The Ark Brought into the Temple^(A)

8 Now ^(B)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, ^(C)that they might bring ^(D)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 ^(E)feast in the month of ^[a]Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³ So all the elders of Israel came, ^(F)and the priests took up the ark. ⁴ Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(G)the ^[b]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, ^(H)sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. ⁶ Then the priests ^(I)brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to ^(J)its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, ^(K)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 ^(L)extended so that the ^[c]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 (M)Nothing was in the ark ^(N)except the two tablets of stone which Moses ^(O)put there at Horeb, ^(P)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 ^(Q)filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the ^(R)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

^12 (S)Then Solomon spoke:

Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work^(W)

¹⁴ Then the king turned around and ^(X)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ And he said: ^(Y)“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who ^(Z)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 ^(AA)My name might be there; but I chose ^(AB)David to be over My people Israel.’ ¹⁷ Now ^(AC)it was in the heart of my father David to build a ^[d]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ^18 (AD)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 ^(AE)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 ^[e]filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, ^(AF)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 ^(AG)the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

A Glorious Body

³⁵ But someone will say, ^(A)“How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” ³⁶ Foolish one, ^(B)what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

³⁹ All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind ^[a]of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

⁴⁰ There are also ^[b]celestial bodies and ^[c]terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

^42 (C)So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ^43 (D)It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ And so it is written, ^(E)“The first man Adam became a living being.” ^(F)The last Adam became ^(G)a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ^47 (H)The first man was of the earth, ^(I)made^[d] of dust; the second Man is ^[e]the Lord ^(J)from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the ^[f]man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; ^(K)and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And ^(L)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^(M)we^[g] shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Our Final Victory

⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that ^(N)flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a ^[h]mystery: ^(O)We shall not all sleep, ^(P)but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. ^(Q)For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and ^(R)this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ^(S)“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and ^(U)the strength of sin is the law. ^57 (V)But thanks be to God, who gives us ^(W)the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

^58 (X)Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing ^(Y)that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication^(A)

²² Then Solomon stood before ^(B)the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and ^(C)spread out his hands toward heaven; ²³ and he said: “Lord God of Israel, ^(D)there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, ^(E)who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who ^(F)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, ^(G)‘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 (H)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 ^(I)will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the ^(J)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 ^[a]temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ^(K)‘My name shall be ^(L)there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes ^(M)toward this place. ^30 (N)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 ^(O)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, ^(P)condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

^33 (Q)“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and ^(R)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 ^(S)fathers.

^35 (T)“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 ^(U)teach them ^(V)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 (W)“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 ^[b]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 ^(X)know the hearts of all the sons of men), ^40 (Y)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 name’s sake ⁴² (for they will hear of Your great name and Your ^(Z)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, ^(AA)that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and ^(AB)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 ^[c]cause.

⁴⁶ “When they sin against You ^(AC)(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 ^(AD)to the land of the enemy, far or near; ^47 (AE)yet when they ^[d]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, ^(AF)saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; ⁴⁸ and when they ^(AG)return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and ^(AH)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 ^[e]cause, ⁵⁰ and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and ^(AI)grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹ (for ^(AJ)they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, ^(AK)out of the iron furnace), ^52 (AL)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, ^(AM)as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

The Coming of the Kingdom^(A)

²⁰ Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ^21 (B)nor will they say, ^[a]‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, ^(C)the kingdom of God is ^[b]within you.”

²² Then He said to the disciples, ^(D)“The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ^23 (E)And they will say to you, ^[c]‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. ^24 (F)For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. ^25 (G)But first He must suffer many things and be ^(H)rejected by this generation. ^26 (I)And as it ^(J)was in the ^(K)days of ^(L)Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the ^(M)day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and ^(N)destroyed them all. ^28 (O)Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; ²⁹ but on ^(P)the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man ^(Q)is revealed.

³¹ “In that day, he ^(R)who is on the housetop, and his ^[d]goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ^32 (S)Remember Lot’s wife. ^33 (T)Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. ^34 (U)I tell you, in that night there will be two ^[e]men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. ^35 (V)Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. ^36 [f]Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷ And they answered and said to Him, ^(W)“Where, Lord?”

So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”