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Thus all the melachah (work) that Sh’lomo made for the Beis Hashem was completed; and Sh’lomo brought in all the things that Dovid Aviv had dedicated as kodesh; and the kesef, and the zahav, and all the articles, he put among the otzerot of the Bais HaElohim.

Then Sh’lomo gathered unto Yerushalayim the Ziknei Yisroel, and kol Rashei HaMattot (all the Heads of the Tribes), the Nesi’ei HaAvot (Family Chiefs) of the Bnei Yisroel, to bring up the Aron Brit Hashem out of Ir Dovid, which is Tziyon.

Kol Ish Yisroel assembled themselves unto the Melech in the Chag (Feast, i.e., Sukkot) which was in the seventh month [Tishri].

And all the Ziknei Yisroel came; and the Levi’im took up the Aron.

And they brought up the Aron, and the Ohel Mo’ed and kol Klei HaKodesh (all the Holy Articles) that were in the Ohel, these did the Kohanim and the Levi’im bring up.

Also HaMelech Sh’lomo, and Kol Adat Yisroel that were assembled unto him before the Aron, sacrificed tzon and bakar, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

And the Kohanim brought in the Aron Brit Hashem unto its makom (place), to the Devir HaBeis, into the Kodesh HaKadoshim, even under the wings of the Keruvim;

For the Keruvim spread forth their wings over the place of the Aron, and the Keruvim covered over the Aron and the carrying poles thereof.

And they drew out the poles of the Aron, that the ends of the poles were seen from the Aron before the Devir; but they were not seen from the outside. And there it is unto this day.

10 There was nothing in the Aron except the two Luchot which Moshe put therein at Chorev, when Hashem made a Brit with the Bnei Yisroel, when they came out of Mitzrayim.

11 And it came to pass, when the Kohanim were come out of the Kodesh (for all the Kohanim that were present were set apart as kodesh, and the divisions were not observed;

12 Also the Levi’im which were the meshorarim (singers), all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Yedutun, with their banim and their achim, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and lyres and kinnorot (harps), stood at the east of the Mizbe’ach, and with them a hundred and twenty Kohanim sounding trumpets:

13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and meshorarim were as one, making kol echad (one voice, one sound) to be heard in praising and thanking Hashem; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and musical instruments, and praised Hashem, saying, Ki tov ki l’olam chasdo (For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever), that then the Beis was filled with an anan, even the Beis Hashem,

14 So that the Kohanim could not stand to minister by reason of the anan; for the Kavod Hashem had filled the Beis HaElohim [see Ac chps 1-2]. [T.N. See 1C 3:16-17 regarding the Messianic fulfillment of 1Chr 6:9]

So all the work Solomon did for the Lord’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David—the silver, the gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Preparations for the Temple Dedication

At that time(A) Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites—in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David,(B) that is, Zion. So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king’s presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.[a]

All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark. They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many. The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.(C) And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark so that the cherubim formed a cover above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place[b](D) in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside; they are there to this very day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put in it at Horeb,[c](E) where the Lord had made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

11 Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions.(F) When the priests came out of the holy place, 12 the Levitical singers dressed in fine linen and carrying cymbals, harps, and lyres(G) were standing east of the altar, and with them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.(H) The Levitical singers were descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun and their sons(I) and relatives. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments,(J) in praise to the Lord:

For He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(K)

The temple, the Lord’s temple, was filled with a cloud.(L) 14 And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple.(M)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 5:3 = Tishri (September–October)
  2. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read the ark; 1Kg 8:8
  3. 2 Chronicles 5:10 = Sinai