1 Kings 8
8
Solomon Brings the Sacred Chest to the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5.2—6.2)
1-2 #
2 S 6.11-16; 1 Ch 15.25-29;
Lv 23.34. The sacred chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also known as the city of David. But Solomon decided to have the chest moved to the temple while everyone was in Jerusalem, celebrating the Festival of Shelters during Ethanim,#8.1,2 Ethanim: The seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-September to mid-October. the seventh month of the year.
Solomon called together the important leaders of Israel. 3-4Then the priests and the Levites carried to the temple the sacred chest, the sacred tent, and the objects used for worship. 5Solomon and a crowd of people stood in front of the chest and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted.
6The priests carried the chest into the most holy place and put it under the winged creatures, 7whose wings covered both the chest and the poles used for carrying it. 8The poles were so long that they could be seen from right outside the most holy place, but not from anywhere else. And they stayed there from then on.
9 #
Dt 10.5. The only things kept in the chest were the two flat stones Moses had put there when the Lord made his agreement with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai,#8.9 Sinai: Hebrew “Horeb.” after bringing them out of Egypt.
10 #
Ex 40.34,35. Suddenly a cloud filled the temple as the priests were leaving the most holy place. 11The Lord's glory was in the cloud, and the light from it was so bright that the priests could not stay inside to do their work. 12#Ps 18.11; 97.2. Then Solomon prayed:
“Our Lord, you said that you
would live in a dark cloud.
13Now I have built a glorious temple
where you can live forever.”
Solomon Speaks to the People
(2 Chronicles 6.3-11)
14Solomon turned toward the people standing there. Then he blessed them 15-16#2 S 7.4-11; 1 Ch 17.3-10. and said:
Praise the Lord God of Israel! Long ago he brought his people out of Egypt. He did not choose a city from any tribe in Israel where his temple would be built, but he kept his promise to make my father David the king of Israel.
17 #
2 S 7.1-3; 1 Ch 17.1,2. So when David wanted to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel, 18the Lord said, “It's good that you want to build a temple where I can be worshiped. 19#2 S 7.12,13; 1 Ch 17.11,12. But you're not the one to do it. Your son will build a temple to honor me.”
20The Lord has done what he promised. I am the king of Israel like my father, and I've built a temple for the Lord our God. 21I've also made a place in the temple for the sacred chest. And in that chest are the two flat stones on which is written the solemn agreement the Lord made with our ancestors when he led them out of Egypt.
Solomon Prays at the Temple
(2 Chronicles 6.12-42)
22Solomon stood facing the altar with everyone standing behind him. Then he lifted his arms toward heaven 23and prayed:
Lord God of Israel, no other god in heaven or on earth is like you!
You never forget the agreement you made with your people, and you are loyal to anyone who faithfully obeys your teachings. 24My father David was your servant, and today you have kept every promise you made to him.
25 #
1 K 2.4. Lord God of Israel, you promised my father that someone from his family would always be king of Israel, if they do their best to obey you, just as he did. 26Please keep this promise you made to your servant David.
27 #
2 Ch 2.6; 3 Macc 2.15. There's not enough room in all of heaven for you, Lord God. How could you possibly live on earth in this temple I have built? 28But I ask you to answer my prayer. 29#Dt 12.5-19. This is the temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. Please watch over it day and night and listen when I turn toward it and pray. 30I am your servant, and the people of Israel belong to you. So whenever any of us look toward this temple and pray, answer from your home in heaven and forgive our sins.
31Suppose someone accuses a person of a crime, and the accused has to stand in front of the altar in your temple and say, “I swear I am innocent!” 32Listen from heaven and decide who is right. Then punish the guilty person and let the innocent one go free.
33 #
3 Macc 2.10. Suppose your people Israel sin against you, and then an enemy defeats them. If they come to this temple and beg for forgiveness, 34listen from your home in heaven. Forgive them and bring them back to the land you gave their ancestors.
35Suppose your people sin against you, and you punish them by holding back the rain. If they turn toward this temple and pray in your name and stop sinning, 36listen from your home in heaven and forgive them. The people of Israel are your servants, so teach them to live right. And please send rain on the land you gave them to be theirs forever.
37Sometimes the crops may dry up or rot or be eaten by locusts#8.37 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life. or grasshoppers, and your people will be starving. Sometimes enemies may surround their towns, or your people will become sick with deadly diseases. 38Listen when anyone in Israel truly feels sorry and sincerely prays with arms lifted toward your temple. 39You know what is in everyone's heart. So from your home in heaven answer their prayers, according to the way they live and what is in their hearts. 40Then your people will worship and obey you for as long as they live in the land you gave their ancestors.
