Solomon Addresses the People

^12 (A)Then Solomon said,

¹⁴ Then the king ^[a]turned around and ^(E)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ He said, “^(F)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(G)who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and fulfilled it with His hands, saying, ¹⁶ ‘^(H)Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house so that ^(I)My name would be there, but ^(J)I chose David to be over My people Israel.’ ^17 (K)Now it was ^[b]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was ^[c]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ^[d]in your heart. ^19 (L)Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who ^[e]will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.’ ²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for ^(M)I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord ^[f]promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have set a place for the ark, ^(N)in which is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

The Prayer of Dedication

²² Then ^(O)Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and he ^(P)spread out his hands toward heaven. ²³ And he said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^(Q)there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(R)keeping the covenant and showing faithfulness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, ²⁴ You who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You ^[g]promised him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. ²⁵ Now then, Lord, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have ^[h]promised him, saying, ‘^[i](S)You shall not be deprived of a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful about their way, to walk before Me as you have walked.’ ²⁶ Now then, God of Israel, let Your words, please, be confirmed, ^(T)which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(U)heaven and the ^[j]highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! ²⁸ Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the ^(V)prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, ^29 (W)so that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^(X)the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. ³⁰ And ^(Y)listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, ^(Z)when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and ^(AA)forgive!

³¹ “^(AB)If a person sins against his neighbor and is compelled to take an oath of innocence, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, ^(AC)condemning the wicked by ^[k]bringing his way on his own head, and acquitting the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

³³ “^(AD)When Your people Israel are ^[l]defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, ^(AE)if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your ^[m]favor in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave their fathers.

³⁵ “^(AF)When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; ^(AG)indeed, teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And ^(AH)provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

³⁷ “^(AI)If there is a famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is ^[n]blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy harasses them in the land of their ^[o]cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer or plea ^[p]is offered by any person or by all Your people Israel, ^[q]each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his ^[r]hands toward this house; ³⁹ then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to each in accordance with all his ways, ^(AJ)whose heart You know—for ^(AK)You alone know the hearts of all ^[s]mankind— ⁴⁰ so that they will ^[t]fear You all the days that they live on the ^[u]land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Also regarding the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your name ⁴² (for they will hear of Your great name ^(AL)and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and act in accordance with all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^(AM)that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to ^[v]fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that ^[w]this house which I have built is called by Your name.

⁴⁴ “When Your people go out to battle against ^[x]their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and ^(AN)they pray to the Lord ^[y]toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their pleading, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “When they sin against You (for ^(AO)there is no person who does not sin) and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that ^[z]they take them away captive ^(AP)to the land of the enemy, distant or near; ^47 (AQ)if they ^[aa]take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and implore Your ^[ab]favor in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘^(AR)We have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; ^48 (AS)if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and ^(AT)pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; ⁴⁹ then hear their prayer and their pleading in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, ⁵⁰ and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their wrongdoings which they have committed against You, and ^(AU)make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, so that they will have compassion on them