1 Kings 8
8
Solomon Brings the Ark into the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5.2-14)
1 #
2 Sam 6.12-16; 1 Chr 15.25-29. Then 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 Eth´anim, 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 cherubim. 7For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim 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. 9#Deut 10.5. There 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. 10#Exod 40.34,35. And 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.
The Dedication of the Temple
(2 Chronicles 6.1—7.10)
12Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 13I have surely built thee a 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, 16#2 Sam 7.4-11; 1 Chr 17.3-10. Since 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 a house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 17#2 Sam 7.1-3; 1 Chr 17.1,2. And it was in the heart of David my father to build a 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 a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 19#2 Sam 7.12,13; 1 Chr 17.11,12. Nevertheless 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 a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 21I 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.
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. 25#1 Kgs 2.4. Therefore 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.
27 #
2 Chr 2.6. But 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 today: 29#Deut 12.11. that 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 neighbor, 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 caterpillar; 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.
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, 56#Deut 12.10; Josh 21.44,45. Blessed 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.
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 a 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 brazen 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.
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1 Kings 8: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
I Kings 8
8
The Ark Brought into the Temple
1Now #Num. 1:4; 7:2; 2 Chr. 5:2–14Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, #2 Sam. 6:12–17; 1 Chr. 15:25–29that they might bring #2 Sam. 5:7; 6:12, 16up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. 2Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the #Lev. 23:34; 1 Kin. 8:65; 2 Chr. 7:8–10feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3So all the elders of Israel came, #Num. 4:15; 7:9; Deut. 31:9; Josh. 3:3, 6and the priests took up the ark. 4Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, #1 Kin. 3:4; 2 Chr. 1:3the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 5Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, #2 Sam. 6:13; 2 Chr. 1:6sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 6Then the priests #2 Sam. 6:17brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to #Ex. 26:33, 34; 1 Kin. 6:19its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, #1 Kin. 6:27under the wings of the cherubim. 7For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8The poles #Ex. 25:13–15; 37:4, 5extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from 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; Deut. 10:2Nothing was in the ark #Ex. 25:16; Deut. 10:5; Heb. 9:4except the two tablets of stone which Moses #Ex. 24:7, 8; 40:20; Deut. 4:13put there at Horeb, #Ex. 34:27, 28when 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 came out of the holy place, that the cloud #Ex. 40:34, 35; 2 Chr. 7:1, 2filled the house of the Lord, 11so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the #2 Chr. 7:1, 2glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
12#2 Chr. 6:1Then Solomon spoke:
“The Lord said He would dwell #Lev. 16:2; Ps. 18:11; 97:2in the dark cloud.
13#2 Sam. 7:13I have surely built You an exalted house,
#(Ex. 15:17); Ps. 132:14And a place for You to dwell in forever.”
Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work
14Then the king turned around and #2 Sam. 6:18; 1 Kin. 8:55blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15And he said: #1 Chr. 29:10, 20; Neh. 9:5; Luke 1:68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who #2 Sam. 7:2, 12, 13, 25; 1 Chr. 22:10spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, 16‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that #Deut. 12:5; 1 Kin. 8:29My name might be there; but I chose #1 Sam. 16:1; 2 Sam. 7:8; 1 Chr. 28:4David to be over My people Israel.’ 17Now #2 Sam. 7:2, 3; 1 Chr. 17:1, 2it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 18#2 Chr. 6:8, 9But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19Nevertheless #2 Sam. 7:5, 12, 13; 1 Kin. 5:3, 5; 6:38; 1 Chr. 17:11, 12; 22:8–10; 2 Chr. 6:2you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ 20So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, #1 Chr. 28:5, 6as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 21And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is #Deut. 31:26; 1 Kin. 8:9the 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
22Then Solomon stood before #1 Kin. 8:54; 2 Chr. 6:12the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and #Ex. 9:33; Ezra 9:5spread out his hands toward heaven; 23and he said: “Lord God of Israel, #Ex. 15:11; 2 Sam. 7:22there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, #(Deut. 7:9; Neh. 1:5; Dan. 9:4)who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who #(Gen. 17:1; 1 Kin. 3:6); 2 Kin. 20:3walk before You with all their hearts. 24You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 25Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, #2 Sam. 7:12, 16; 1 Kin. 2:4; 9:5‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26#2 Sam. 7:25And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.
