“ Go and speak to my servant David. Tell him,‘ The Lord says,“ Are you the one to build me a house to live in?

“你去告诉我仆人大卫，说耶和华如此说：‘你岂可建造殿宇给我居住呢？

“你去对我仆人大卫说：‘耶和华如此说：你要建造殿宇给我居住吗？

“你去对我仆人大卫说：‘耶和华如此说：你要建造殿宇给我居住吗？

“你去告诉我的仆人大卫，‘耶和华说，你岂是为我建造殿宇的人？

“你去对我的仆人大卫说：耶和华这样说：‘你要建造一座殿宇给我居住吗？

「你去告訴我僕人大衛，說耶和華如此說：『你豈可建造殿宇給我居住呢？

「你去對我僕人大衛說：『耶和華如此說：你要建造殿宇給我居住嗎？

「你去對我僕人大衛說：『耶和華如此說：你要建造殿宇給我居住嗎？

「你去告訴我的僕人大衛，『耶和華說，你豈是為我建造殿宇的人？

“你去對我的僕人大衛說：耶和華這樣說：‘你要建造一座殿宇給我居住嗎？

『你去對我僕人大衛說：「永恆主這麼說：你要建殿給我居住麼？

「你去告訴我的僕人大衛：『耶和華如此說：你要為我建造殿宇讓我居住嗎？

往告我僕大衛曰、耶和華云、爾為我建室以居乎、

往告我僕大闢、耶和華有言曰、欲建殿宇、為我居處、豈在爾乎。

爾往諭我僕大衛曰、主如是云、建造殿宇為我居處、豈爾所可乎、或作爾欲建殿為我居乎

“ Go and tell my servant David,‘ This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?

“ Go and tell my servant David,‘ Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?

“ Go and tell my servant David,‘ This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in?

“ Go to my servant David and say,‘ This is what the LORD says: Are you to build me a house to dwell in?

“ Go and say to My servant David,‘ This is what the Lord says:“ Should you build Me a house for My dwelling?

“ Go and tell My servant David,‘ Thus says the Lord:“ Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?

Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

“ Go to My servant David and say,‘ This is what the Lord says: Are you to build a house for Me to live in?

Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?

“ Go, tell my servant David:‘ This is what the LORD says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in?

“ Go and tell my servant David,‘ Yahweh says,“ Should you build me a house for me to dwell in?

“ As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control.But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either.

‘ I brought my people Israel out of Egypt. Ever since, I haven’t chosen a city in any tribe of Israel where a temple could be built for my Name. But I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.’“ With all his heart my father David wanted to build a temple. He wanted to do it so the Lord could put his Name there. The Lord is the God of Israel.But the Lord spoke to my father David. He said,‘ With all your heart you wanted to build a temple for my Name. It is good that you wanted to do that.But you will not build the temple. Instead, your son will build the temple for my Name. He is your own flesh and blood.’

David said to Solomon,“ My son, with all my heart I wanted to build a house for the Lord my God. That’s where his Name will be.But a message from the Lord came to me. It said,‘ You have spilled the blood of many people. You have fought many wars. You are not the one who will build a house for my Name. That is because I have seen you spill the blood of many people on the earth.

The Levites who were 30 years old or more were counted. The total number of men was 38,000.David said,“ From them, 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the Lord’ s temple. And 6,000 will be officials and judges.Another 4,000 will guard the gates. And 4,000 will praise the Lord with the instruments of music I’ve provided for that purpose.”David separated the Levites into groups. He did it according to the sons of Levi. The sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.Ladan and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon.The sons of Ladan were Jehiel, Zetham and Joel. Jehiel was the oldest son. The total number of sons was three.The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran. The total number of sons was three. They were the leaders of the families of Ladan.The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. The total number of the sons of Shimei was four.Jahath was the first son. Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons. So they were counted as one family. They had only one task.The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The total number of sons was four.The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his family line were set apart forever as the Lord’ s priests. They had the duty of setting the most holy things apart to the Lord. They offered sacrifices to the Lord. They served him. They gave blessings in his name forever.The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.Shubael was the oldest son in the family line of Gershom.Rehabiah was the oldest son in the family line of Eliezer. Eliezer didn’t have any other sons. But Rehabiah had a great many sons.Shelomith was the oldest son of Izhar.Jeriah was the first son of Hebron. Amariah was his second son. Jahaziel was the third. Jekameam was the fourth.Micah was the first son of Uzziel. Ishiah was his second son.The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.Eleazar died without having any sons. All he had was daughters. They married their cousins. The cousins were the sons of Kish.The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. The total number of sons was three.Those were the family lines of Levi. They were recorded under the names of the family leaders. Each worker who was 20 years old or more was counted. They served in the Lord’ s temple.David had said,“ The Lord is the God of Israel. He has given peace and rest to his people. He has come to Jerusalem to live there forever.So the Levites don’t need to carry the holy tent anymore. They don’t need to carry any of its objects anymore. Those were the things that were used to serve there.”The Levites who were 20 years old or more were counted. That was in keeping with David’s final directions.The Levites had the duty of helping the members of Aaron’s family line. They helped them serve in the Lord’ s temple. They were in charge of the courtyards and the side rooms. They made all the sacred things pure and“ clean.” They also had other duties at the house of God.They were in charge of setting the holy bread out on the table. They prepared the special flour for the grain offerings. They made the thin loaves without using any yeast. They did the baking and the mixing. They measured the amount and size of everything.They stood every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They did the same thing every evening.They also did it every time burnt offerings were brought to the Lord. Those offerings were brought every Sabbath day. They were also brought at every New Moon feast and during the appointed yearly feasts. The Levites served in front of the Lord at regular times. The proper number of Levites was always used when they served. They served in the way the law required.So the Levites carried out their duties for the tent of meeting and for the Holy Room. They worked under their relatives who were in the family line of Aaron. They helped them serve at the Lord’ s temple.

“ Go and speak to my servant David. Tell him,‘ The Lord says,“ You are not the one who will build me a house to live in.