1 Kings 8
1 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem all the elders of Israel, all the leaders of the tribes, and the leaders of the clans. He wanted them to join in bringing Yahweh’s Sacred Chest from Zion [Hill to the temple], where it was in the part of the city called ‘The City of David’.
Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.
2 So all the Israeli leaders came to King Solomon during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, in October.
And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, the seventh month.
3 When they had all arrived, the priests lifted up the Sacred Chest
And all the responsible men of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
4 and brought it to the temple. The descendants of Levi [who assisted the priests] helped them to carry to the temple the Sacred Tent and all the sacred things that had been in the tent.
They took up the ark of the Lord, and the Tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels which were in the Tent; all these the priests and the Levites took up.
5 Then King Solomon and many of the Israeli people who had gathered in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Chest sacrificed a huge amount of sheep and oxen. No one was able to count the sacrifices [because there were so many].
And King Solomon and all the men of Israel who had come together there, were with him before the ark, making offerings of sheep and oxen more than might be numbered.
6 The the priests then brought the Sacred Chest into the Very Holy Place in the temple, and they placed it under the wings of the [statues of the] winged creatures.
And the priests took the ark of the agreement of the Lord and put it in its place in the inner room of the house, in the most holy place, under the wings of the winged ones.
7 The wings of those statues spread out over the Sacred Chest and over the poles by which it was carried.
For their wings were outstretched over the place where the ark was, covering the ark and its rods.
8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen [by people who were standing] at the entrance to the Most Holy Place, but they could not be seen [by people standing] outside the temple. Those poles are still there.
The rods were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place, in front of the inmost room; but they were not seen from outside: and there they are to this day.
9 The only things that were in the Sacred Chest were the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Sinai [Mountain], where Yahweh made an agreement with the people after they left Egypt.
There was nothing in the ark but the two flat stones which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made an agreement with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10 When the priests came out of the temple, [suddenly] it was filled with a cloud.
Now when the priests had come out of the holy place, the house of the Lord was full of the cloud,
11 It was the glory/radiance of Yahweh that filled the temple, with the result that the priests were not able to continue their work.
So that the priests were not able to keep their places to do their work because of the cloud, for the house of the Lord was full of the glory of the Lord.
12 Then Solomon prayed this: “Yahweh, you have placed the sun in the sky, but you have decided that you would live in very dark [clouds].
Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men;
13 I have built for you a magnificent temple, a place for you to live in forever.”
So I have made for you a living-place, a house in which you may be for ever present.
14 Then, while all the people stood there, the king turned around and faced them, and he [asked God to] bless them.
Then, turning his face about, the king gave a blessing to all the men of Israel; and they were all on their feet together.
15 He said, “Praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis belong! By his own power he has done what he promised to give to my father David. What he promised was this:
And he said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who himself gave his word to David my father, and with his strong hand has made his word come true, saying,
16 ‘From the time that I brought my people out of Egypt, I have never chosen any city in Israel in which a temple should be built for my people to worship me there. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.”
From the day when I took my people Israel out of Egypt, no town in all the tribes of Israel has been marked out by me for the building of a house for the resting-place of my name; but I made selection of David to be king over my people Israel.
17 [Then Solomon said], “My father David wanted to build a temple in order that we Israeli people could worship Yahweh our God there.
Now it was in the heart of David my father to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
18 But Yahweh said to him, ‘You have wanted to build a temple for me, and what you wanted to do was good.
But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name;
19 However, you are not the one [who I want] to build it. It is one of your sons, who [I want to] build a temple for me.’
But you yourself will not be the builder of my house; but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.
20 And now Yahweh has done what he promised to do. I have become the king of Israel to succeed my father, and I am ruling my people, like Yahweh promised. I have [arranged for] this temple [to be] built for us Israelis to worship Yahweh, the God, to whom we Israelis belong.
And the Lord has made his word come true; for I have taken my father David's place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel, as the Lord gave his word; and I have made a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
21 I have also provided a place [in the temple] for the Sacred Chest in which are the two stone tablets [on which are engraved the Ten Commandments of] the agreement that Yahweh made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
In it I have made a place for the ark, in which is the agreement which the Lord made with our fathers, when he took them out of the land of Egypt.
22 Then Solomon stood in front of the altar which was facing the Israeli people who had gathered there. He spread out his arms toward heaven,
Then Solomon took his place before the altar of the Lord, all the men of Israel being present, and stretching out his hands to heaven,
23 and he prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom we Israeli people [belong to/worship], there is no god like you up in heaven or down here on the earth. You solemnly promised that you would faithfully love us. And that is what you have done for us who earnestly do what you want us to do.
Said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on the earth; keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts.
24 You have done the things that you promised my father David, who served you [very well], that you would do. Truly, you promised to do these things for him, and today we see that by your power you have done them.
And you have kept the word which you gave to your servant David, my father; with your mouth you said it and with your hand you have made it come true this day.
25 So now, Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [belong to/worship], please do the things that you promised my father that you would do. You told him that there would always be some of his descendants who would rule Israel, if they would conduct their lives as he did.
