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1 Kings 8
New English Translation

Solomon Moves the Ark into the Temple

8 [a] Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the City of David (that is, Zion).[b] 2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival[c] in the month of Ethanim[d] (the seventh month). 3 When all Israel’s elders had arrived, the priests lifted the ark. 4 The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting,[e] and all the holy items in the tent.[f] 5 Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered.[g]

6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its assigned[h] place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim’s wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.[i] 8 The poles were so long their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point.[j] They have remained there to this very day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb.[k] It was there that[l] the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 10 Once the priests left the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple. 11 The priests could not carry out their duties[m] because of the cloud; the Lord’s glory filled his temple.[n]

12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. 13 O Lord,[o] truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently.” 14 Then the king turned around[p] and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there.[q] 15 He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled[r] what he promised[s] my father David. 16 He told David,[t] ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live.[u] But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’ 17 Now my father David had a strong desire[v] to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel.[w] 18 The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.[x] 19 But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.’[y] 20 The Lord has kept the promise he made.[z] I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor[aa] of the Lord God of Israel 21 and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors[ab] when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon Prays for Israel

22 Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky.[ac] 23 He prayed:[ad] “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty[ae] to your servants who obey you with sincerity.[af] 24 You have kept your word to your servant, my father David;[ag] this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.[ah] 25 Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel,[ai] provided that your descendants watch their step[aj] and serve me as you have done.’[ak] 26 Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made[al] to your servant, my father David, be realized.[am]

27 “God does not really live on the earth![an] Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! 28 But respond favorably to[ao] your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer[ap] the desperate prayer[aq] your servant is presenting to you[ar] today. 29 Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live.[as] May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place.[at] 30 Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place.[au] Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place[av] and respond favorably.[aw]

31 “When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false.[ax] 32 Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve.[ay]

33 “The time will come when[az] your people Israel are defeated by an enemy[ba] because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you,[bb] and pray for your help[bc] in this temple, 34 then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

35 “The time will come when[bd] the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people[be] sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you,[bf] and turn away from their sin because you punish[bg] them, 36 then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly[bh] you will then teach them the right way to live[bi] and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess.[bj]

37 “The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust[bk] invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land,[bl] or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. 38 When all your people Israel pray and ask for help,[bm] as they acknowledge their pain[bn] and spread out their hands toward this temple, 39 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin,[bo] and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives.[bp] (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.)[bq] 40 Then they will obey[br] you throughout their lifetimes as[bs] they live on the land you gave to our ancestors.

41 “Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation.[bt] 42 When they hear about your great reputation[bu] and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds,[bv] they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. 43 Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners.[bw] Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation,[bx] obey[by] you as your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you.[bz]

44 “When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies,[ca] and they direct their prayers to the Lord[cb] toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor,[cc] 45 then listen from heaven to their prayers for help[cd] and vindicate them.[ce]

46 “The time will come when your people[cf] will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land,[cg] whether far away or close by. 47 When your people[ch] come to their senses[ci] in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, ‘We have sinned and gone astray;[cj] we have done evil.’ 48 When they return to you with all their heart and being[ck] in the land[cl] where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor,[cm] 49 then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help[cn] and vindicate them.[co] 50 Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them.[cp] 51 After all,[cq] they are your people and your special possession[cr] whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace.[cs]

52 “May you be attentive[ct] to your servant’s and your people Israel’s requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you.[cu] 53 After all,[cv] you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession,[cw] just as you, O Sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

54 When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky.[cx] 55 When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: 56 “The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure[cy] just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled![cz] 57 May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. 58 May he make us submissive,[da] so we can follow all his instructions[db] and obey[dc] the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. 59 May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him,[dd] so that he might vindicate[de] his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. 60 Then[df] all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God.[dg] 61 May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God[dh] by following[di] his rules and obeying[dj] his commandments, as you are now doing.”[dk]

