1 Kings 8

1 Then, did Solomon call together the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, chiefs of the fathers of the sons of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, —that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, out of the city of David, the same is Zion.

Then all those greater by birth of Israel, with the leaders of the tribes and the rulers of the families of the sons of Israel, gathered together before king Solomon at Jerusalem, so that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, from the city of David, that is, from Zion.

2 So all the men of Israel came together unto King Solomon, in the month of steady flowings, at the festival, —the same is the seventh month.

And all of Israel assembled before king Solomon, on the solemn day in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came in, —and the priests took up the ark;

And all the elders of Israel arrived, and the priests took up the ark.

4 and they brought up the ark of Yahweh, and the Tent of Meeting, and all the hallowed vessels that were in the tent, —yea, the priests and the Levites, did bring them up.

And they carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the Sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle; and the priests and the Levites carried these.

5 And, King Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel who had assembled themselves unto him, were with him, before the ark, —sacrificing sheep and oxen, which could neither be recorded nor counted, for multitude.

Then king Solomon, and the entire multitude of Israel, who had assembled before him, advanced with him before the ark. And they immolated sheep and oxen, which could not be numbered or estimated.

6 So the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh into its place, into the shrine of the house, into the holy of holies, —under the wings of the cherubim.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the oracle of the temple, in the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.

7 For, the cherubim, were spreading forth their two wings, over the place of the ark, —and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and over the staves thereof, above.

For indeed, the cherubim extended their wings over the place of the ark, and they protected the ark and its bars from above.

8 And they drew out the staves, and the heads of the staves were seen from the holy place, in front of the shrine, although they were not seen on the outside, —and they have remained there until this day.

And since the bars projected outward, their ends were visible from without, in the Sanctuary before the oracle; but they were not visible farther outward. And they have been in that place even to the present day.

9 There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables of stone, which Moses deposited there in Horeb, —the tables of the covenant which Yahweh solemnised with the sons of Israel, when they came forth out of the land of Egypt.

Now inside the ark, there was nothing other than the two tablets of stone, which Moses had placed in it at Horeb, when the Lord formed a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they departed from the land of Egypt.

10 And so it was, when the priests came forth out of the holy place, that, a cloud, filled the house of Yahweh;

Then it happened that, when the priests had exited from the Sanctuary, a 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 Yahweh, filled, the house of Yahweh.

And the priests were unable to stand and minister, because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

12 Then, said Solomon, —Yahweh, said, that he would make his habitation in thick gloom:

Then Solomon said: “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a cloud.

13 I have, built, a house as a high abode for thee, —A settled place for thee to abide in, for ages.

Building, I have built a house as your dwelling place, your most firm throne forever.”

14 And the king turned about his face, and blessed all the convocation of Israel, —while all the convocation of Israel was standing;

And the king turned his face, and he blessed the entire assembly of Israel. For the entire assembly of Israel was standing.

15 and he said—Blessed, be Yahweh, God of Israel, who spake with his mouth, unto David my father, —that which with his hand he hath fulfilled, saying: —

And Solomon said: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to my father David, and who, with his own hands, has perfected it, saying:

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel, out of Egypt, I had chosen no city, out of all the tribes of Israel, for building a house, where my Name might be, —but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my Name should be there, and I have chosen David, to be over my people Israel:

‘From the day when I led my people Israel away from Egypt, I did not choose any city out of all the tribes of Israel, so that a house would be built, and so that my name might be there. Instead, I chose David to be over my people Israel.’

17 And so it came to pass, that it was near the heart of David my father, —to build a house for the Name of Yahweh, God of Israel.

And my father David wanted to build a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

18 Then said Yahweh unto David my father, Because it was near thy heart to build a house for my Name, thou didst well that it was near thy heart;

But the Lord said to my father David: ‘Since you have planned in your heart to build a house to my name, you have done well by considering this plan in your mind.

19 Only, thou thyself, must not build the house, —but, thine own son who hath proceeded out of thy loins, he, shall build the house, for my Name.