So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, let your word to your servant David, my father, come true, when you said, You will never be without a man to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel before me, if only your children give attention to their ways, walking before me as you have done.
26 So now, God of us Israeli people, cause what you promised to do for my father David, who served you [well], to happen.
So now, O God of Israel, it is my prayer that you will make your word come true which you said to your servant David, my father.
27 But God, you cannot really live on the earth. There is surely not enough space for you in the sky, or even in the heaven. So there is surely not enough space for you to live in this temple that my workers have built.
But is it truly possible that God may be housed on earth? see, heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be your resting-place; how much less this house which I have made!
28 But Yahweh, my God, please listen to me while I am praying to you this day,
Still, let your heart be turned to the prayer of your servant, O Lord God, and to his prayer for grace; give ear to the cry and the prayer which your servant sends up to you this day;
29 Please keep protecting this temple night and day. This is the place about which you have said, ‘I will always be there.’ I request that you listen to me whenever I turn toward this temple and pray.
That your eyes may be open to this house night and day, to this place of which you have said, My name will be there; hearing the prayer which your servant may make, turning to this place.
30 I request that when I pray to you and your people pray to you while they turn toward this place, that in your home in heaven you will hear us and forgive us [for the sins that we have committed].
Give ear to the prayers of your servant, and the prayers of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place; give ear in heaven your living-place, and hearing, have mercy.
31 If someone is accused of doing something wrong to another person, and they bring him to your altar outside this holy temple, and if he says, ‘I did not do that; may God punish me if I am not telling the truth,’
If a man does wrong to his neighbour, and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:
32 then you listen from heaven, and decide who is telling the truth. Then punish the person who is guilty as he deserves to be punished, and declare that the other person is innocent.
Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving your decision against the wrongdoer, so that punishment for his sins may come on his head; and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.
33 And when your Israeli people are defeated by their enemies [in a battle] because they have sinned against you, [and if they are forced to go to some distant country, ] if they turn away from their sinful behavior and turn toward this temple and admit that you [have justly punished them], and if they plead [that you will forgive them],
When your people Israel are overcome in war, because of their sin against you; if they are turned to you again, honouring your name, making prayers to you and requesting your grace in this house:
34 listen to them from heaven, and forgive your Israeli people for the sins that they [have committed], and bring them back to this land that you gave to our ancestors.
Then give ear in heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again into the land which you gave to their fathers.
35 And when you do not allow any rain to fall on the land because your people have sinned against you, if they turn toward this temple and admit that you [have justly punished them], if they turn away from their sinful behavior and [humbly] pray to you,
When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you; if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:
36 listen to them from heaven, and forgive your Israeli people for the sins [that they have committed]. Teach them the right way to conduct their lives. Then send rain on this land that you have given to your people to belong to them [permanently].
Then give ear in heaven, so that the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, may have forgiveness, when you make clear to them the good way in which they are to go; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people for their heritage.
37 And when the people of this land experience famines, or if there is a plague/illness that causes many people to become sick, or if [their crops are destroyed by] very hot winds or [by] mildew or [by] locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemies surround any of their cities [in order to attack them], if any of those bad things happen to them,
If there is no food in the land, or if there is disease, or if the fruits of the earth are damaged through heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers; whatever trouble, whatever disease there may be:
38 when your Israeli people earnestly plead with you knowing that they are suffering because they [have sinned], and if they stretch out their arms toward this temple and pray,
Whatever prayer or request for your grace is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, whatever his trouble may be, whose hands are stretched out to this house:
39 listen to them from your home in heaven, and forgive them, and help them. You are the only one who knows what people are thinking, so act toward everyone as they deserve,
Give ear in heaven your living-place, acting in mercy; and give to every man whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of all the children of men:
40 in order that your people may then have an awesome respect for you, all the years that they live in this land that you gave to our ancestors.
So that they may give you worship all the days of their life in the land which you gave to our fathers.
41 There will be some foreigners who do not belong to your Israeli people who have come here from countries far away because they have heard that you are very great and that you perform great miracles. If they come here to this temple to worship you and pray,
And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel; when he comes from a far country because of the glory of your name:
(For they will have news of your great name and your strong hand and your out-stretched arm; ) when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:
43 in your home in heaven, listen to their prayers, and do for them what they request you to do. Do that so that all the people-groups in the world will know about you and revere you, like we your Israeli people do. And then they will know that this temple that I have [caused to be] built to honor you, is where you [should be worshiped].
Give ear in heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have put up is truly named by your name.
44 And if you send your people to go to fight against their enemies, if they pray to you, wherever they are, if they turn toward this city that you have chosen and toward this temple that I have caused to be built for you,
If your people go out to war against their attackers, by whatever way you may send them, if they make their prayer to the Lord, turning their faces to this town of yours and to this house which I have made for your name:
45 listen in heaven to their prayers; listen to what they plead for you to do, and assist them.
Give ear in heaven to their prayer and their cry for grace, and see right done to them.
46 [It is true that] everyone sins. So, if your people sin against you, and you become angry with them, you may allow their enemies to defeat them and capture them and take them away to their enemies’ country, even to countries that are far away.
