1 Kings 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord Comes to His Temple(A)
8 Then Solomon assembled the respected leaders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the Israelite families. They came to King Solomon in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord’s promise from the City of David (that is, Zion). 2 All the people of Israel gathered around King Solomon at the Festival ⌞of Booths⌟ in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.
3 When all the leaders of Israel had arrived, the priests picked up the Lord’s ark. 4 They brought the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils in it ⌞to the temple⌟. The priests and the Levites carried them 5 while King Solomon with the whole assembly from Israel were offering countless sheep and cattle sacrifices in front of the ark. 6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s promise to its place in the inner room of the temple (the most holy place) under the wings of the angels.[a]
7 When the angels’ outstretched wings were over the place where the ark ⌞rested⌟, the angels became a covering above the ark and its poles. 8 The poles were so long that their ends could be seen in the holy place by anyone standing in front of the inner room, but they couldn’t be seen outside. (They are still there today.) 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a promise to the Israelites after they left Egypt.
10 When the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple. 11 The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. The Lord’s glory filled his temple.
Solomon Addresses the People(B)
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud. 13 I certainly have built you a high temple, a home for you to live in permanently.”
14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel while they were standing. 15 “Thanks be to the Lord God of Israel. With his mouth he made a promise to my father David; with his hand he carried it out. He said, 16 ‘Ever since I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I didn’t choose any city in any of the tribes of Israel as a place to build a temple for my name. But now I’ve chosen David to rule my people Israel.’
17 “My father David had his heart set on building a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 18 However, the Lord said to my father David, ‘Since you had your heart set on building a temple for my name, your intentions were good. 19 But you must not build the temple. Instead, your own son will build the temple for my name.’ 20 The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David’s place, and I sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised. I’ve built the temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 21 I’ve made a place there for the ark which contains the Lord’s promise that he made to our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer(C)
22 In the presence of the entire assembly of Israel, Solomon stood in front of the Lord’s altar. He stretched out his hands toward heaven 23 and said,
“Lord God of Israel,
there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below.
You keep your promise [b] of mercy to your servants,
who obey you wholeheartedly.
24 You have kept your promise to my father David, your servant.
With your mouth you promised it.
With your hand you carried it out as it is today.
25 “Now, Lord God of Israel,
keep your promise to my father David, your servant.
You said, ‘You will never fail to have an heir
sitting in front of me on the throne of Israel
if your descendants are faithful to me
as you have been faithful to me.’
26 “So now, God of Israel,
may the promise you made to my father David,
your servant, come true.
27 “Does God really live on earth?
If heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot hold you,
then how can this temple that I have built?
28 Nevertheless, my Lord God, please pay attention to my prayer for mercy.
Listen to my cry for help as I pray to you today.
29 Night and day may your eyes be on this temple,
the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’
Listen to me as I pray toward this place.
30 Hear the plea for mercy
that your people Israel and I pray toward this place.
Hear us ⌞when we pray⌟ to heaven, the place where you live.
Hear and forgive.
31 “If anyone sins against another person
and is required to take an oath
and comes to take the oath in front of your altar in this temple,
32 then hear ⌞that person⌟ in heaven, take action, and make a decision.
Condemn the guilty person with the proper punishment,
but declare the innocent person innocent.
33 “An enemy may defeat your people Israel
because they have sinned against you.
But when your people turn to you, praise your name, pray,
and plead with you in this temple,
34 then hear ⌞them⌟ in heaven, forgive the sins of your people Israel,
and bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors.
35 “When the sky is shut and there’s no rain
because they are sinning against you,
and they pray toward this place, praise your name,
and turn away from their sin because you made them suffer,
36 then hear ⌞them⌟ in heaven.
Forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel.
Teach them the proper way to live.
Then send rain on the land,
which you gave to your people as an inheritance.
37 “There may be famine in the land.
Plant diseases, heat waves, funguses, locusts,
or grasshoppers may destroy crops.
Enemies may blockade Israel’s city gates.
During every plague or sickness
38 ⌞hear⌟ every prayer for mercy,
made by one person or by all the people in Israel,
whose consciences bother them,
who stretch out their hands toward this temple.