Yet truly, you shall not build a house for me. Instead, your son, who shall go forth from your loins, he himself shall build a house to my name.’

20 So then Yahweh hath established his word which he spake, —and I have been raised up in the room of David my father, and have taken my seat upon the throne of Israel, as spake Yahweh, and have built the house for the Name of Yahweh, God of Israel;

The Lord has confirmed his word which he spoke. And so I stand in place of my father David, and I sit upon the throne of Israel, just as the Lord said. And I have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

21 and have appointed there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Yahweh, —which he solemnised with our fathers, when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.

And there I have appointed a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he struck with our fathers, when they went forth from the land of Egypt.”

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh, in the presence of all the convocation of Israel, —and spread forth his hands towards the heavens;

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and he extended his hands toward heaven.

23 and said—O Yahweh, God of Israel! Not like thee, is there a God, in the heavens above, or upon the earth beneath, —keeping Covenant and Lovingkindness for thy servants who are walking before thee, with all their heart;

And he said: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, nor on the earth below. You preserve covenant and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart.

24 who hast kept for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, —in that thou didst promise with thy mouth, and, with thy hand, hast fulfilled, as it is this day.

You have fulfilled, for your servant David, my father, that which you said to him. With your mouth, you spoke; and with your hands, you completed; just as this day proves.

25 Now, therefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep thou for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not be cut off to thee a man from before me, to sit upon the throne of Israel, —if only, thy sons take heed to their way, by walking before me, as thou hast walked before me.

Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill, for your servant David, my father, that which you spoke to him, saying, ‘There shall not be taken away from you a man before me, who may sit upon the throne of Israel, if only your sons will guard their way, so that they walk before me, just as you have walked in my sight.’

26 Now, therefore, O God of Israel, —verified be thy word, I pray thee, which thou didst speak to thy servant, David my father.

And now, O Lord God of Israel, establish your words, which you spoke to your servant David, my father.

27 But, in very deed, will God dwell, upon the earth? Lo! the heaven, yea the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?

Is it, then, to be understood that truly God would dwell upon the earth? For if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, are not able to contain you, how much less this house, which I have built?

28 Yet wilt thou turn unto the prayer of thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Yahweh my God, —to hearken unto the cry, and unto the prayer, wherewith thy servant doth pray before thee to-day;

Yet look with favor upon the prayer of your servant and upon his petitions, O Lord, my God. Listen to the hymn and the prayer, which your servant prays before you this day,

29 that thine eye may be opened toward this house, night and day, toward the place of which thou hast said, My Name shall be, there; hearkening unto the prayer which thy servant shall offer toward this place.

so that your eyes may be open over this house, night and day, over the house about which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ so that you may heed the prayer that your servant is praying in this place to you.

30 Wilt, thou, therefore, hearken unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whensoever they shall pray toward this place, —yea wilt, thou thyself, hear, in thine own dwelling-place, in the heavens, and, when thou hearest, then wilt thou forgive?

So may you heed the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel, whatever they will pray for in this place, and so may you heed them in your dwelling place in heaven. And when you heed, you will be gracious.

31 When a man shall sin against his neighbour, and there shall be taken up against him an oath, to put him on oath, —and he shall come in and swear before thine altar, in this house,

But if any man sins against his neighbor, and he has any kind of an oath by which he is bound, and he arrives because of the oath, before your altar in your house,

32 then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, and act, and judge thy servants, condemning the lawless, by setting his way upon his own head, —and justifying the righteous, by giving to him, according to his righteousness?

you will hear in heaven, and you will act and judge your servants, condemning the impious, and repaying his own way upon his own head, but justifying the just, and rewarding him in accord with his justice.

33 When thy people Israel are smitten before an enemy, because they have been sinning against thee, —and they turn again unto thee, and confess thy Name, and pray and make supplication unto thee, in this house,

And if your people Israel will have fled from their enemies, because they have sinned against you, and doing penance and confessing to your name, shall arrive and pray and petition you in this house,

34 then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back unto the soil, which thou gavest unto their fathers?

listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and lead them back to the land, which you gave to their fathers.