41-42Foreigners will hear about you and your mighty power, and some of them will come to live among your people Israel. If any of them pray toward this temple, 43listen from your home in heaven and answer their prayers. Then everyone on earth will worship you, just like your people Israel, and they will know that I have built this temple to honor you.
44Our Lord, sometimes you will order your people to attack their enemies. Then your people will turn toward this temple I have built for you in your chosen city, and they will pray to you. 45Answer their prayers from heaven and give them victory.
46Everyone sins. But when your people sin against you, suppose you get angry enough to let their enemies drag them away to foreign countries. 47-49Later, they may feel sorry for what they did and ask your forgiveness. Answer them when they pray toward this temple I have built for you in your chosen city, here in this land you gave their ancestors. From your home in heaven, listen to their sincere prayers and do what they ask. 50Forgive your people no matter how much they have sinned against you. Make the enemies who defeated them be kind to them. 51Remember, they are the people you chose and rescued from Egypt that was like a blazing fire to them.
52I am your servant, and the people of Israel belong to you. So listen when any of us pray and cry out for your help. 53When you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, you told your servant Moses to say to them, “From all people on earth, the Lord God has chosen you to be his very own.”
Solomon Blesses the People
54When Solomon finished his prayer at the altar, he was kneeling with his arms lifted toward heaven. He stood up, 55turned toward the people, blessed them, and said loudly:
56 #
Dt 12.5-19; Js 21.44,45. Praise the Lord! He has kept his promise and given us peace. Every good thing he promised to his servant Moses has happened.
57The Lord our God was with our ancestors to help them, and I pray that he will be with us and never abandon us. 58May the Lord help us obey him and follow all the laws and teachings he gave our ancestors.
59I pray that the Lord our God will remember my prayer day and night. May he help everyone in Israel each day, in whatever way we need it. 60Then every nation will know that the Lord is the only true God.
61Obey the Lord our God and follow his commands with all your heart, just as you are doing today.
Solomon Dedicates the Temple
(2 Chronicles 7.4-10)
62-63Solomon and the people dedicated the temple to the Lord by offering 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.#8.62,63 sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing: See Leviticus 3.1-17. 64On that day, Solomon dedicated the courtyard in front of the temple and made it acceptable for worship. He offered the sacrifices there because the bronze altar in front of the temple was too small.
65Solomon and the huge crowd celebrated the Festival of Shelters at the temple for seven days.#8.65 seven days: One ancient translation; Hebrew “seven days and seven more days, fourteen days in all.” There were people from as far away as the Egyptian Gorge in the south and Lebo-Hamath in the north. 66Then on the eighth day, he sent everyone home. They said goodbye and left, very happy, because of all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
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1 Kings 8: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 8
8
1Then Solomon summoned before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel, including all the heads of the tribes and the family leaders of the Israelites. He instructed them to bring up with them the Ark of the Lord's Agreement from Zion, the City of David. 2All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the festival#8:2. The Festival of Shelters. which is held in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim.
3When all the elders of Israel had gathered, the priests picked up the Ark and brought the Ark of the Lord and the Tent of Meeting with all its holy items. 4The priests and Levites carried them up. 5In front of the Ark, King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had gathered there with him sacrificed many, many sheep and bulls—so numerous they couldn't be counted! 6Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord's Agreement to its place in the inner sanctuary of the Temple, the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7The cherubim spread their wings over the place where the Ark was, covering the Ark and its carrying poles. 8The poles were so long that the ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside. They are there to this day.
9There was nothing in the Ark apart from the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed in it at Horeb,#8:9. “Horeb”: another name for Mount Sinai. where the Lord had made an agreement with the Israelites after they came out of the land of Egypt. 10When the priests left the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 11Due to the cloud, the priests could not stay there to carry out their service, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's Temple. 12Then Solomon said: “Lord, you#8:12. “You”: literally, “he,” but changed to the second person in order to be consistent with the rest of the prayer. said that you would live in the thick cloud. 13Now I have built for you a majestic Temple, a place where you may live for ever.”
14The king turned around to the whole assembly of Israel who were standing there, and blessed them, 15saying, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who by his own power has fulfilled the promise he made to my father David when he said, 16‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt I have not chosen any town of the tribes of Israel as the place to build a Temple to honor me. But I have chosen David as king over my people Israel.’
17My father David really wanted to build a Temple to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. 18But the Lord told my father David, ‘You had the desire to build a Temple to honor me, and it was good that you really wanted to do this. 19But it won't be you who will build this Temple, but your son who is to be born to you—he will build the Temple to honor me.'
20Now the Lord has kept his promise that he made. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built the Temple to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. 21I have provided a place there for the Ark, which contains the agreement of the Lord that he made with our forefathers when he led them out of the land of Egypt.”
