3 Kings 8
8
1Then all the ancients of Israel with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel were assembled to king Solomon in Jerusalem: that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion.
2And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon on the festival day in the month of Ethanim: the same is the seventh month.
3And all the ancients of Israel came: and the priests took up the ark,
4And carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle. And the priests and the Levites carried them.
5And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that were assembled unto him went with him before the ark. And they sacrificed sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered.
6And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the temple into the Holy of Holies under the wings of the cherubims.
7For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and covered the art, and the staves thereof above.
8And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen without in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther out: and there they have been unto this day.
9Now in the ark there was nothing else but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord.
11And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
12Then Solomon said: The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud.
13Building I have built a house for thy dwelling, to be thy most firm throne for ever.
14And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: for all the assembly of Israel stood.
15And Solomon said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and with his own hands hath accomplished it, saying:
16Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
17And David my father would have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel.
18And the Lord said to David my father: Whereas thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind.
19Nevertheless thou shalt not build me a house: but thy son, that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.
20The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke. And I stand in the room of David my father: and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
21And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
22And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven.
23And 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 have walked before thee with all their heart.
24Who hast kept with thy servant David my father what thou hast promised him. With thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou hast performed, as this day proveth.
25Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father what thou hast spoken to him, saying: There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight, to sit on the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight.
26And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David my father.
27Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? For if heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?
28But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord my God. Hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day:
29That thy eyes may be open upon this house night and day; upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there. That thou mayest hearken to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth in this place to thee.
30That thou mayest hearken to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place: and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven: and when thou hearest shew them mercy.
31If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound: and come because of the oath before thy altar to thy house:
32Then hear thou in heaven. And do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head; and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice.
33If thy people Israel shall fly before their enemies, (because they will sin against thee,) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name, shall come, and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house:
34Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.
35If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions:
36Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel; and shew them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession.
37If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew; if their enemy afflict them besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity:
38Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
39Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men).
40That they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.
41Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear every where of thy great name and thy mighty hand,
42And thy stretched out arm,) so when he shall come, and shall pray in this place:
43Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee. That all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel, and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I have built.
44If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by what way soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way of the city, which thou hast chosen, and towards the house, which I have built to thy name.
45And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and their supplications: and do judgment for them.
46But if they sin against thee (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies far or near:
47Then if they do penance in their heart in the place of captivity, and being converted make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness:
48And return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they had been led captives: and pray to thee towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have built to thy name:
49Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them.
50And forgive thy people, that have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee. And give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.
51For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:
52That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall call upon thee.
53For thou hast separated them to thyself for an inheritance from among all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
54And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had spread his hands towards heaven.
55And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
56Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. There hath not failed so much as one word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses.
57The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off:
58But may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments which he commanded our fathers.
59And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night: that he may do judgment for his servant, and for his people Israel day by day:
60That all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.
61Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments, as at this day.
62And the king, and all Israel him, offered victims before the Lord.
63And Solomon slew victims of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king, and the children of Israel dedicated the temple of the Lord.
64In that day the king sanctified the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord. For there he offered the holocaust and sacrifice and fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the holocaust and sacrifice and fat of the peace-offerings.
65And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him: a great multitude from the entrance of Emath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days.
66And on the eighth day he sent away the people. And they blessed the king, and went to their dwellings rejoicing and glad in heart for all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
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3 Kings 8: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Kings 8
8
The Covenant Box is Brought to the Temple
(2 Chr 5.2—6.2)
1 #
2 Sam 6.12–16; 1 Chr 15.25–29 Then King Solomon summoned all the leaders of the tribes and clans of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem in order to take the LORD's Covenant Box from Zion, David's City, to the Temple. 2#Lev 23.24They all assembled during the Festival of Shelters in the seventh month, in the month of Ethanim. 3When all the leaders had gathered, the priests lifted the Covenant Box 4and carried it to the Temple. The Levites and the priests also moved the Tent of the LORD's presence and all its equipment to the Temple. 5King Solomon and all the people of Israel assembled in front of the Covenant Box and sacrificed a large number of sheep and cattle — too many to count. 6Then the priests carried the Covenant Box into the Temple and put it in the Most Holy Place, beneath the winged creatures. 7Their outstretched wings covered the box and the poles it was carried by. 8The ends of the poles could be seen by anyone standing directly in front of the Most Holy Place, but from nowhere else. (The poles are still there today.) 9#Deut 10.5There was nothing inside the Covenant Box except the two stone tablets which Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were coming from Egypt.
