1 Kings 8
8
The Ark Brought to the Temple
2Ch 5:2–6:11
1#2Ch 5:2–10; 2Sa 6:12–17Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they could ensure that the ark of the covenant of the Lord would be brought out of the City of David in Zion. 2#Lev 23:34; 2Ch 7:8–10All the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3#Dt 31:9; Jos 3:6All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. 4#1Ki 3:4; 2Ch 1:3The priests and Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy implements that were in the tabernacle. 5#2Sa 6:13King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled before him stood together in front of the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be told or numbered.
6#2Sa 6:17; 1Ki 6:19The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. 7For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and the poles from above. 8#Ex 25:13–15; 37:4–5The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen out in the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside, and they are there to this day. 9#Ex 25:21; 40:20; Heb 9:4There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
10#Ex 40:34–35; 2Ch 7:1–2And when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11so that the priests could not continue to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
12#Ps 97:2; Lev 16:2Then Solomon spoke, saying, “The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. 13#2Sa 7:13; Ex 15:17I have surely built You a house to dwell in, a settled place for You to abide in forever.”
14#2Sa 6:18Then the king turned around and blessed all the congregation of Israel (and all the congregation of Israel stood), 15#Lk 1:68; 1Ch 29:10and he said,
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has with His hand fulfilled His word, saying, 16#1Sa 16:1; Dt 12:11‘Since the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city from any tribe of Israel to build a house where My name might be praised, but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’
17#2Sa 7:2–3“My father David had it in mind to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 18The Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you had good intentions. 19#2Sa 7:5; 7:12–13Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who will come out of your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’
20#1Ch 28:5–6“The Lord has fulfilled His word that He spoke, and I have been elevated to the position of my father David, to sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised, and have built a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 21#Dt 31:26; 1Ki 8:9I have set a place there for the ark, which houses 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
2Ch 6:12–40
22#Ezr 9:5; Ex 9:33Then Solomon stood in front of the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel and spread his hands toward heaven. 23#Dt 7:9; 2Sa 7:22and he said,
“Lord God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below who keeps covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts, 24#1Ki 8:15who have kept what You promised Your servant David my father. You spoke also with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.
25#1Ki 2:4“Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You will not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, so long as your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26Now, O God of Israel, let Your word, I pray, be fulfilled, which You spoke to Your servant David my father.
27#Jer 23:24; 2Ch 2:6; Isa 66:1“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? See, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less can this house that I have built? 28Yet give consideration to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, 29#Dt 12:11; Ne 1:6that Your eyes may be upon this house night and day, even toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may listen to the prayer which Your servant shall make toward this place. 30#1Ki 8:34; 8:36Please listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.
31#Ex 22:8–11“If any man sins against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath comes before Your altar in this house, 32#Dt 25:1then may You hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness.
33#Lev 26:17; Dt 28:25“When Your people Israel are defeated by their enemies, because they have sinned against You, and they turn back to You and call upon Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house, 34then may You 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#Lev 26:19; Dt 11:17“When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, if they pray toward this place and call upon Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them, 36#1Sa 12:23; Ps 27:11then may You hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk and give rain upon Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
37#Lev 26:16; Dt 28:21–22“When there is famine in the land, if there is plague, blight, mildew, locust, or grasshopper; if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is; 38whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; 39#1Sa 16:7; 1Ch 28:9then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and render to everyone according to all his ways, whose hearts You know—for only You know the hearts of the sons of men— 40#Ps 130:4so that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
41#1Ki 10:1–2“Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel and comes from a far country for Your name’s sake 42#Dt 3:24(for they will hear of Your great name and of Your strong hand and of Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43#1Sa 17:46; Ps 102:15may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do all that the foreigner asks of You, so all people of the earth will know Your name, to fear You as Your people Israel do, 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 wherever You send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and toward the house that I have built for Your name, 45then may You hear their prayer and supplication in heaven and maintain their cause.
