1 Kings 8

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.2 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.3 So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.4 Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up.5 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.6 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim.7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.8 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.9 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.12 Then Solomon spoke: The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud.13 I have surely built You an exalted house, And a place for You to dwell in forever.

Solomons Speech at Completion of the Work

14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.15 And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying,16 Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.17 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel.18 But the Lord said to my father David, Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.19 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.20 So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel.21 And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Solomons Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;23 and he said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.25 Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, My name shall be there, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.31 When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple,32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.33 When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple,34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring 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 sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them,36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.37 When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple:39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men),40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.41 Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your names sake42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple,43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.44 When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name,45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.46 When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near;47  yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness;48 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name:49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause,50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them51 (for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace),52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.53 For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

Solomon Blesses the Assembly

54 And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.55 Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:56 Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.57 May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us,58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require,60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.61 Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.

Solomon Dedicates the Temple

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord.63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.64 On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.65 At that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven more daysfourteen days.66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.

1 KINGS 8

Solomon Brings the Sacred Chest //to the Temple

(2 Chronicles 5.2—6.2)

1-2  t The sacred chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also known as the city of David. But Solomon decided to have the chest moved to the temple while everyone was in Jerusalem, celebrating the Festival of Shelters during Ethanim, t the seventh month of the year.
Solomon called together the important leaders of Israel. 3-4 Then the priests and the Levites carried to the temple the sacred chest, the sacred tent, and the objects used for worship.

5 Solomon and a crowd of people stood in front of the chest and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted.
6 The priests carried the chest into the most holy place and put it under the winged creatures, 7 whose wings covered both the chest and the poles used for carrying it.

8 The poles were so long that they could be seen from right outside the most holy place, but not from anywhere else. And they stayed there from then on.

9  t The only things kept in the chest were the two flat stones Moses had put there when the [Lord] made his agreement with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, t after bringing them out of Egypt.
10  t Suddenly a cloud filled the temple as the priests were leaving the most holy place. 11 The [Lord]'s glory was in the cloud, and the light from it was so bright that the priests could not stay inside to do their work.

12 t Then Solomon prayed:
“Our [Lord], you said that you
would live in a dark cloud.

13 Now I have built a glorious temple
where you can live forever.”

Solomon Speaks to the People

(2 Chronicles 6.3-11)

15-16 t and said:
Praise the [Lord] God of Israel! Long ago he brought his people out of Egypt. He did not choose a city from any tribe in Israel where his temple would be built, but he kept his promise to make my father David the king of Israel.
17  t So when David wanted to build a temple for the [Lord] God of Israel, 18 the [Lord] said, “It's good that you want to build a temple where I can be worshiped.

19 t But you're not the one to do it. Your son will build a temple to honor me.”
20 The [Lord] has done what he promised. I am the king of Israel like my father, and I've built a temple for the [Lord] our God.

21 I've also made a place in the temple for the sacred chest. And in that chest are the two flat stones on which is written the solemn agreement the [Lord] made with our ancestors when he led them out of Egypt.

Solomon Prays //at the Temple

(2 Chronicles 6.12-42)

23 and prayed:
[Lord] God of Israel, no other god in heaven or on earth is like you!
You never forget the agreement you made with your people, and you are loyal to anyone who faithfully obeys your teachings.

24 My father David was your servant, and today you have kept every promise you made to him.
25  t [Lord] God of Israel, you promised my father that someone from his family would always be king of Israel, if they do their best to obey you, just as he did.

26 Please keep this promise you made to your servant David.
27  t There's not enough room in all of heaven for you, [Lord] God. How could you possibly live on earth in this temple I have built? 28 But I ask you to answer my prayer. 29 t This is the temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. Please watch over it day and night and listen when I turn toward it and pray.

30 I am your servant, and the people of Israel belong to you. So whenever any of us look toward this temple and pray, answer from your home in heaven and forgive our sins.
31 Suppose someone accuses a person of a crime, and the accused has to stand in front of the altar in your temple and say, “I swear I am innocent!”

32 Listen from heaven and decide who is right. Then punish the guilty person and let the innocent one go free.
33  tSuppose your people Israel sin against you, and then an enemy defeats them. If they come to this temple and beg for forgiveness,

34 listen from your home in heaven. Forgive them and bring them back to the land you gave their ancestors.
35 Suppose your people sin against you, and you punish them by holding back the rain. If they turn toward this temple and pray in your name and stop sinning,

36 listen from your home in heaven and forgive them. The people of Israel are your servants, so teach them to live right. And please send rain on the land you gave them to be theirs forever.
37 Sometimes the crops may dry up or rot or be eaten by locustst or grasshoppers, and your people will be starving. Sometimes enemies may surround their towns, or your people will become sick with deadly diseases. 38 Listen when anyone in Israel truly feels sorry and sincerely prays with arms lifted toward your temple. 39 You know what is in everyone's heart. So from your home in heaven answer their prayers, according to the way they live and what is in their hearts.

40 Then your people will worship and obey you for as long as they live in the land you gave their ancestors.
41-42 Foreigners will hear about you and your mighty power, and some of them will come to live among your people Israel. If any of them pray toward this temple,

43 listen from your home in heaven and answer their prayers. Then everyone on earth will worship you, just like your people Israel, and they will know that I have built this temple to honor you.
44 Our [Lord], sometimes you will order your people to attack their enemies. Then your people will turn toward this temple I have built for you in your chosen city, and they will pray to you.

45 Answer their prayers from heaven and give them victory.
46 Everyone sins. But when your people sin against you, suppose you get angry enough to let their enemies drag them away to foreign countries. 47-49 Later, they may feel sorry for what they did and ask your forgiveness. Answer them when they pray toward this temple I have built for you in your chosen city, here in this land you gave their ancestors. From your home in heaven, listen to their sincere prayers and do what they ask. 50 Forgive your people no matter how much they have sinned against you. Make the enemies who defeated them be kind to them.

51 Remember, they are the people you chose and rescued from Egypt that was like a blazing fire to them.
52 I am your servant, and the people of Israel belong to you. So listen when any of us pray and cry out for your help.

53 When you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, you told your servant Moses to say to them, “From all people on earth, the [Lord] God has chosen you to be his very own.”

Solomon Blesses //the People

55 turned toward the people, blessed them, and said loudly:

56  t Praise the [Lord]! He has kept his promise and given us peace. Every good thing he promised to his servant Moses has happened.
57 The [Lord] our God was with our ancestors to help them, and I pray that he will be with us and never abandon us.

58 May the [Lord] help us obey him and follow all the laws and teachings he gave our ancestors.
59 I pray that the [Lord] our God will remember my prayer day and night. May he help everyone in Israel each day, in whatever way we need it.

60 Then every nation will know that the [Lord] is the only true God.

61 Obey the [Lord] our God and follow his commands with all your heart, just as you are doing today.

Solomon Dedicates //the Temple

(2 Chronicles 7.4-10)

64 On that day, Solomon dedicated the courtyard in front of the temple and made it acceptable for worship. He offered the sacrifices there because the bronze altar in front of the temple was too small.
65 Solomon and the huge crowd celebrated the Festival of Shelters at the temple for seven days.t There were people from as far away as the Egyptian Gorge in the south and Lebo-Hamath in the north. 66 Then on the eighth day, he sent everyone home. They said goodbye and left, very happy, because of all the good things the [Lord] had done for his servant David and his people Israel.