1 Kings 8
8
1 Then all those greater by birth of Israel, with the leaders of the tribes and the rulers of the families of the sons of Israel, gathered together before king Solomon at Jerusalem, so that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, from the city of David, that is, from Zion.
2 And all of Israel assembled before king Solomon, on the solemn day in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3 And all the elders of Israel arrived, and the priests took up the ark.
4 And they carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the Sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle; and the priests and the Levites carried these.
5 Then king Solomon, and the entire multitude of Israel, who had assembled before him, advanced with him before the ark. And they immolated sheep and oxen, which could not be numbered or estimated.
6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the oracle of the temple, in the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.
7 For indeed, the cherubim extended their wings over the place of the ark, and they protected the ark and its bars from above.
8 And since the bars projected outward, their ends were visible from without, in the Sanctuary before the oracle; but they were not visible farther outward. And they have been in that place even to the present day.
9 Now inside the ark, there was nothing other than the two tablets of stone, which Moses had placed in it at Horeb, when the Lord formed a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they departed from the land of Egypt.
10 Then it happened that, when the priests had exited from the Sanctuary, a cloud filled the house of the Lord.
11 And the priests were unable to stand and minister, because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
12 Then Solomon said: "The Lord has said that he would dwell in a cloud.
13 Building, I have built a house as your dwelling place, your most firm throne forever."
14 And the king turned his face, and he blessed the entire assembly of Israel. For the entire assembly of Israel was standing.
15 And Solomon said: "Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to my father David, and who, with his own hands, has perfected it, saying:
16 'From the day when I led my people Israel away from Egypt, I did not choose any city out of all the tribes of Israel, so that a house would be built, and so that my name might be there. Instead, I chose David to be over my people Israel.'
17 And my father David wanted to build a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
18 But the Lord said to my father David: 'Since you have planned in your heart to build a house to my name, you have done well by considering this plan in your mind.
19 Yet truly, you shall not build a house for me. Instead, your son, who shall go forth from your loins, he himself shall build a house to my name.'
20 The Lord has confirmed his word which he spoke. And so I stand in place of my father David, and I sit upon the throne of Israel, just as the Lord said. And I have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
21 And there I have appointed a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he struck with our fathers, when they went forth from the land of Egypt."
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and he extended his hands toward heaven.
23 And he said: "Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, nor on the earth below. You preserve covenant and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart.
24 You have fulfilled, for your servant David, my father, that which you said to him. With your mouth, you spoke; and with your hands, you completed; just this day proves.
25 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill, for your servant David, my father, that which you spoke to him, saying, 'There shall not be taken away from you a man before me, who may sit upon the throne of Israel, if only your sons will guard their way, so that they walk before me, just as you have walked in my sight.'
26 And now, O Lord God of Israel, establish your words, which you spoke to your servant David, my father.
27 Is it, then, to be understood that truly God would dwell upon the earth? For if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, are not able to contain you, how much less this house, which I have built?
28 Yet look with favor upon the prayer of your servant and upon his petitions, O Lord, my God. Listen to the hymn and the prayer, which your servant prays before you this day,
29 so that your eyes may be open over this house, night and day, over the house about which you said, 'My name shall be there,' so that you may heed the prayer that your servant is praying in this place to you.
30 So may you heed the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel, whatever they will pray for in this place, and so may you heed them in your dwelling place in heaven. And when you heed, you will be gracious.
31 But if any man sins against his neighbor, and he has any kind of an oath by which he is bound, and he arrives because of the oath, before your altar in your house,
32 you will hear in heaven, and you will act and judge your servants, condemning the impious, and repaying his own way upon his own head, but justifying the just, and rewarding him in accord with his justice.
33 And if your people Israel will have fled from their enemies, because they have sinned against you, and doing penance and confessing to your name, shall arrive and pray and petition you in this house,
34 listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and lead them back to the land, which you gave to their fathers.
35 And if the heavens have closed, so that there is no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to your name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions,
36 hear them from heaven, and forgive the sins of your servants and of your people Israel. And reveal to them the good way, along which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as a possession.