46#Ecc 7:20; Pr 20:9; Lev 26:34–39“If they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin), and You get angry with them and hand them over to the enemy so that they are carried away as captives to the land of the enemy, far or near, 47#Ps 106:6; Ezr 9:6–7yet when they come to their senses while in the land where they were carried captives and repent and make supplication to You, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and have committed wickedness,’ 48#Da 6:10; Dt 4:29and so return to You with all their hearts and with all their souls in the land of their enemies, who carried them away as captives, 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, 49then may You hear their prayers and supplications in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, 50#Ps 106:46; 2Ch 30:9and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they committed against You and grant them compassion before those who carried them away as captives, so they will have compassion on them. 51#Dt 4:20; Jer 11:4For they are Your people and Your inheritance whom You brought forth out of Egypt from the midst of the furnace of iron.
52#1Ki 8:29“Let Your eyes be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them regarding all for which they call upon You. 53#Ex 19:5–6; Dt 32:9For You did call them out from among all the people of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by the hand of Moses Your servant when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”
54#Lk 22:45Now when Solomon finished praying this prayer and making supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55#1Ki 8:14; 2Sa 6:18He stood up and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56#Dt 12:10; Jos 23:14–15“Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word of His promises which He gave by the hand of Moses His servant has failed. 57#Dt 31:6; Jos 1:5The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. Let Him neither leave us nor forsake us, 58#Ps 119:36; Jer 31:33that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be close to the Lord our God day and night, that He will maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel at all times as the situation demands, 60#Dt 4:35; 1Ki 18:39so that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is none else. 61#1Ki 11:4; 2Ki 20:3Let your hearts, therefore, be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
The Dedication of the Temple
2Ch 7:1–10
62#2Sa 6:17–19The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. 63#Ezr 6:16–17; Ne 12:27Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
64#2Ch 4:1The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord, for there he offered burnt offerings and meat offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings and meat offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.
65#Nu 34:5; 34:8; 1Ki 8:2At that time, Solomon held a feast for all Israel, a great congregation, from the entry of Lebo Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and another seven days, a total of fourteen days. 66On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their tents rejoicing in their hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David His servant and for Israel His people.
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1 Kings 8: MEV
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Military Bible Association
1 Kings 8
8
The Ark Brought to the Temple
1Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. 2So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.#8:2 Hebrew at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. The Festival of Shelters began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day occurred in late September, October, or early November.
3When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. 4The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent#8:4 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; i.e., the tent mentioned in 2 Sam 6:17 and 1 Chr 16:1. and all the sacred items that had been in it. 5There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!
6Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. 8These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. 9Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai,#8:9 Hebrew at Horeb, another name for Sinai. where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.
10When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 11The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.
Solomon Praises the Lord
12Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. 13Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!#8:13 Some Greek texts add the line Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?”
14Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: 15“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, 16‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”
17Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, 19but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’
20“And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, 23and he prayed,
“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 24You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today.
25“And now, O Lord, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow me as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 26Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father.
27“But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.
31“If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar in this Temple, 32then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Punish the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.
33“If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, 34then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors.
35“If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, 36then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.
37“If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— 38and if your people Israel pray about their troubles, raising their hands toward this Temple, 39then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. 40Then they will fear you as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.
41“In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, 42for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, 43then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.
44“If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to the Lord by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, 45then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause.
46“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. 47But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ 48If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— 49then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. 50Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, 51for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.
52“May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. May you hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you. 53For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign Lord, you told your servant Moses that you had set Israel apart from all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession.”
The Dedication of the Temple
54When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. 55He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel:
56“Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. 58May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. 59And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the Lord be before him constantly, day and night, so that the Lord our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. 60Then people all over the earth will know that the Lord alone is God and there is no other. 61And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.”
62Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63Solomon offered to the Lord a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the Lord.
64That same day the king consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters#8:65a Hebrew the festival; see note on 8:2. in the presence of the Lord our God. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. The celebration went on for fourteen days in all—seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters.#8:65b Hebrew seven days and seven days, fourteen days; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:8-10. 66After the festival was over,#8:66 Hebrew On the eighth day, probably referring to the day following the seven-day Festival of Shelters; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:9-10. Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the Lord had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel.
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