David’s Prayer of Praise and Blessing for Solomon
1 Chronicles 29:10-20
1 C.29.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויברך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- כל: DET
- הקהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבינו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prsuf1pl
- מעולם: ADV
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 16:36 (verbal): Uses the same liturgical formula: 'Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever' (Chronicles repeats this blessing and the people's Amen).
- Psalm 72:18-19 (verbal): Close verbal and thematic parallel praising 'the LORD God, the God of Israel' and blessing his name forever—part of Israelite doxological language.
- 2 Samuel 7:18-29 (thematic): David's extended prayer/response to God's covenant: contains blessing, praise, and acknowledgment of God's eternal rule—parallels 1 Chr 29:10's context of David blessing God before the assembly.
- Nehemiah 9:5 (verbal): Levites' exhortation 'Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting' echoes the same covenantal/doxological wording used in Chronicles.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then David blessed the LORD before the whole assembly, and David said, "Blessed are you, LORD, the God of Israel, our Father, from everlasting to everlasting."
- And David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said, "Blessed are you, LORD, God of Israel, our Father—from eternity to eternity."
1 C.29.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הגדלה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- והגבורה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- והתפארת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- והנצח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- וההוד: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- כל: DET
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ובארץ: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הממלכה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והמתנשא: CONJ+VERB,hitpael,part,3,m,sg
- לכל: PREP
- לראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:12 (structural): Immediate continuation that echoes and expands the themes of divine rule, provision, and universal sovereignty—‘both riches and honor come from you’ and ‘you reign over all.’
- Psalm 145:3 (verbal): Shared language celebrating God's greatness—‘Great is the LORD’—and praise of his incomparable attributes, paralleling the catalogue of divine honors in 1 Chr 29:11.
- Psalm 103:19 (thematic): Affirms the LORD's enthroned rule and universal kingship—‘The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all’—echoing 29:11’s claim that the kingdom and all in heaven and earth belong to God.
- Daniel 4:34–35 (allusion): Declares God's absolute, worldwide dominion—‘His dominion is an eternal dominion’ and that he does as he pleases—paralleling the Chronicles' emphasis on God's supreme power and exaltation above all.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yours, LORD, are greatness and power and glory and victory and majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head above all.
- To you, LORD, belong greatness and power and glory, victory and splendor; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all.
1 C.29.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והעשר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והכבוד: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מלפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- מושל: VERB,qal,ptc,0,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובידך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss:2,sg
- כח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וגבורה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובידך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss:2,sg
- לגדל: VERB,qal,inf
- ולחזק: VERB,qal,inf
- לכל: PREP
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:11 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same prayer: attributes God's greatness, power and rule over all—closely repeating language about God’s power, majesty and sovereign reign.
- 2 Chronicles 20:6 (verbal): Jehoshaphat's prayer uses nearly identical phrasing—'in thine hand is there not power and might'—affirming God's sovereign rule and hand as the source of strength.
- Daniel 2:20-21 (thematic): Daniel praises God who 'changes times and seasons' and 'removes and sets up kings' and gives wisdom—theme of God’s sovereign control over rulers and ability to exalt and strengthen.
- Daniel 4:35 (thematic): Nebuchadnezzar’s confession that God does as He wills in heaven and earth and none can stay His hand echoes the motif of God’s absolute rule and power to exalt or abase.
- Proverbs 21:1 (thematic): 'The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD' expresses the same theme of God’s control over human affairs and his power to direct and strengthen rulers and nations.
Alternative generated candidates
- Riches and honor come from you; you rule over all. In your hand are strength and power, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.
- Both riches and honor come from you; you rule over all. Power and might are in your hand; in your hand it is to make great and to strengthen all.
1 C.29.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועתה: CONJ
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- מודים: VERB,piel,ptc,mp
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ומהללים: CONJ+VERB,piel,ptc,mp
- לשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תפארתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2fs
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 16:8 (verbal): Davidic psalm calling the people to 'give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name'—a direct verbal and functional parallel to giving thanks and praising God's name in 1 Chr 29:13.
- Psalm 92:1 (verbal): 'It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name'—closely matches the wording and theme of thanking and praising God's name.
- Nehemiah 12:47 (structural): Postexilic liturgical celebration where the people 'gave thanks and praised the LORD'—a structural parallel in communal temple worship and corporate thanksgiving/praise.
- Psalm 115:1 (thematic): 'Not unto us, O LORD... but unto thy name give glory'—the focus on glorifying/praising God's name echoes the emphasis on praising God's glorious name in 1 Chr 29:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.
- And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.
1 C.29.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכי: CONJ
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- ומי: PRON,interr
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- כי: CONJ
- נעצר: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- כח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להתנדב: VERB,hitpael,inf
- כזאת: DEM,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- ומידך: CONJ+PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נתנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (structural): Immediate context of David’s prayer asserting God’s sovereign ownership and that riches and power come from him—same speech theme and language of ‘all is from you.’