37 Then, if famine rises over the land, or pestilence, or corrupt air, or blight, or locust, or mildew, or if their enemy afflicts them, besieging the gates, or any harm or infirmity,
38 or whatever curse or divine intervention may happen to any man among your people Israel, if anyone understands, having been wounded in his heart, and if he will have extended his hands in this house,
39 you will hear in heaven, in your dwelling place, and you will forgive. And you will act so that you give to each one in accord with his own ways, just as you see in his heart, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of men.
40 So may they fear you, all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which you have given to our fathers.
41 Moreover, the foreigner too, who is not of your people Israel, when he will have arrived from a distant land because of your name, for they shall hear about your great name, and your strong hand,
42 and your outstretched arm everywhere: so when he arrives and prays in this place,
43 you will listen in heaven, in the firmament of your dwelling place. And you will do all the things, for which that foreigner will have called upon you. So may all the peoples of the earth learn to fear your name, just as your people Israel do. And so may they show that your name has been invoked over this house, which I have built.
44 And if your people have gone out to war against their enemies, along whatever way you will send them, they shall pray to you in the direction of the city, which you have chosen, and toward the house, which I have built to your name.
45 And you will hear in heaven their prayers and their petitions. And you will accomplish judgment for them.
46 But if they sin against you, for there is no man who does not sin, and you, being angry, deliver them to their enemies, and they will have been led away as captives to the land of their enemies, whether far or near,
47 and if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and having been converted, make supplication to you in their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned; we acted unjustly; we committed impiety,'
48 and they return to you with all their heart and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they have been led away as captives, and if they pray to you in the direction of their land, which you gave to their fathers, and of the city, which you have chosen, and of the temple, which I have built to your name:
49 you will hear in heaven, in the firmament of your throne, their prayers and their petitions. And you will accomplish their judgment.
50 And you will forgive your people, who have sinned against you, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against you. And you will grant to them mercy in the sight of those who have made them captives, so that they may take pity on them.
51 For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you have led away from the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.
52 So may your eyes be open to the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel. And so may you heed them in all the things about which they will call upon you.
53 For you have separated them to yourself as an inheritance, from among all the peoples of the earth, just as you spoke by Moses, your servant, when you led our fathers away from Egypt, O Lord God."
54 And it happened that, when Solomon had completed praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he rose up from the sight of the altar of the Lord. For he had fixed both knees upon the ground, and he had extended his hands toward heaven.
55 Then he stood and blessed the entire assembly of Israel in a great voice, saying:
56 "Blessed is the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, in accord with all that he said. Not even one word, out of all the good things that he spoke by his servant Moses, has fallen away.
57 May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers, not abandoning us, and not rejecting us.
58 But may he incline our hearts to himself, so that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and whatever judgments he commanded to our fathers.
59 And may these my words, by which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God, day and night, so that he may accomplish judgment for his servant and for his people Israel, throughout each day.
60 So may all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord himself is God, and there is no other beside him.
61 Also, may our hearts be perfect with the Lord our God, so that we may walk in his decrees, and keep his commandments, as also on this day."
62 Then the king, and all of Israel with him, immolated victims before the Lord.
63 And Solomon slew sacrifices of peace offerings, which he immolated to the Lord: twenty-two thousand oxen, and twenty thousand one hundred sheep. And the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the temple of the Lord.
64 On that day, the king sanctified the middle of the atrium, which was before the house of the Lord. For in that place, he offered holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of peace offerings. For the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, was too small and was not able to hold the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 Then Solomon made, at that time, a celebratory festival, and all of Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entrance of Hamath to the river of Egypt, in the sight of the Lord our God, for seven days plus seven days, that is, fourteen days.
66 And on the eighth day, he dismissed the people. And blessing the king, they set out for their tents, rejoicing and cheerful in heart over all the good things that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.
