The Ark Enters the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5:1-10)
1Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. 5And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. 6And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. 7For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 8And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. 9There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
Solomon Praises the Lord
(2 Chronicles 6:1-11)
12Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
13I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
14And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) 15And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 17And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 18And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 19Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. 20And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 6:12-42)
22And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 23And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: 24Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 25Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. 26And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 28Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: 29That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. 30And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
31If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: 32Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: 34Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
35When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
37If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) 40That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
41Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; 42(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
44If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: 45Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; 47Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; 48And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: 49Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: 51For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: 52That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. 53For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.
Solomon's Benediction
54And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 57The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: 58That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. 59And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: 60That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. 61Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
Sacrifices of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 7:4-7)
62And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. 63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. 66On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Ark Enters the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5:1–14)
1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 All the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 All the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 They brought up the ark of Yahweh, and the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; even these the priests and the Levites brought up. 5 King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. 6 The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above. 8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the oracle; but they were not seen outside: and there they are to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 It came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Yahweh, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.
Solomon Blesses the LORD
(2 Chronicles 6:1–11)
12 Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
13 I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
14 The king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 He said, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David your father, and has with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 “Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 18 But Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come forth out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Yahweh has established his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 21 There I have set a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of Yahweh, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 6:12–42)
22 Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart; 24 who have kept with your servant David my father that which you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day. 25 Now therefore, may Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 “Now therefore, God of Israel, please let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David my father.
27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you this day; 29 that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there;’ to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place. 30 Listen to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place. Yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
31 “If a man sins against his neighbor, and an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and he comes and swear before your altar in this house; 32 then hear in heaven, and do, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33 “When your people Israel are struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you; if they turn again to you, and confess your name, and pray and make supplication to you in this house: 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to their fathers.
35 “When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them: 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.
37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight, mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 then hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men;) 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.
41 “Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name, and of your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.
44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to Yahweh toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name; 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46 If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; 47 yet if they shall repent in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have done perversely; we have dealt wickedly;’ 48 if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name: 49 then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, your dwelling place, and maintain their cause; 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions in which they have transgressed against you; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your inheritance, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron); 52 that your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant, and to the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they cry to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your inheritance, as you spoke by Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord Yahweh.”
Solomon’s Benediction
54 It was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to Yahweh, he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven. 55 He stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56 “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. There has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant. 57 May Yahweh our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us, nor forsake us; 58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that he may maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require; 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh, he is God. There is none else. 61 “Let your heart therefore be perfect with Yahweh our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.”
Sacrifices of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 7:4–10)
62 The king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before Yahweh. 63 Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, two and twenty thousand head of cattle, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh. 64 The same day the king made the middle of the court holy that was before the house of Yahweh; for there he offered the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too little to receive the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David his servant, and to Israel his people.
The Ark Enters the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5:1–14)
1 At that time Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David. 2 And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, a the month of Ethanim. b
3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up.
5 There, before the ark, King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled with him sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, c beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
8 The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; d and they are there to this day.
9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, e where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD 11 so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
Solomon Blesses the LORD
(2 Chronicles 6:1–11)
12 Then Solomon declared:
“The LORD f has said that He would dwell
in the thick cloud.
13 I have indeed built You an exalted house,
a place for You to dwell forever.”
14 And as the whole assembly of Israel stood there, the king turned around and blessed them all 15 and said:
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying, 16 ‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’
20 Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have provided a place for the ark, which contains the covenant of the LORD that He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 6:12–42)
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said:
“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, keeping Your covenant of loving devotion with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 24 You have kept Your promise to Your servant, my father David. What You spoke with Your mouth You have fulfilled with Your hand this day.
25 Therefore now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, what You promised when You said: ‘You will never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants guard their way to walk before Me as you have done.’ 26 And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised to Your servant, my father David.
27 But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built. 28 Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
29 May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
31 When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
33 When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading with You in this temple, 34 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.
35 When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, 36 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
37 When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come, 38 then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple— 39 be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men— 40 so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
41 And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name— 42 for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.
44 When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name, 45 then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.
46 When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near, 47 and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’ 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name, 49 then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause. 50 May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
51 For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron. 52 May Your eyes be open to the pleas of Your servant and of Your people Israel, and may You listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You, O Lord GOD, as Your inheritance, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Benediction
54 Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.
57 May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us. 58 May He incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances He commanded our fathers.
59 And may these words with which I have made my petition before the LORD be near to the LORD our God day and night, so that He may uphold the cause of His servant and of His people Israel as each day requires, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other!
61 So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”
Sacrifices of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 7:4–10)
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.
64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.
65 So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more days—fourteen days in all.
66 On the fifteenth day g Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel.
Footnotes:
2 a That is, the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths or Shelters); similarly in verse 65; see Leviticus 23:33–36.
2 b Ethanim was the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurring within the months of September and October.
6 c Or the Holy of Holies
8 d Literally not from outside
9 e That is, Mount Sinai, or possibly a mountain in the range containing Mount Sinai
12 f Some LXX manuscripts The Lord has set the sun in the heavens, but
66 g Hebrew On the eighth day , probably referring to the day following the seven-day feast; see 2 Chronicles 7:9–10.
The Ark Enters the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5:1-10)
1Then doth Solomon assemble the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, princes of the fathers of the sons of Israel, unto king Solomon, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the city of David -- it is Zion; 2and all the men of Israel are assembled unto king Solomon, in the month of Ethanim, in the festival -- is the seventh month. 3And all the elders of Israel come in, and the priests lift up the ark, 4and bring up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that are in the tent, yea, the priests and the Levites bring them up. 5And king Solomon and all the company of Israel who are met unto him are with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that are not counted nor numbered for multitude. 6And the priests bring in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, unto the oracle of the house, unto the holy of holies, unto the place of the wings of the cherubs; 7for the cherubs are spreading forth two wings unto the place of the ark, and the cherubs cover over the ark, and over its staves from above; 8and they lengthen the staves, and the heads of the staves are seen from the holy place on the front of the oracle, and are not seen without, and they are there unto this day. 9There is nothing in the ark, only the two tables of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, when Jehovah covenanted with the sons of Israel in their going out of the land of Egypt. 10And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the holy place, that the cloud hath filled the house of Jehovah, 11and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.
