So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, from whom he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB David gave orders to gather together the foreigners who were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to cut dressed stones to build God’s house.
- KJV And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.
- NKJV So David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God.
- NASB So David gave orders to gather the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to cut out stones to build the house of God.
- NLT So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David organized the resident foreigners to quarry and dress stones for building God's house. He began active, practical preparation for the temple.
Overview
David mustered the non-Israelite laborers in the land to prepare cut stone for the temple. His careful organization shows wise stewardship and forward planning, even though he himself would not build the temple. That foreigners shared in the work hints at God's wider purpose to gather people from all nations into His house, a theme realized in the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Kgs 5:17–18And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
- 2 Chr 2:17Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all.
- 1 Kgs 9:20–21As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
- Ezra 3:7They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.
- 1 Kgs 6:7The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
- 2 Sam 5:11Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
- Isa 61:5–6Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.
- 1 Kgs 7:9–12All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard.
- 2 Kgs 12:12masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.
- 2 Chr 8:7–8As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
- Eph 2:19–22Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,
- 1 Chr 14:1Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters, to build a palace for him.
- 2 Kgs 22:6to the carpenters, builders, and masons—to buy timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.
- Eph 2:12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 22:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.