39 Hear ⌞them⌟ in heaven, where you live.
Forgive ⌞them⌟, and take action.
Give each person the proper reply.
(You know what is in their hearts,
because you alone know what is in the hearts of all people.)
40 Then, as long as they live in the land that you gave to our ancestors,
they will fear you.
41 “People will hear about your great name,
mighty hand, and powerful arm.[c]
So when people who are not Israelites
come from distant countries because of your name
42 to pray facing this temple,
43 hear ⌞them⌟ in heaven, the place where you live.
Do everything they ask you
so that all the people of the world may know your name
and fear you like your people Israel
and learn also that this temple which I built bears your name.
44 “When your people go to war against their enemies
(wherever you may send them)
and they pray to you, O Lord, toward the city you have chosen
and the temple I built for your name,
45 then hear their prayer for mercy in heaven,
and do what is right ⌞for them⌟.
46 “They may sin against you.
(No one is sinless.)
You may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy
who takes them to ⌞another⌟ country as captives,
⌞whether it is⌟ far or near.
47 If they come to their senses,
are sorry for what they’ve done,
and plead with you in the land where they are captives,
saying, ‘We have sinned. We have done wrong.
We have been wicked,’
48 if they change their attitude toward you
in the land of their enemies where they are captives,
if they pray to you
toward the land that you gave their ancestors,
and the city you have chosen,
and the temple I have built for your name,
49 then in heaven, the place where you live, hear their prayer for mercy.
Do what is right for them.
50 Forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
⌞Forgive⌟ all their wrongs when they rebelled against you,
and cause those who captured them to have mercy on them
51 because they are your own people
whom you brought out of Egypt
from the middle of an iron smelter.
52 “May your eyes always see my plea and your people Israel’s plea
so that you will listen to them whenever they call on you.
53 After all, you, Lord God, set them apart from all the people of the world
to be your own as you promised through your servant Moses
when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
Solomon Blesses the People
54 When Solomon finished praying this prayer for mercy to the Lord, he stood in front of the Lord’s altar, where he had been kneeling with his hands stretched out toward heaven. 55 Then he stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire assembly of Israel, 56 “Thanks be to the Lord! He has given his people Israel rest, as he had promised. None of the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed to come true. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us. 58 May he bend our hearts toward him. Then we will follow him and keep his commands, laws, and rules, which he commanded our ancestors ⌞to keep⌟. 59 May these words which I have prayed to the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. Then he will give me and his people Israel justice every day as it is needed. 60 In this way all the people of the world will know that the Lord is God and there is no other ⌞god⌟. 61 May your hearts be committed to the Lord our God. Then you will live by his laws and keep his commands as you have today.”
Solomon Offers Sacrifices(D)
62 Then the king and all Israel offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings to the Lord. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Lord’s temple.
64 On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar in front of the Lord was too small to hold all of them.
65 At that time Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival ⌞of Booths⌟. A large crowd had come from ⌞the territory between⌟ the border of Hamath and the River of Egypt to be near the Lord our God for seven days.[d] 66 On the eighth day he dismissed the people. They blessed the king and went to their tents. They rejoiced with cheerful hearts for all the blessings the Lord had given his servant David and his people Israel.
1 Kings 8
King James Version
8 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.
2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
4 And 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.
5 And 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.
6 And 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 cherubims.
7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
8 And 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 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 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,
11 So 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.
12 Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)
15 And 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 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 an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.
18 And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.
19 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.
20 And 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 an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.
21 And I 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.
22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
23 And 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:
24 Who 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 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.
26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27 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?
28 Yet 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 to day:
29 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.
30 And 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.
31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
32 Then 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.
33 When 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:
34 Then 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.
35 When 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:
36 Then 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.
37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
38 What 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:
39 Then 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;)
40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
41 Moreover 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;
43 Hear 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.
44 If 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:
45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46 If 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;
47 Yet 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;
48 And 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:
49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
50 And 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:
51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:
52 That 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.
53 For 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.
54 And 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.
55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56 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.
57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
58 That 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.
59 And 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:
60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.
61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.
63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
64 The 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 brasen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 And 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.
66 On 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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