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (thematic): Warns against claiming one’s own power and wealth as self‑acquired, affirming instead that God gives the ability to gain wealth—parallel idea that all comes from God.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (verbal): Paul’s rhetorical question 'What do you have that you did not receive?' echoes the humility and recognition that gifts/resources are received from God rather than self‑produced.
- James 1:17 (thematic): Affirms that every good gift comes from above, paralleling the confession that all things are from God and offerings are from what he has given.
- Psalm 24:1 (thematic): Declares the earth and its fullness belong to the LORD, resonating with the Chronicles claim that everything ultimately comes from God.
Alternative generated candidates
- For who am I, and who is my people, that we should be able to offer as willingly as this? For everything is from you, and from your hand we have given to you.
- But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the power to offer willingly like this? For all things come from you, and from your hand we give to you.
1 C.29.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- גרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ותושבים: CONJ+PART,qal,pres,pl,m
- ככל: PREP
- אבתינו: NOUN,m,pl,suff:1pl
- כצל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימינו: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מקוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 39:12 (verbal): Uses the same language of being a 'stranger' and 'sojourner' before God ('for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were'), echoing the self‑description in 1 Chr 29:15.
- Genesis 23:4 (verbal): Abraham's formula 'I am a stranger and a sojourner with you' is the archetype for the 'garim'/'toshavim' terminology used in 1 Chr 29:15.
- Hebrews 11:13 (allusion): Summarizes the patriarchal outlook: the faithful 'confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth,' reflecting the same theological motif of transience expressed in 1 Chr 29:15.
- Psalm 102:11 (verbal): Contains the image 'my days are like a shadow' (or 'my days are like a shadow that declines'), paralleling the grim metaphor of human life as a fleeting shadow in 1 Chr 29:15.
- Job 14:2 (thematic): Speaks of human life coming forth like a flower and fleeing 'as a shadow, and do not continue,' thematically aligning with 1 Chr 29:15's emphasis on the brevity and transience of life.
Alternative generated candidates
- For we are strangers before you, and sojourners, like all our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.
- For we are strangers and sojourners before you, as were all our fathers; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.
1 C.29.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- כל: DET
- ההמון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הכיננו: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg,obj:1pl
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קדשך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,ms
- מידך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ולך: CONJ+PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:14 (verbal): Same prayer context and language: acknowledges that the wealth and the ability to give come from the LORD’s hand (explicit confession that offerings are from God).
- 1 Chronicles 29:11 (thematic): Part of the same doxology celebrating God's sovereignty and ownership—'Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power…'—which frames the confession that all belongs to God.
- Psalm 24:1 (thematic): Declares divine ownership of creation ('The earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof'), paralleling the claim that all provision and possessions belong to God.
- Haggai 2:8 (verbal): Directly asserts God’s ownership of wealth ('The silver is mine, and the gold is mine'), echoing 1 Chr 29:16’s emphasis that riches and building resources come from the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 8:17–18 (thematic): Warns against claiming personal credit for wealth and affirms that God enables people to gain power and wealth—themeually parallel to acknowledging that gifts for the temple come from God’s hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and all is yours.
- 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 is yours.
1 C.29.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כי: CONJ
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בחן: ADJ,ptc,pass,f,sg
- לבב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומישרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תרצה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- בישר: VERB,pi'el,perf,1,m,sg
- לבבי: NOUN,m,sg,suff
- התנדבתי: VERB,hitpael,perf,1,m,sg
- כל: DET
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- ועתה: CONJ
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- הנמצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- פה: ADV
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בשמחה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- להתנדב: VERB,hitpael,inf
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:14 (structural): Immediate context: David acknowledges that everything comes from God and presents voluntary offerings; connects directly to v.17's theme of willing giving and communal generosity.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 (thematic): Both verses stress that God judges the heart rather than outward appearance—David's claim that God 'tests the heart' echoes Samuel's statement that the LORD looks at the heart.
- Psalm 139:23-24 (thematic): A prayer requesting God to search and know the heart and mind parallels David's recognition of God's testing and his desire for integrity before God.
- Proverbs 21:2 (verbal): Proverbs says the LORD 'weighs the heart,' echoing the language and idea in v.17 that God examines and approves upright motives.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (thematic): Paul's teaching that God loves a cheerful/willing giver parallels David's emphasis on voluntary, joyful offerings and pleasing God by upright, willing hearts.
Alternative generated candidates
- I know, my God, that you probe the heart and delight in uprightness. In the integrity of my heart I have freely offered all these, and now I have seen with joy your people who are present here willingly offer themselves to you.
- I know, my God, that you probe the heart and delight in uprightness; in the integrity of my heart I have willingly offered all these things, and now I have seen with joy your people who are present here offering themselves willingly to you.