27“But #(2 Chr. 2:6; Is. 66:1; Acts 7:49; 17:24)will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the #2 Cor. 12:2heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, #Deut. 12:11‘My name shall be #1 Kin. 9:3; 2 Chr. 7:15there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes #Dan. 6:10toward this place. 30#Neh. 1:6And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
31“When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take #Ex. 22:8–11an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, #Deut. 25:1condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.
33#Lev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and #Lev. 26:39, 40when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, 34then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their #(Lev. 26:40–42; Deut. 30:1–3)fathers.
35#Lev. 26:19; Deut. 28:23“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may #Ps. 25:4; 27:11; 94:12teach them #1 Sam. 12:23the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
37#Lev. 26:16, 25, 26; Deut. 28:21, 22, 27, 38, 42, 52“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone #(1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chr. 28:9; Jer. 17:10); Acts 1:24know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40#(Ps. 130:4)that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.
41“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42(for they will hear of Your great name and Your #Ex. 13:3; Deut. 3:24strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, #(Ex. 9:16; 1 Sam. 17:46; 2 Kin. 19:19)that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and #Ps. 102:15fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
44“When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 45then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46“When they sin against You #2 Chr. 6:36; Ps. 130:3; Prov. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20; (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:8, 10)(for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive #Lev. 26:34, 44; Deut. 28:36, 64; 2 Kin. 17:6, 18; 25:21to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47#(Lev. 26:40–42); Neh. 9:2yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, #Ezra 9:6, 7; Neh. 1:6; Ps. 106:6; Dan. 9:5saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; 48and when they #Jer. 29:12–14return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and #Dan. 6:10; Jon. 2:4pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and #(2 Chr. 30:9); Ezra 7:6; Ps. 106:46; Acts 7:10grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51(for #Ex. 32:11, 12; Deut. 9:26–29; Neh. 1:10; (Rom. 11:28, 29)they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, #Deut. 4:20; Jer. 11:4out of the iron furnace), 52#1 Kin. 8:29that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, #Ex. 19:5, 6as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”
Solomon Blesses the Assembly
54#2 Chr. 7:1And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55Then he stood #Num. 6:23–26; 2 Sam. 6:18; 1 Kin. 8:14and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56“Blessed be the Lord, who has given #1 Chr. 22:18rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. #Deut. 12:10; Josh. 21:45; 23:14There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. 57May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. #Deut. 31:6; Josh. 1:5; 1 Sam. 12:22; (Rom. 8:31–37); Heb. 13:5May He not leave us nor forsake us, 58that He may #Ps. 119:36; Jer. 31:33incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60#Josh. 4:24; 1 Sam. 17:46; 1 Kin. 8:43; 2 Kin. 19:19that all the peoples of the earth may know that #Deut. 4:35, 39; 1 Kin. 18:39; (Jer. 10:10–12)the Lord is God; there is no other. 61Let your #Deut. 18:13; 1 Kin. 11:4; 15:3, 14; 2 Kin. 20:3heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
Solomon Dedicates the Temple
62Then #2 Chr. 7:4–10the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. 63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. 64On #2 Chr. 7:7the 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, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the #2 Chr. 4:1bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65At that time Solomon held #Lev. 23:34; 1 Kin. 8:2a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from #Num. 34:8; Josh. 13:5; Judg. 3:3; 2 Kin. 14:25the entrance of Hamath to #Gen. 15:18; Ex. 23:31; Num. 34:5the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, #2 Chr. 7:8seven days and seven more days—fourteen days. 66#2 Chr. 7:9On 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 good that the Lord had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.