2 Chronicles 6

1 Then Solomon said: The Lord promised that he would dwell in a cloud.

Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

2 But I have built a house to his name, that he might dwell there for ever.

But I have built a house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

3 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the multitude of Israel (for all the multitude stood attentive) and he said:

And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

4 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath accomplished in deed that which he spoke to David my father, saying:

And he said, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled [that] which he spoke with his mouth to my father David, saying,

5 From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built in it to my name: neither chose I any other man, to be the ruler of my people Israel.

Since the day that I brought forth my people from the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:

6 But I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there: and I chose David to set him over my people Israel.

But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

7 And whereas David my father had a mind to build a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel,

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel:

8 The Lord said to him: Forasmuch as it was thy will to build a house to my name, thou hast done well indeed in having such a will:

But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thy heart;

9 But thou shalt not build the house, but thy son, who shall come out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.

Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son who shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

10 The Lord therefore hath accomplished his word which he spoke: and I am risen up in the place 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 God of Israel.

The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken; for I am raised up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

11 And I have put in it the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with the children of Israel.

And in it have I put the ark, in which [is] the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.

12 And he stood before the altar of the I Lord, in presence of all the multitude of Israel, and stretched forth his hands.

And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

13 For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and had set it in the midst of the temple, which was five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high: and he stood upon it: then kneeling down in the presence of all the multitude of Israel, and lifting up his hands towards heaven,

(For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven, )

14 He said: O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven nor in earth: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

And said, O LORD God of Israel, [there is] no God like thee in the heaven, nor on the earth; who keepest covenant, and [showest] mercy to thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

15 Who hast performed to thy servant David my father all that thou hast promised him: and hast accomplished in fact, what thou hast spoken with thy mouth, as also the present time proveth.

Thou who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and hast spoken with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [it] with thy hand, as [it is] this day.

16 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill to thy servant David my father, whatsoever thou hast promised him, saying: There shall not fail thee a man in my sight, to sit upon the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their ways, and walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; provided thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

17 And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy word be established which thou hast spoken to thy servant David.

Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David.

18 Is it credible then that God should dwell with men on the earth? If heaven and the heavens of heavens do not contain thee, how much less this house, which I have built?

But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

19 But to this end only it is made, that thou mayest regard the prayer of thy servant and his supplication, O Lord my God: and mayest hear the prayers which thy servant poureth out before thee.

Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:

20 That thou mayest open thy eyes upon this house day and night, upon the place wherein thou hast promised that thy name should be called upon,

That thy eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place of which thou hast said, that thou wouldst put thy name there; to hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth towards this place.

21 And that thou wouldst hear the prayer which thy servant prayeth in it: hearken then to the prayers of thy servant, and of thy people Israel. Whosoever shall pray in this place, hear thou from thy dwelling place, that is, from heaven, and shew mercy.

Hearken therefore to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make towards this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, [even] from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.

22 If any man sin against his neighbour, and come to swear against him, and bind himself with a curse before the altar in this house:

If a man shall sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath shall come before thy altar in this house;

23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do justice to thy servants, so as to requite the wicked by making his wickedness fall upon his own head, and to revenge the just, rewarding him according to his justice.

Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.

24 If thy people Israel be overcome by their enemies, (for they will sin against thee, ) and being converted shall do penance, and call upon thy name, and pray to thee in this place,

And if thy people Israel shall be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;

25 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back into the land, which thou gavest to them, and their fathers.

Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.

26 If the heavens be shut up, and there fall no rain by reason of the sins of the people, and they shall pray to thee in this place, and confess to thy name, and be converted from their sins, when thou dost afflict them,

When the heaven is shut, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; [yet] if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

27 Then hear thou from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the sins of thy servants and of thy people Israel, and teach them the good way, in which they may walk: and give rain to thy land which thou hast given to thy people to possess.

Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

28 If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence or blasting, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars: or if their enemies waste the country, and besiege the cities, whatsoever scourge or infirmity shall be upon them:

If there shall be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies shall besiege them in the cities of their land; whatever calamity, or whatever sickness [there be]:

29 Then if any of thy people Israel, knowing his own scourge and infirmity shall pray, and shall spread forth his hands in this house,

[Then] whatever prayer, [or] whatever supplication shall be made by any man, or by all the people of Israel, when every one shall know his own calamity, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:

30 Hear thou from heaven, from thy high dwelling place, and forgive, and render to every one according to his ways, which thou knowest him to have in his heart: (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men: )

Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men: )

31 That they may fear thee, and walk in thy ways all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.

That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers.

32 If the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, come from a far country, for the sake of thy great name, and thy strong hand, and thy stretched out arm, and adore in this place:

Moreover concerning the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, but hath come from a distant country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy out-stretched arm; if they come and pray in this house;

33 Hear thou from heaven thy firm dwelling place, and do all that which that stranger shall call upon thee for: that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and may fear thee, as thy people Israel, and may know, that thy name is invoked upon this house, which I have built.

Then hear thou from the heavens, [even] from 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, and fear thee, as [do] thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that thou shalt send them, and adore thee towards the way of this city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:

If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee towards this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;

35 Then hear thou from heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and revenge them.

Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

36 And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand,

If they sin against thee, (for [there is] no man who sinneth not, ) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before [their] enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near;

37 And if they be converted in their heart in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly:

Yet [if] they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;

38 And return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore thee towards the way of their own land which thou gavest their fathers, and of the city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:

If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray towards their land which thou gavest to their fathers, and [towards] the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house which I have built for thy name:

39 Then hear thou from heaven, that is, from thy firm dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment, and forgive thy people, although they have sinned:

Then hear thou from the heavens, [even] from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee.

40 For thou art my God: let thy eyes, I beseech thee, be open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer, that is made in this place.

Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thy eyes be open, and [let] thy ears [be] attentive to the prayer [that is made] in this place.

41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, put on salvation, and thy saints rejoice in good things.

Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

42 O Lord God, turn not away the face of thy anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

O LORD God, turn not away the face of thy anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.