1 C.29.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אברהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יצחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבתינו: NOUN,m,pl,suff:1pl
- שמרה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg,obj=3,f,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליצר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מחשבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לבב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- והכן: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,sg
- לבבם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:17 (verbal): Immediate parallel—David’s preceding petition uses nearly identical language asking the LORD to preserve this purpose of heart and to prepare the people’s hearts toward God.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 (thematic): David’s charge to Solomon to ‘know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and willing mind’ echoes the call for a heart prepared and directed to the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 (allusion): Promise that the LORD will ‘circumcise your heart’ so that Israel will love and return to him—parallel idea of God effecting an inward turning of the people’s hearts.
- Jeremiah 31:33 (thematic): Prophetic promise that God will put his law within them and write it on their hearts, indicating an inward, divinely wrought orientation toward God.
- Ezekiel 36:26–27 (thematic): God’s vow to give a new heart and put his Spirit within people so they will follow his statutes corresponds to the plea that God prepare and incline the people’s hearts to him.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—our fathers—keep this forever in the thoughts of the hearts of your people; set and prepare their hearts toward you.
- O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—our fathers—keep this for ever; direct the thoughts of the hearts of your people and make their hearts ready toward you.
1 C.29.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולשלמה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- תן: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לבב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלם: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- לשמור: VERB,qal,inf
- מצותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,2ms
- עדותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,2ms
- וחקיך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- ולעשות: CONJ+VERB,qal,inf
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
- ולבנות: CONJ+PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- הבירה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הכינותי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (verbal): David charges Solomon to know and serve God 'with a perfect heart and with a willing mind,' closely mirroring the petition that Solomon be given a whole/perfect heart to keep God's commands.
- 1 Kings 8:61 (verbal): Solomon's exhortation to Israel—'let your heart be perfect with the LORD... to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments'—echoes the same language of wholehearted obedience found in 1 Chr 29:19.
- 1 Kings 3:9-12 (thematic): Solomon's request for an understanding/wisdom-filled heart and God's granting of wisdom parallels the theme of God giving Solomon a right/whole heart to fulfill his royal and cultic responsibilities.
- 1 Chronicles 22:11-13 (thematic): David's commissioning of Solomon to be strong, keep the charge of the LORD, and observe the law corresponds to the prayer that Solomon be enabled (with a whole heart) to keep commandments and build the house God prepared.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (allusion): The call to wholehearted devotion to God ('with all your heart') underlies 1 Chr 29:19's plea for a 'whole heart' devoted to keeping God's commandments and statutes.
Alternative generated candidates
- And to Solomon my son give a wholehearted heart to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, to do all, and to build the house that I have prepared.
- And give to Solomon my son a whole heart to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, to do all, and to build the palace that I have prepared.
1 C.29.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דויד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- הקהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ברכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- נא: PART
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ויברכו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- הקהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אבתיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3mp
- ויקדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וישתחוו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ולמלך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (verbal): Immediate literary parallel in the same chapter: David offers a formal prayer of praise and blessing to Yahweh, language and liturgical tone closely related to his command that the assembly bless the LORD.
- 2 Samuel 6:17-18 (thematic): Same narrative tradition (David bringing worship to the people): after offerings are made David blesses the people in the name of the LORD—paralleling the communal blessing and cultic context in 1 Chr 29:20.
- Nehemiah 8:6 (structural): Similar liturgical reaction: a leader blesses God, the people respond with 'Amen' and physically bow/prostrate before the LORD—comparable communal worship gestures and response.
- 1 Kings 1:39-40 (structural): Scene of royal acclamation: the people cry out for the king and show homage after an anointing/installation—parallels the combined veneration of LORD and king in 1 Chr 29:20.
- Psalm 106:48 (verbal): Liturgical doxology that ends with a communal blessing ('Blessed be the LORD... and let all the people say, Amen!')—echoes the congregational blessing language and response found in 1 Chr 29:20.
Alternative generated candidates
- And David said to the whole assembly, "Bless the LORD your God." And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and they bowed and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.
- Then David said to the whole assembly, "Bless the LORD your God." And all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.
And David blessed the LORD in the sight of the whole assembly and said, 'Blessed are you, O LORD, God of Israel, our father, from everlasting to everlasting.'
Yours, O LORD, are greatness and power and glory and victory and splendor; for all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head above all.
Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are strength and power; it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer willingly like this? For everything is from you, and from your hand we have given to you.
For we are aliens and sojourners before you, as were all our fathers; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.
O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and all is yours.
I know, my God, that you test the heart and delight in uprightness. In integrity of heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen with joy your people present here offer willingly to you.
O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever; direct the thoughts of the hearts of your people and prepare their hearts toward you. And give to Solomon my son a whole heart to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, to do all and to build the house that I have prepared.
Then David said to the whole assembly, 'Bless the LORD your God.' And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers; and they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.