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1 Kings 8
8
The Dedication of the Temple
1At that time, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families#Literally “fathers” of the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” before King Solomon, in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion. 2All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the festival in the month of Ethnaim, that is, the seventh month. 3All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. 4So they brought up the ark of Yahweh and the tent of assembly#Or “meeting” and all of the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who were assembling with him in the presence of the ark were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted nor numbered because of abundance. 6The priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place,#Literally “holy of the holiest” under the wings of the cherubim, 7for the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place of the ark. The cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles from above. 8The poles were long, and the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place in front of#Literally “on the face of” the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from the outside, and they are there until this day. 9There was not anything in the ark except#Hebrew “only” the two tablets of stone which Moses had placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh made#Literally “cut” a covenant with the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” after they went out from the land of Egypt. 10When the priests went out from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh. 11The priests were not able to stand to minister because of the presence of#Literally “from the face of” the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.
Solomon’s Proclamation to the Assembly of Israel
12Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the very thick cloud. 13I have certainly built a lofty house for you, a place for you to live forever.” 14Then the king turned his face around, and he blessed all of the assembly of Israel. (Now all the assembly of Israel was standing). 15Then he said, “Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has promised with his mouth to David my father and fulfilled by his oath,#Literally “by his hand” saying, 16‘From the day that I brought out my people Israel from Egypt I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a house where my name might be, but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ 17David my father desired#Literally “It had been within the heart of David my father” to build a house for the name of Yahweh the God of Israel, 18but Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Because you desired#Literally “it was within your heart” to build a house for my name, you did well in that it was within your heart. 19However, you will not build the house, but your son who has come from your loins, he shall build the house for my name.’ 20Yahweh has carried out his promise which he had made; I have risen in place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel as Yahweh promised, and I have built the house for the name of Yahweh the God of Israel. 21I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant which Yahweh made with our ancestors#Or “fathers” when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer to Yahweh
22Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands to the heavens, 23and he said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. 24You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled it this very day. 25So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, ‘For you, no man will be cut off from before me who will be sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.’ 26So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised#Or “spoken” to your servant David my father. 27For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! How could#Literally “Even that” this house that I have built? 28You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant is praying before you this day, 29so that your eyes will be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, ‘My name will be there,’ to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray toward this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. 31If a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, 32then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and to declare the righteous innocent#Literally “to declare righteous the righteous” by rewarding him according to his righteousness. 33When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because#Literally “who” they sinned against you, and when they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, 34then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors.#Or “fathers” 35When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, 36then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. 37If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, 38any prayer or any plea which is offered by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his own heart and spreads out his palms to this house, 39then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. 40Do these things so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors.#Or “fathers” 41Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, 42(for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, 43you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. 44If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, 45then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall vindicate#Literally “their judgment” them.
46“If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, 47and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,’ 48if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors,#Or “fathers” the city that you have chosen and the house that you#The Hebrew Masoretic text (Kethib) reads “you have built”;Qere reads “I have built” built for your name, 49then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall vindicate them.#Literally “and you shall do their justice” 50You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, even for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, 51for they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. 52O, that your eyes may be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things when they call to you. 53For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors#Or “fathers” from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!”
Solomon Charges the People Israel
54It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. 55He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56“Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises concerning the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. 57May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors,#Or “fathers” and may he not leave us or abandon us, 58to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors.#Or “fathers” 59Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh be near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel as each day requires#Literally “the word of the day on its day” 60so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he is God; there is none other. 61Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day.”
The Great Confirming Sacrifice
62Then the king and all of Israel with him offered a sacrifice in the presence of Yahweh. 63Solomon sacrificed the fellowship offerings which he offered to Yahweh: twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep; and the king and all of the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” dedicated the house of Yahweh. 64On that day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard before the house of Yahweh because he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar that was in the presence of Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offerings and the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. 65Solomon held the festival at that time and all of Israel with him, a great assembly from Lebo Hamath up to the wadi#A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season of Egypt before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven days, a total of fourteen days. 66On the eighth day, he sent the people away, and they blessed the king, and they went to their tents rejoicing and in good spirits#Literally “and good of heart” because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.
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