2 Chronicles 5

1 After Solomon’s workers had finished building the temple, Solomon put in the temple storage rooms everything that his father David had dedicated to Yahweh—all the silver and gold and all the other things that were used at the temple.

When all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was completed, Solomon brought in the things that David, his father, had set apart for this purpose, including the silver, the gold, and all the furnishings—he placed them into the treasuries of the house of God.

2 Then King Solomon summoned to Jerusalem all the elders of Israel, all the leaders of the tribes and of the families/clans. He wanted them to help to bring to the temple Yahweh’s Sacred Chest from Zion [Hill], where it was in [the part of the city called] ‘The City of David’.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion.

3 So all the leaders of Israel gathered together along with the king, during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, in October.

All the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

4 When they had all arrived, the descendants of Levi lifted up the Sacred Chest,

All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

5 and they carried it and the Sacred Tent and the sacred things that were inside it. The priests, who were also descended from Levi, carried them.

They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tent. The priests who were of the tribe of Levi brought these things up.

6 King Solomon and many of the other people of Israel who had gathered there walked in front of the Sacred Chest. And they sacrificed a huge amount of sheep and cattle. No one was able to count them [because there were very many].

King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel came together before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted.

7 The priests then brought the Sacred Chest into the Most Holy Place, the inner room of the temple, and they placed it under the wings of the statues of winged creatures.

The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner room of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim.

8 The wings of those statues spread out over the Sacred Chest and over the poles by which it was carried.

For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and they covered the ark and the poles by which it was carried.

9 The poles were very long, with the result that they could be seen by [those who were standing] at the entrance to the Most Holy Place, but they could not be seen by anyone standing outside the temple. Those poles are still there.

The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner room, but they could not be seen from outside. They are there to this day.

10 The only things that were inside the Sacred Chest were the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Sinai Mountain, where Yahweh made an agreement with the Israeli people after they came out of Egypt.

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were there, from every group, had performed the rituals to cause them to be acceptable to God.

It came about that the priests came out of the holy place. All the priests who were present had consecrated themselves to Yahweh, not ordering themselves according to their divisions.

12 All the descendants of Levi who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons and their other relatives—stood on the east side of the altar. They were wearing linen clothes, and they were playing cymbals, harps, and lyres. There were 120 other priests who were blowing trumpets.

Also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood at the east end of the altar. With them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.

13 The men blowing trumpets, those playing the cymbals and other musical instruments, and the singers, made music together, praising Yahweh and singing this song: “Yahweh is good [to us]; he faithfully loves us forever.” Then [suddenly] the temple was filled with a cloud.

It came about that the trumpeters and singers made music together, making one sound to be heard for praising and thanking Yahweh. They raised their voices with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments, and they praised Yahweh. They sang, “For he is good, for his covenant loyalty endures forever.” Then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud.

14 The glorious radiance of Yahweh filled the temple, with the result that the priests were not able to continue doing their work.

The priests could not stand in order to serve because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled his house.