10 #
Ex 40.34–35
As the priests were leaving the Temple, it was suddenly filled with a cloud 11shining with the dazzling light of the LORD's presence, and they could not go back in to perform their duties. 12#Ps 18.11; 97.2Then Solomon prayed:
“You, LORD, have placed the sun in the sky,#8.12 One ancient translation You… sky; Hebrew does not have these words.
yet you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.
13Now I have built a majestic temple for you,
a place for you to live in for ever.”
Solomon's Address to the People
(2 Chr 6.3–11)
14As the people stood there, King Solomon turned to face them, and he asked God's blessing on them. 15He said, “Praise the LORD God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David, when he said, 16#2 Sam 7.4–11; 1 Chr 17.3–10‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen any city in all the land of Israel in which a temple should be built where I would be worshipped. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.’ ”
17 #
2 Sam 7.1–3; 1 Chr 17.1–2 And Solomon continued, “My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the LORD God of Israel, 18but the LORD said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me, 19#2 Sam 7.12–13; 1 Chr 17.11–12but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.’
20“And now the LORD has kept his promise. I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built the Temple for the worship of the LORD God of Israel. 21I have also provided a place in the Temple for the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
Solomon's Prayer
(2 Chr 6.12–42)
22Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar, where he raised his arms 23and prayed, “LORD God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you. 24You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled. 25#1 Kgs 2.4And now, LORD God of Israel, I pray that you will also keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided they obeyed you as carefully as he did. 26So now, O God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to my father David, your servant.
27 #
2 Chr 2.6
“But can you, O God, really live on earth? Not even all heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough? 28LORD my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer, and grant the requests I make to you today. 29#Deut 12.11Watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have chosen to be worshipped. Hear me when I face this Temple and pray. 30Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.
31“When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that he is innocent, 32O LORD, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty one as he deserves, and acquit the one who is innocent.
33“When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness, 34listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people, and bring them back to the land which you gave to their ancestors.
35“When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you, and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you, 36listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of the king and of the people of Israel. Teach them to do what is right. Then, O LORD, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.
37“When there is famine in the land or an epidemic, or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them, 38listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer towards this Temple, 39hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven, forgive them, and help them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each person as he deserves, 40so that your people may obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.
41-42“When a foreigner who lives in a distant land hears of your fame and of the great things you have done for your people, and comes to worship you and to pray at this Temple, 43listen to his prayer. In heaven, where you live, hear him and do what he asks you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is the place where you are to be worshipped.
44“When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you, 45listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven, and give them victory.
46“When your people sin against you — and there is no one who does not sin — and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away, 47listen to your people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O LORD. 48If in that land they truly and sincerely repent, and pray to you as they face towards this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you, 49then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them. 50Forgive all their sins and their rebellion against you, and make their enemies treat them with kindness. 51They are your own people, whom you brought out of Egypt, that blazing furnace.
52“Sovereign LORD, may you always look with favour on your people Israel and their king, and hear their prayer whenever they call to you for help. 53You chose them from all the peoples to be your own people, as you told them through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
The Final Prayer
54After Solomon had finished praying to the LORD, he stood up in front of the altar, where he had been kneeling with uplifted hands. 55In a loud voice he asked God's blessings on all the people assembled there. He said, 56#Deut 12.10; Josh 21.44–45“Praise the LORD who has given his people peace, as he promised he would. He has kept all the generous promises he made 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 make us obedient to him, so that we will always live as he wants us to live, and keep all the laws and commands he gave our ancestors. 59May the LORD our God remember at all times this prayer and these petitions I have made to him. May he always be merciful to the people of Israel and to their king, according to their daily needs. 60And so all the nations of the world will know that the LORD alone is God — there is no other. 61May you, his people, always be faithful to the LORD our God, obeying all his laws and commands, as you do today.”
The Dedication of the Temple
(2 Chr 7.4–10)
62Then King Solomon and all the people there offered sacrifices to the LORD. 63He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple. 64That same day he also consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then he offered there the sacrifices burnt whole, the grain offerings, and the fat of the animals for the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar was too small for all these offerings.
65There at the Temple, Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven#8.65 One ancient translation seven; Hebrew fourteen. days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south. 66On the eighth day Solomon sent the people home. They all praised him and went home happy because of all the blessings that the LORD had given his servant David and his people Israel.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.