lomon
To Reign.

1. After the delivery of this prophecy, the king commanded the strangers
to be numbered; and they were found to be one hundred and eighty
thousand; of these he appointed fourscore thousand to be hewers of
stone, and the rest of the multitude to carry the stones, and of them he
set over the workmen three thousand and five hundred. He also prepared
a great quantity of iron and brass for the work, with many [and those
exceeding large] cedar trees; the Tyrians and Sidonians sending them to
him, for he had sent to them for a supply of those trees. And he told
his friends that these things were now prepared, that he might leave
materials ready for the building of the temple to his son, who was to
reign after him, and that he might not have them to seek then, when he
was very young, and by reason of his age unskillful in such matters, but
might have them lying by him, and so might the more readily complete the
work.

2. So David called his son Solomon, and charged him, when he had
received the kingdom, to build a temple to God, and said, "I was willing
to build God a temple myself, but he prohibited me, because I was
polluted with blood and wars; but he hath foretold that Solomon, my
youngest son, should build him a temple, and should be called by that
name; over whom he hath promised to take the like care as a father takes
over his son; and that he would make the country of the Hebrews happy
under him, and that, not only in other respects, but by giving it
peace and freedom from wars, and from internal seditions, which are
the greatest of all blessings. Since, therefore," says he, "thou wast
ordained king by God himself before thou wast born, endeavor to render
thyself worthy of this his providence, as in other instances, so
particularly in being religious, and righteous, and courageous. Keep
thou also his commands and his laws, which he hath given us by Moses,
and do not permit others to break them. Be zealous also to dedicate to
God a temple, which he hath chosen to be built under thy reign; nor
be thou aftrighted by the vastness of the work, nor set about it
timorously, for I will make all things ready before I die: and take
notice, that there are already ten thousand talents of gold, and a
hundred thousand talents of silver [25] collected together. I have also
laid together brass and iron without number, and an immense quantity
of timber and of stones. Moreover, thou hast many ten thousand
stone-cutt