1 Chronicles 29 16

1 Chronicles 29:16 kjv

O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

1 Chronicles 29:16 nkjv

"O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.

1 Chronicles 29:16 niv

LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

1 Chronicles 29:16 esv

O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.

1 Chronicles 29:16 nlt

"O LORD our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!

1 Chronicles 29 verses

1 Chronicles 29 16 Meaning

1 Chronicles 29:16 is a profound statement by King David acknowledging that all the abundant wealth and resources gathered for the construction of God's house (the Temple) in Jerusalem did not originate from human might or possessions but flowed entirely from God's hand and inherently belongs to Him alone. It emphasizes divine ownership, underscoring that human giving is a mere returning of what God has first provided.

1 Chronicles 29 16 Context

1 Chronicles 29:16 is embedded within David's final public acts and instructions before his death. The preceding verses (1 Chr 29:1-9) detail David's personal dedication of vast treasures for the Temple's construction and his invitation for the people to offer willingly. The people respond with extraordinary generosity. Verse 16 is part of David's magnificent prayer of thanksgiving and blessing to the Lord, uttered immediately after these abundant offerings. This prayer, spanning 1 Chronicles 29:10-19, celebrates God's sovereignty, power, majesty, and eternal nature. It sets a theological foundation for Israel's future worship, emphasizing that even their most lavish gifts for God's holy house are merely returning what was already His, given from His hand. The chronicler, likely writing in a post-exilic period, underscores divine initiative and Israel's proper theological posture of dependence and gratitude towards God for His blessings, even in national endeavors.

1 Chronicles 29 16 Word analysis

• O Lord our God (יהוה אלהינו - YHWH Eloheinu): This address highlights both God's covenant name (YHWH), signifying His faithful, personal relationship with Israel, and His majestic, all-powerful title (Elohim, here "Eloheinu" - "our God"). It sets the tone for a prayer acknowledging absolute divine authority and intimate relationship. The possessive "our" (אלהינו) reflects Israel's unique status as God's chosen people, but immediately precedes the declaration of God's universal ownership.

• all this abundance (כֹּל־הֶהָמוֹן הַזֶּה - kol-hehamon hazzeh): Hamon means "multitude," "abundance," "wealth," "store." It refers to the immense collection of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and precious stones gathered for the Temple. The term stresses the vastness of the provision, implying human effort in accumulating it, yet the context clarifies the true source.

• that we have provided (הֵכִינוּ - hekînu): From the root kun, meaning "to establish," "prepare," "make ready." It acknowledges human agency in collecting and preparing the materials. This human act, however, is not presented as self-originated but as a responsive act to divine blessing and purpose, a clear example of stewardship where human effort is a channel for God's plan.

• for building You a house (לִבְנוֹת לְךָ בַּיִת - livnot l'kha bayit): This phrase states the purpose of the immense offering: to construct a dwelling place for God. While a physical structure, the Bible makes it clear that God is not confined to human-made temples, as seen in David's later praise (1 Kgs 8:27) and prophetic declarations (Isa 66:1). The building is for His presence and worship, a designated place for Him among His people.

• for Your holy name (לְשֵׁם קָדְשֶׁךָ - l'shem qadshekha): The ultimate purpose of the Temple and the offerings. God's "name" represents His character, nature, authority, and presence. Building "for His holy name" signifies the desire to honor Him, manifest His glory, and establish a place where His presence is especially felt and invoked by a consecrated people. It underscores that all worship and service is directed to the hallowing of His Name.

• comes from Your hand (מִיָּדְךָ הוּא - miyyadkha hu): Miyyadkha literally "from Your hand." The "hand" of God is a common biblical metaphor representing His power, provision, agency, and sovereign activity. This phrase directly attributes the source of all the gathered wealth not to human skill, labor, or economic success, but exclusively to God's benevolent power. It highlights that giving is an act of returning, not an act of initiating generosity towards a God in need.

• and is all Your own (וּלְךָ הַכֹּל - ul'kha hakkol): L'kha "to You" or "belonging to You." Hakkol "the whole," "the entirety," "all." This conclusive statement reiterates absolute and total divine ownership. There is no partial ownership; every single item, every resource, in its entirety, is already God's. This reinforces that giving to God is fundamentally an acknowledgment of His dominion, not an act of transfer of independent property. This implicitly polemicizes against any notion of self-made wealth or human autonomy over possessions, which would have been prevalent in surrounding pagan cultures that viewed gods as needing to be appeased by human-generated resources.

1 Chronicles 29 16 Bonus section

The repeated emphasis on God's ownership ("from Your hand," "all Your own") is a consistent theological thread throughout Chronicles, distinguishing its narrative from other historical accounts by highlighting God's active involvement in the prosperity and worship life of Israel. This perspective was crucial for the post-exilic audience of Chronicles, reminding them that restoration and blessing flow from divine favor and sovereign provision, not from human merit or self-reliance, which was a vital lesson after the desolation of the exile. This also lays the groundwork for understanding the nature of New Covenant giving as an act of grace-empowered worship, echoing the understanding that everything good we have received is from above (Jas 1:17).

1 Chronicles 29 16 Commentary

King David's declaration in 1 Chronicles 29:16 is a profound theological statement that encapsulates the core principle of biblical stewardship. Having seen his people give extravagantly for the Temple's construction, David immediately redirects all praise and credit back to God. The lavish materials were indeed collected by human hands and through human effort, yet David firmly asserts that the very capacity to acquire, the resources themselves, and even the generous impulse to give, all originated from God's "hand."

This verse teaches that human generosity is not about supplying something God lacks, nor is it an act that puts God in our debt. Rather, it is an act of acknowledging divine sovereignty and demonstrating faithful stewardship of resources that God already owns. By giving, we are not parting with our own property for God's benefit, but humbly returning a portion of what is already His. This understanding fosters profound humility, eradicates pride in giving, and cultivates true worship rooted in gratitude. It affirms God as the ultimate provider and rightful possessor of all things in creation. Practically, this implies that all our possessions, talents, and time are ultimately God's, to be used according to His will for His glory, with our "giving" being an expression of joyful recognition of this truth.