📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 28:10
What does 1 Chronicles 28:10 mean?
"Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”"
— 1 Chronicles 28:10 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues to do my commandments and my ordinances, as it is today.’
Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, Yahweh’s assembly, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of Yahweh your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.
You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
Take heed now; for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”
Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat;
and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of Yahweh’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things;
also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of Yahweh’s house, and for all the vessels of service in Yahweh’s house;
Explanation
1 Chronicles 28:10 records King David's words to his son Solomon, spoken publicly before the assembled leaders of Israel near the end of David's life. In plain language, David is telling Solomon to pay careful attention because God himself has specifically chosen him for a great task: building the temple, the house where God's presence would dwell among his people. David follows this reminder of divine calling with a command to be strong and to actually carry out the work — not merely to feel honored by the responsibility, but to act on it with courage and diligence.
The context is essential to understanding the verse. David had wanted to build the temple himself, but God had told him through the prophet Nathan that because David was a man of war who had shed much blood, his son would be the one to build it instead (see 1 Chronicles 22:8 and 28:3). Rather than resenting this, David spends his final days preparing everything for Solomon's success — gathering materials, organizing the priests and Levites, and providing detailed plans for the temple's construction, which he says came from God (28:11-19). This verse comes at the climactic moment of that transfer of responsibility, as David charges his son in front of witnesses.
Theologically, the verse highlights the idea of divine election for specific purposes. Solomon's task is not self-chosen ambition but a calling from Yahweh himself. This reflects a broader biblical pattern in which God selects particular individuals for particular works — not because of inherent merit, but according to his own purposes. The verse also joins calling with responsibility: being chosen by God does not exempt Solomon from effort or di
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.