35 When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have been sinning against thee, —and they shall pray toward this place, and confess thy Name, and, from their sin, shall return, because thou hast been afflicting them,

And if the heavens have closed, so that there is no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to your name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions,

36 then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way, wherein they should walk, —and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people, for an inheritance?

hear them from heaven, and forgive the sins of your servants and of your people Israel. And reveal to them the good way, along which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as a possession.

37 When there shall be, famine, in the land, when there shall be, pestilence, when there shall be, blasting, mildew locust, caterpillar, when their enemy shall besiege them in one of their own gates, —whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness;

Then, if famine rises over the land, or pestilence, or corrupt air, or blight, or locust, or mildew, or if their enemy afflicts them, besieging the gates, or any harm or infirmity,

38 any prayer, any supplication which, any son of earth, may have, of all thy people Israel, —who will certainly know every man the plague of his own heart, and so he shall spread abroad his hands towards this house,

or whatever curse or divine intervention may happen to any man among your people Israel, if anyone understands, having been wounded in his heart, and if he will have extended his hands in this house,

39 then wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, in the settled place of thine abode, and forgive and act, and give unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou wilt know, —for, thou thyself alone, knowest the heart of all the sons of men;

you will hear in heaven, in your dwelling place, and you will forgive. And you will act so that you give to each one in accord with his own ways, just as you see in his heart, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of men.

40 to the end they may revere thee, all the days which they do live, upon the face of the soil, —which thou gavest unto our fathers?

So may they fear you, all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which you have given to our fathers.

41 Moreover also, unto the stranger, who is, not of thy people Israel, —but hath come in out of a far country, for the sake of thy Name, —

Moreover, the foreigner too, who is not of your people Israel, when he will have arrived from a distant land because of your name, for they shall hear about your great name, and your strong hand,

42 (for they will certainly hear of thy great Name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched-out arm, —and so will come in and pray towards this house),

and your outstretched arm everywhere: so when he arrives and prays in this place,

43 wilt, thou thyself, hear in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, and act, according to all for which, the stranger, shall cry unto thee, —to the end that all the peoples of the earth may truly know thy Name, so as to revere thee, like thy people Israel, and to know that, thine own Name, hath been given unto this house, which I have built?

you will listen in heaven, in the firmament of your dwelling place. And you will do all the things, for which that foreigner will have called upon you. So may all the peoples of the earth learn to fear your name, just as your people Israel do. And so may they show that your name has been invoked over this house, which I have built.

44 When thy people go forth to war against their enemy, whithersoever thou mayest send them, —and shall pray unto Yahweh, in the direction of the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name,

And if your people have gone out to war against their enemies, along whatever way you will send them, they shall pray to you in the direction of the city, which you have chosen, and toward the house, which I have built to your name.

45 then wilt thou hear, in the heavens, their prayer and their supplication, —and maintain their cause?

And you will hear in heaven their prayers and their petitions. And you will accomplish judgment for them.

46 When they sin against thee—for there is, no son of earth, that sinneth not, and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them up before an enemy, —who shall carry them away as their captives, into the land of the enemy, far or near;

But if they sin against you, for there is no man who does not sin, and you, being angry, deliver them to their enemies, and they will have been led away as captives to the land of their enemies, whether far or near,

47 and they come back to their right mind, in the land whither they have been taken captive, —and so turn and make supplication unto thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely, we have been lawless;

and if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and having been converted, make supplication to you in their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned; we acted unjustly; we committed impiety,’

48 and so they turn unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who have carried them away captive, —and pray unto thee in the direction of their own land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy Name,

and they return to you with all their heart and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they have been led away as captives, and if they pray to you in the direction of their land, which you gave to their fathers, and of the city, which you have chosen, and of the temple, which I have built to your name:

49 then wilt thou hearken in the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, unto their prayer, and unto their supplication, —and maintain their cause;

you will hear in heaven, in the firmament of your throne, their prayers and their petitions. And you will accomplish their judgment.

