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The Lord Comes to His Temple(A)

Then Solomon assembled the respected leaders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the Israelite families. They came to Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord’s promise from the City of David (that is, Zion). All the men of Israel gathered around the king at the Festival ⌞of Booths⌟ in the seventh month.

When all the leaders of Israel had arrived, the Levites picked up the ark. 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 while King Solomon and the whole assembly from Israel were offering countless sheep and cattle sacrifices in front of the ark. 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]

The angels’ outstretched wings were over the place where the ark ⌞rested⌟ so that the angels became a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that their ends could be seen in the holy place by anyone standing in front of the inner room,[b] but they couldn’t be seen outside. (They are still there today.) 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a promise to the Israelites after they left Egypt.

11 All the priests who were present had performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy to God without regard to staying in their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, and their relatives—were dressed in fine linen and stood east of the altar with cymbals, harps, and lyres. With the musicians were 120 priests blowing trumpets. When the priests left the holy place,[c] 13 the trumpeters and singers praised and thanked the Lord in unison. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, they sang in praise to the Lord: “He is good; his mercy endures forever.” Then the Lord’s temple was filled with a cloud. 14 The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. The Lord’s glory filled God’s temple.

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Footnotes

  1. 5:7 Or “cherubim.”
  2. 5:9 A few Hebrew manuscripts, 1 Kings 8:8, Greek; other Hebrew manuscripts “The poles extended so long from the ark that their ends could be seen by anyone standing in front of the inner room.”
  3. 5:12 The first part of verse 11 (in Hebrew) has been placed just before verse 13 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.

The Ark Brought to the Temple(A)

Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(B) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. And all the Israelites(C) came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests(D) carried them up; and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

The priests then brought the ark(E) of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim(F) spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except(G) the two tablets(H) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.(I) 12 All the Levites who were musicians(J)—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.(K) 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”(L)

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,(M) 14 and the priests could not perform(N) their service because of the cloud,(O) for the glory(P) of the Lord filled the temple of God.

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