22Then Solomon stood in front of the altar of the Lord before the whole assembly of Israel and held out his hands toward heaven. 23He said, “Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep your agreement of trustworthy love with your servants, those who are totally committed to following you. 24You have kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father. You yourself promised, and by your own power you have fulfilled it today. 25So now, Lord, God of Israel, please also keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said: ‘You will never fail to have a descendant sit in my presence on the throne of Israel, as long as they make sure to follow me as you have done.’ 26Now, God of Israel, please keep the promise you made to our servant, my father David.
27But will God really live here on earth? The heavens, even highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this Temple I have built! 28Please hear the prayer of your servant and his request, Lord my God. Please hear the appeals and the prayers that your servant is presenting before you today. 29May you watch over this Temple day and night, caring for the place where you said you would be honored. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place, 30and may you hear the request of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Please hear from heaven where you live. May you hear and forgive.
31When someone sins against another and is required to take an oath before your altar in this Temple, 32listen from heaven—act and judge your servants. Pay back the guilty; vindicate and reward those who do right.
33When your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they come back in repentance to you, praying for forgiveness in this Temple, 34then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their forefathers.
35If the skies are closed shut and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and if they come back in repentance to you, turning away from their sin because you have punished them, 36then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the good way so that they can walk in it, and send rain on the earth that you have given to your people as their possession.
37If there is famine in the land, or disease, or blight or mildew on the crops, or if there are locusts or caterpillars, or if an enemy comes to lay siege to the towns in the land—it can be whatever kind of plague or whatever kind of disease— 38then whatever kind of prayer or whatever kind of appeal is made by anyone or all your people Israel, (in fact anyone who, knowing their problems and pains, prays toward this Temple), 39then hear from heaven, the place where you live, and forgive. Give according to the way they live their lives, for you know what people are really like inside, and you alone know the true character of people. 40Then they will respect you and follow your ways all the time they live in the land you gave to our forefathers.
41As for the foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel but who come from a distant land, 42having heard of your great nature and power and ability to help, when they come and pray toward this Temple, 43then hear from heaven, the place where you live, and give them what they're asking. That way, everyone on earth will come to know and respect you, just as your own people Israel do. They will also know that this Temple I have built is dedicated to you.
44When your people go to fight against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you towards the city you have chosen and the house I have built to honor you, 45then hear from heaven what they are praying and asking for, and support their cause.
46If they sin against you—and there is nobody who does not sin—you may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy who takes them away as prisoners to a foreign land, near or far away. 47But if they think again in their land of captivity and repent and plead for mercy from you, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly,’ 48and they come back to you with complete sincerity in their thoughts and attitudes there in their land of captivity; and they pray towards the land you gave their forefathers, the city you chose, and the Temple I have built to honor you, 49then hear from heaven, the place where you live, respond and support their cause. 50Forgive your people who have sinned against you, all the rebellious acts they have committed against you. Please make those who have captured them show mercy to them. 51For they are your people—they belong to you! You led them out of Egypt, out of the middle of a furnace used for smelting iron.
52May you pay attention to the requests of your servant, and to the requests of your people Israel, and may you respond whenever they call out to you. 53For you set them apart from all the nations of the world as a people who belonged to you, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you led our fathers out of Egypt.”
54After Solomon finished praying all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he stood up before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands held out toward heaven.
55Solomon stood, and in a loud voice he blessed the whole assembly of Israel, saying, 56“Praise the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel in accordance with everything he promised. Not a single word has failed among all the good promises he made through his servant Moses. 57May the Lord our God be with us in the same way he was with our forefathers. May he never leave us or abandon us. 58May he help us to come to him, to follow all his ways and to keep the commandments, statutes, and regulations he ordered our forefathers to observe. 59May these words of mine I have used to make my request in the Lord's presence be before the Lord our God day and night. In that way he may support the cause of his servant and of his people Israel as is needed every day, 60in order that everyone on the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is no other! 61So make sure you are completely committed to the Lord our God just as you are today, and be careful to follow his statutes and to keep his commandments.”
62Then the king together with all of Israel offered sacrifices before the Lord. 63Solomon presented as friendship offerings to the Lord 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Lord's Temple.
64On that same day, the king dedicated the center of the courtyard in front of the Lord's Temple. There he presented burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the friendship offerings, since the bronze altar in the Lord's presence was too small to hold all these offerings.
65Then Solomon together with all of Israel observed the festival before the Lord our God for seven days, and then another seven days—fourteen days in all. It was a large assembly of people, who came from as far away as Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 66One day later#8:66. “One day later”: literally, “on the eighth day,” counting from the beginning of the second week. Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went home, full of joy and happy for all the good things that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com