50 and grant forgiveness to thy people, who have sinned against thee, even as to all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, —and grant them compassion before their captors, so that they may have compassion upon them;

And you will forgive your people, who have sinned against you, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against you. And you will grant to them mercy in the sight of those who have made them captives, so that they may take pity on them.

51 because, thy people and thine inheritance, they are, —whom thou didst bring forth out of Egypt, out of the midst of the smelting-pot of iron;

For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you have led away from the land 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 their crying unto thee;

So may your eyes be open to the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel. And so may you heed them in all the things about which they will call upon you.

53 because, thou thyself, didst separate them unto thee, for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, —as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest forth our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.

For you have separated them to yourself as an inheritance, from among all the peoples of the earth, just as you spoke by Moses, your servant, when you led our fathers away from Egypt, O Lord God.”

54 And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying unto Yahweh all this prayer and supplication, that he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees, with his hands outspread to the heavens;

And it happened that, when Solomon had completed praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he rose up from the sight of the altar of the Lord. For he had fixed both knees upon the ground, and he had extended his hands toward heaven.

55 and stood and blessed all the convocation of Israel, —with a loud voice, saying:

Then he stood and blessed the entire assembly of Israel in a great voice, saying:

56 Blessed, be Yahweh, who 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.

“Blessed is the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, in accord with all that he said. Not even one word, out of all the good things that he spoke by his servant Moses, has fallen away.

57 Yahweh our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, —let him not leave us, nor forsake us;

May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers, not abandoning us, and not rejecting us.

58 but bow our heart unto himself, —to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his regulations, which he commanded our fathers.

But may he incline our hearts to himself, so that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and whatever judgments he commanded to our fathers.

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near unto Yahweh our God, day and night, —that he may maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as any need ariseth:

And may these my words, by which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God, day and night, so that he may accomplish judgment for his servant and for his people Israel, throughout each day.

60 To the end that all the peoples of the earth may know, that, Yahweh, is God, —there is none else.

So may all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord himself is God, and there is no other beside him.

61 So shall your heart be sound with Yahweh our God, —to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Also, may our hearts be perfect with the Lord our God, so that we may walk in his decrees, and keep his commandments, as also on this day.”

62 And, the king, and all Israel with him, were offering sacrifice before Yahweh.

Then the king, and all of Israel with him, immolated victims before the Lord.

63 So Solomon offered as a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered unto Yahweh—Oxen, two and twenty thousand, and Sheep, a hundred and twenty thousand, —Thus did, the king and all the sons of Israel, dedicate the house of Yahweh.

And Solomon slew sacrifices of peace offerings, which he immolated to the Lord: twenty-two thousand oxen, and twenty thousand one hundred sheep. And the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the temple of the Lord.

64 On that day, did the king hallow the middle of the court, that was before the house of Yahweh, —for he offered there the ascending-sacrifice, and the meal-offering, and the fat portions of the peace-offerings, because, the altar of bronze that was before Yahweh, was too small to receive the ascending-sacrifice and the meal-offering, and the fat portions of the peace-offerings.

On that day, the king sanctified the middle of the atrium, which was before the house of the Lord. For in that place, he offered holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of peace offerings. For the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, was too small and was not able to hold the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 And Solomon made, at that time, a festival—and all Israel with him—a great convocation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the ravine of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, seven days, and seven days, —fourteen days.

Then Solomon made, at that time, a celebratory festival, and all of Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entrance of Hamath to the river of Egypt, in the sight of the Lord our God, for seven days plus seven days, that is, fourteen days.

66 And on the eighth day, he sent the people away, and they blessed the king, —and departed to their homes, rejoicing and glad of heart, over all the goodness which Yahweh had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

And on the eighth day, he dismissed the people. And blessing the king, they set out for their tents, rejoicing and cheerful in heart over all the good things that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.