjects. Blessed be God, even the chief of sinners may hope for a glorious departure, when brought to repent and flee for refuge to the Saviour's atoning blood. Let us mark the difference between the spirit and character of the man after God's own heart, living and dying, and those of worthless professors, who resemble him in nothing but their sins, and who wickedly try to excuse their crimes by his sins. Let us watch and pray, lest we be overcome by temptation, and overtaken by sin, to the dishonour of God, and the wounding of our own consciences. When we feel that we have offended, let us follow David's example of repentance and patience, looking for a glorious resurrection, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.