2 Chronicles 5-6
Christian Standard Bible
5 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
2 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. 3 So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king’s presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.[a]
4 All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark. 5 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. 6 King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many. 7 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) 8 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. 9 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 still there today. 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)
Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple
6 Then Solomon said:(N)
The Lord said he would dwell in total darkness,(O)
2 but I have built an exalted temple for you,
a place for your dwelling forever.
3 Then the king turned and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. 4 He said:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise
by his power.
He said,
5 “Since the day I brought my people Israel
out of the land of Egypt,(P)
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name would be there,
and I have not chosen a man
to be ruler over my people Israel.
6 But I have chosen Jerusalem
so that my name will be there,(Q)
and I have chosen David
to be over my people Israel.”(R)
7 My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.(S)
8 However, the Lord said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.
9 Yet, you are not the one to build the temple,
but your son, your own offspring,
will build the temple for my name.”
10 So the Lord has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised.
I have built the temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
11 I have put the ark there,
where the Lord’s covenant is
that he made with the Israelites.(T)
Solomon’s Prayer
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 For Solomon had made a bronze platform 7½ feet[d] long, 7½ feet wide, and 4½ feet[e] high and put it in the court. He stood on it,(U) knelt down in front of the entire congregation of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven.(V) 14 He said:
Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like you
in heaven or on earth,(W)
who keeps his gracious covenant
with your servants who walk before you
with all their heart.(X)
15 You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him,
and you fulfilled your promise by your power,
as it is today.(Y)
16 Therefore, Lord God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,(Z)
if only your sons take care to walk in my Law
as you have walked before me.”
17 Now, Lord God of Israel, please confirm
what you promised to your servant David.
18 But will God indeed live on earth with humans?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you,(AA)
much less this temple I have built.
19 Listen[f] to your servant’s prayer and his petition,
Lord my God,
so that you may hear the cry and the prayer
that your servant prays before you,
20 so that your eyes watch over this temple
day and night,
toward the place where you said
you would put your name;(AB)
and so that you may hear the prayer
your servant prays toward this place.
21 Hear the petitions of your servant
and your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.
May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven.
May you hear and forgive.
22 If a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath[g]
and he comes to take an oath
before your altar in this temple,
23 may you hear in heaven and act.
May you judge your servants,
condemning the wicked man by bringing
what he has done on his own head
and providing justice for the righteous
by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
24 If your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against you,
and they return to you and praise your name,
and they pray and plead for mercy
before you in this temple,
25 may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your people Israel.
May you restore them to the land
you gave them and their ancestors.
26 When the skies are shut and there is no rain
because they have sinned against you,
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting[h](AC) them,
27 may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your servants
and your people Israel,
so that you may teach them the good way
they should walk in.
May you send rain on your land
that you gave your people for an inheritance.
28 When there is famine in the land,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper,
when their enemies besiege them
in the land and its cities,[i][j](AD)
when there is any plague or illness,
29 every prayer or petition
that any person or that all your people Israel may have—
they each know their own affliction[k] and suffering—
as they spread out their hands toward this temple,
30 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and may you forgive and give to everyone[l]
according to all their ways, since you know each heart,
for you alone know the human heart,(AE)
31 so that they may fear you
and walk in your ways
all the days they live on the land
you gave our ancestors.
32 Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of your great name
and your strong hand and outstretched arm:(AF)
when he comes and prays toward this temple,
33 may you hear in heaven in your dwelling place,
and do all the foreigner asks you.
Then all the peoples of the earth will know your name,
to fear you as your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
bears your name.(AG)
34 When your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever you send them,
and they pray to you
in the direction of this city you have chosen(AH)
and the temple that I have built for your name,
35 may you hear their prayer and petition in heaven
and uphold their cause.
36 When they sin against you—
for there is no one who does not sin(AI)—
and you are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them
to a distant or nearby country,
37 and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors’ land,
saying, “We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
38 and when they return to you with all their mind and all their heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
and the city you have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for your name,
39 may you hear their prayer and petitions in heaven,
your dwelling place,
and uphold their cause.[m]
May you forgive your people
who sinned against you.
40 Now, my God,
please let your eyes be open
and your ears attentive
to the prayer of this place.(AJ)
41 Now therefore:(AK)
Arise, Lord God, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
and may your faithful people rejoice in goodness.
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one;[n]
remember your servant David’s acts of faithful love.(AL)
Footnotes
- 5:3 = Tishri (September–October)
- 5:9 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read the ark; 1Kg 8:8
- 5:10 = Sinai
- 6:13 Lit five cubits
- 6:13 Lit three cubits
- 6:19 Lit Turn
- 6:22 Lit and he lifts a curse against him to curse him
- 6:26 LXX, Vg; MT reads answering; 1Kg 8:35
- 6:28 Lit land of its gates
- 6:28 Lit if his (Israel’s) enemies besiege him in the land of his gates; Jos 2:7; Jdg 16:2–3
- 6:29 Lit plague
- 6:30 Lit give for the man
- 6:39 Lit and do their judgment, or justice
- 6:42 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read ones; Ps 132:10
Acts 1:12-26
Christian Standard Bible
United in Prayer
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room(A) upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.(B) 14 They all were continually united(C) in prayer,[a] along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.(D)
Matthias Chosen
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters[b]—the number of people who were together was about a hundred twenty—and said, 16 “Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David foretold about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.(E) 17 For he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”(F) 18 Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages. He fell headfirst, his body burst open and his intestines spilled out.(G) 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama (that is, “Field of Blood”). 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
Let his dwelling become desolate;
let no one live in it; [c] and
Let someone else take his position.[d](H)
21 “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of his resurrection.”(I)
23 So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.(J) 24 Then they prayed,(K) “You, Lord, know everyone’s hearts; show which of these two you have chosen(L) 25 to take the place[e] in this apostolic ministry(M) that Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots(N) for them, and the lot fell to Matthias and he was added to the eleven apostles.
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Psalm 77:4-11
Christian Standard Bible
4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.(A)
5 I consider days of old,
years long past.(B)
6 At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.(C)
7 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?(D)
8 Has his faithful love ceased forever?
Is his promise at an end for all generations?(E)
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (F)Selah
10 So I say, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”[a](G)
11 I will remember the Lord’s works;
yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.(H)
Footnotes
- 77:10 Hb obscure
Proverbs 15:30-33
Christian Standard Bible
32 Anyone who ignores discipline despises himself,(C)
but whoever listens to correction acquires good sense.[c](D)
33 The fear of the Lord is what wisdom teaches,
and humility comes before honor.(E)
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