Solomon Praises the Lord
(2 Chronicles 6:1-11)
12Then said Solomon, 'Jehovah hath said to dwell in thick darkness;
13I have surely built a house of habitation for Thee; a fixed place for Thine abiding to the ages.'
14And the king turneth round his face, and blesseth the whole assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel is standing. 15And he saith, 'Blessed is Jehovah, God of Israel, who spake by His mouth with David my father, and by His hand hath fulfilled it, saying, 16From the day that I brought out My people, even Israel, from Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house for My name being there; and I fix on David to be over My people Israel. 17'And it is with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel, 18and Jehovah saith unto David my father, Because that it hath been with thy heart to build a house for My name, thou hast done well that it hath been with thy heart; 19only, thou dost not build the house, but thy son who is coming out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name. 20'And Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake, and I am risen up instead of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah spake, and build the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel, 21and set there a place for the ark, where is the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers in His bringing them out from the land of Egypt.'
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 6:12-42)
22And Solomon standeth before the altar of Jehovah, over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth his hands towards the heavens, 23and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, there is not a God like Thee, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants, those walking before Thee with all their heart, 24who hast kept for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest to him; yea, Thou speakest with Thy mouth, and with Thy hand hast fulfilled it, as at this day. 25'And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest to him, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from before Me, sitting on the throne of Israel -- only, if thy sons watch their way, to walk before Me as thou hast walked before Me. 26'And now, O God of Israel, let it be established, I pray Thee, Thy word which Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, David my father.
27But, is it true? -- God dwelleth on the earth! lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens do not contain Thee, how much less this house which I have builded! 28'Then thou hast turned unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer which Thy servant is praying before Thee to-day, 29for Thine eyes being open towards this house night and day, towards the place of which Thou hast said, My Name is there; to hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant prayeth towards this place. 30'Then Thou hast hearkened unto the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they pray towards this place; yea, Thou dost hearken in the place of Thy dwelling, in the heavens -- and Thou hast hearkened, and hast forgiven,
31that which a man sinneth against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up upon him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house, 32then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to declare wicked the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33'In Thy people Israel being smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back unto Thee, and have confessed Thy name, and prayed, and made supplication unto Thee in this house, 34then thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and brought them back unto the ground that Thou gavest to their fathers.
35'In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name, and from their sin turn back, for Thou dost afflict them, 36then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, for Thou directest them the good way in which they go, and hast given rain on Thy land which Thou hast given to Thy people for inheritance.
37Famine -- when it is in the land; pestilence -- when it is; blasting, mildew, locust; caterpillar -- when it is; when its enemy hath distressed it in the land in its gates, any plague, any sickness, -- 38any prayer, any supplication that is of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house, 39then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known -- Thyself alone -- the heart of all the sons of man), 40so that they fear Thee all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.
41'And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake -- 42(for they hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm) -- and he hath come in and prayed towards this house, 43Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.
44'When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Jehovah the way of the city which thou hast fixed on, and of the house which I have builded for Thy name; 45then Thou hast heard in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause.
46'When they sin against Thee (for there is not a man who sinneth not), and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity unto the land of the enemy far off or near; 47and they have turned it back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely -- we have done wickedly; 48yea, they have turned back unto Thee, with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed unto Thee the way of their land, which Thou gavest to their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have builded for Thy name: 49'Then Thou hast heard in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause, 50and hast forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee, even all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee, and hast given them mercies before their captors, and they have had mercy on them -- 51(for Thy people and Thy inheritance are they, whom Thou didst bring out of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron) -- 52for Thine eyes being open unto the supplication of Thy servant, and unto the supplication of Thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all they call unto Thee for; 53for Thou hast separated them to Thyself for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, as Thou didst speak by the hand of Moses Thy servant, in Thy bringing out our fathers from Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.'
Solomon's Benediction
54And it cometh to pass, at Solomon's finishing to pray unto Jehovah all this prayer and supplication, he hath risen from before the altar of Jehovah, from bending on his knees, and his hands spread out to the heavens, 55and he standeth and blesseth all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56Blessed is Jehovah who hath given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He hath spoken; there hath not fallen one word of all His good word, which He spake by the hand of Moses his servant. 57'Jehovah our God is with us as He hath been with our fathers; He doth not forsake us nor leave us; 58to incline our heart unto Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers; 59and these my words with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, are near unto Jehovah our God by day and by night, to maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, the matter of a day in its day; 60for all the peoples of the earth knowing that Jehovah, He is God; there is none else; 61and your heart hath been perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commands, as at this day.'
Sacrifices of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 7:4-7)
62And the king and all Israel with him are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah; 63and Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he hath sacrificed to Jehovah, oxen, twenty and two thousand, and sheep, a hundred and twenty thousand; and the king and all the sons of Israel dedicate the house of Jehovah. 64On that day hath the king sanctified the middle of the court that is before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings; for the altar of brass that is before Jehovah is too little to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings.
65And Solomon maketh, at that time, the festival -- and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt -- before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days; fourteen days. 66On the eighth day he hath sent the people away, and they bless the king, and go to their tents, rejoicing and glad of heart for all the good that Jehovah hath done to David His servant, and to Israel His people.