If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin, ) and you are angry with them and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away as prisoners into a strange land, far off or near;
47 If that happens, while they are in those countries to which they were forced to go, if they sincerely repent and plead with you there saying ‘We have sinned and have done things that are very wicked,’
And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, and are turned again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil;
48 if they very sincerely repent, and turn toward this land that you gave to our ancestors, and toward this city that you have chosen [to be the place where we should worship you], and toward this temple that I have [caused to be] built for you, and if they pray,
And with all their heart and soul are turned again to you, in the land of those who took them prisoners, and make their prayer to you, turning their eyes to this land which you gave to their fathers, and to the town which you took for yourself, and the house which I made for your name:
49 then from your home in heaven listen to them while they plead [for your help], and assist them.
Then give ear to their prayer and to their cry in heaven your living-place, and see right done to them;
50 Forgive them for all the sins that they [have committed] against you, and cause their enemies to be kind to them.
Answering with forgiveness the people who have done wrong against you, and overlooking the evil which they have done against you; let those who made them prisoners be moved with pity for them, and have pity on them;
51 Do not forget that the Israelis are your people; they are your special possession; you brought [our ancestors] out of Egypt where [they were greatly suffering as though] they were in a blazing furnace.
For they are your people and your heritage, which you took out of Egypt, out of the iron fireplace;
52 I request that you always listen to your Israeli people and to me, their king, and heed their prayers whenever they call out to you [to help them].
Let your eyes be open to your servant's prayer for grace and to the prayer of your people Israel, hearing them when their cry comes to you.
53 You chose them from all the other people-groups in the world to belong to you, which is what you told Moses to tell them when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
For you made them separate from all the peoples of the earth, to be your heritage, as you said by Moses your servant, when you took our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
54 After Solomon had finished praying and pleading to Yahweh [for his help], he stood up in front of the altar where he had been kneeling. He lifted up his arms.
Then Solomon, after making all these prayers and requests for grace to the Lord, got up from his knees before the altar of the Lord, where his hands had been stretched out in prayer to heaven;
55 Then he [asked God to] bless all the Israeli people. [He prayed] loudly, saying,
And, getting on his feet, he gave a blessing to all the men of Israel, saying with a loud voice,
56 “Praise Yahweh, who has given us his people peace, like he promised that he would do. He has done every one of the good things that he promised to Moses, the man who served him [very well].
Praise be to the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, as he gave them his word to do; every word of all his oath, which he gave by the hand of Moses his servant, has come true.
57 I pray that our God will be with us like he was with our ancestors, and that he will never abandon us.
Now may the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; let him never go away from us or give us up;
58 I pray that he will cause us to loyally serve him, to conduct our lives as he wants us to, and to obey all his commandments and statutes and laws that he gave to our ancestors.
Turning our hearts to himself, guiding us to go in all his ways, to keep his orders and his laws and his decisions, which he gave to our fathers.
59 I pray that Yahweh our God will never forget these words that I have prayed, pleading for his help; I pray that he will think about them by day and by night. I pray that he will always help [us] Israeli people and me, giving us the things that we need day by day.
And may these my words, the words of my prayer to the Lord, be before the Lord our God day and night, so that he may see right done to his servant and to his people Israel, day by day as we have need.
60 If he does that, all the people-groups in the world will know that he is the only one who is God, and that there is no other one who is God.
So that all the peoples of the earth may see that the Lord is God, and there is no other.
61 I pray that you, [his people, ] will always be fully committed to Yahweh, and that you will obey all his statutes and commands, like you are doing now.”
Then let your hearts be without sin before the Lord our God, walking in his laws and keeping his orders as at this day.
62 Then the king and all the Israeli people who were there offered sacrifices to Yahweh.
Now the king, and all Israel with him, were making offerings before the Lord.
63 They sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then the king and all the people dedicated the temple.
And Solomon gave to the Lord for peace-offerings, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel kept the feast of the opening of the Lord's house.
64 On that day, the king also dedicated/set apart the middle part of the courtyard that was in front of the temple. Then he offered sacrifices that would be completely burned [in the courtyard], the offerings of grain and the fat of the animals that were sacrificed to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. They sacrificed them there because the bronze altar was not big enough for all those sacrifices to be burned on it [that day].
The same day the king made holy the middle of the open square in front of the house of the Lord, offering there the burned offering and the meal offering and the fat of the peace-offerings; for there was not room on the brass altar of the Lord for the burned offerings and the meal offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings.
65 Then Solomon and all the Israeli people celebrated the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people there, some of whom had come from [distant places like] Hamath [in the far north] and the border of Egypt [in the far south].
So Solomon and all Israel with him, a very great meeting, (for the people had come together from the way into Hamath to the river of Egypt, ) kept the feast at that time before the Lord our God, for two weeks, even fourteen days.
66 On the eighth day, Solomon sent the people to their homes. They all praised him and went home happy because of all the things that Yahweh had done to bless [King] David and his Israeli people.
And on the eighth day he sent the people away, and, blessing the king, they went to their tents full of joy and glad in their hearts, because of all the good which the Lord had done to David his servant and to Israel his people.