Solomon Dedicates the Temple

62 The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as peace offerings[dl] to the Lord 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord’s temple. 64 That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord’s temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings.[dm] 65 At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Stream of Egypt[dn] in the south.[do] 66 On the fifteenth day after the festival started,[dp] he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king[dq] and then went to their homes, happy and content[dr] because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 8:1 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: “It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his own house, after twenty years.”
  2. 1 Kings 8:1 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David (it is Zion).”
  3. 1 Kings 8:2 sn The festival. This was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.
  4. 1 Kings 8:2 sn The month Ethanim. This would be September-October in modern reckoning.
  5. 1 Kings 8:4 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”sn The tent of meeting. See Exod 33:7-11.
  6. 1 Kings 8:4 tn Heb “and they carried the ark of the Lord…. The priests and the Levites carried them.”
  7. 1 Kings 8:5 tn Heb “And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, those who had been gathered to him, [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle which could not be counted or numbered because of the abundance.”
  8. 1 Kings 8:6 tn The word “assigned” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  9. 1 Kings 8:7 sn And its poles. These poles were used to carry the ark. See Exod 25:13-15.
  10. 1 Kings 8:8 tn Heb “they could not be seen outside.”
  11. 1 Kings 8:9 sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai.
  12. 1 Kings 8:9 tn Heb “in Horeb where.”
  13. 1 Kings 8:11 tn Heb “were not able to stand to serve.”
  14. 1 Kings 8:11 tn Heb “the house of the Lord.”
  15. 1 Kings 8:13 tn The words “O Lord” do not appear in the original text, but they are supplied for clarification; Solomon addresses the Lord in prayer at this point.
  16. 1 Kings 8:14 tn Heb “turned his face.”
  17. 1 Kings 8:14 tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”
  18. 1 Kings 8:15 tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his hand he has fulfilled.”
  19. 1 Kings 8:15 tn The Hebrew text reads, “he promised by his mouth.”
  20. 1 Kings 8:16 tn Heb “saying.” The word is carried over from the end of verse 15.
  21. 1 Kings 8:16 tn Heb “to build a house for my name to be there.”sn To build a temple in which to live (Heb “to build a house for my name to be there”). In the OT, the word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
  22. 1 Kings 8:17 tn Heb “and it was with the heart of David my father.”
  23. 1 Kings 8:17 tn Heb “to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.” The word “name” in the OT sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
  24. 1 Kings 8:18 tn Heb “Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart.”
  25. 1 Kings 8:19 tn Heb “your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name.”
  26. 1 Kings 8:20 tn Heb “his word that he spoke.”
  27. 1 Kings 8:20 tn Heb “name.”
  28. 1 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 34, 40, 48, 53, 57, 58).
  29. 1 Kings 8:22 tn Or “heaven.”
  30. 1 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “said.”
  31. 1 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.
  32. 1 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “who walk before you with all their heart.”
  33. 1 Kings 8:24 tn Heb “[you] who kept to your servant David my father that which you spoke to him.”
  34. 1 Kings 8:24 tn Heb “you spoke by your mouth and by your hand you fulfilled, as this day.”
  35. 1 Kings 8:25 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from before me sitting on the throne of Israel.”
  36. 1 Kings 8:25 tn Heb “watch their way.” The Hebrew and English colloquialisms are similar. The related ideas “way” and “steps” represent behavior in a broad sense in each language.
  37. 1 Kings 8:25 tn Heb “guard their way by walking before me as you have walked before me.”
  38. 1 Kings 8:26 tn Heb “the words that you spoke.”
  39. 1 Kings 8:26 tn Or “prove to be reliable.”
  40. 1 Kings 8:27 tn Heb “Indeed, can God really live on the earth?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not,” the force of which the translation above seeks to reflect.
  41. 1 Kings 8:28 tn Heb “turn to.”
  42. 1 Kings 8:28 tn Heb “by listening to.”
  43. 1 Kings 8:28 tn Heb “the loud cry and the prayer.”
  44. 1 Kings 8:28 tn Heb “praying before you.”
  45. 1 Kings 8:29 tn Heb “so your eyes might be open toward this house night and day, toward the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’”
  46. 1 Kings 8:29 tn Heb “by listening to the prayer which your servant is praying concerning this place.”
  47. 1 Kings 8:30 tn Heb “listen to the request of your servant and your people Israel which they are praying concerning this place.”
  48. 1 Kings 8:30 tn Heb “and you, hear inside your dwelling place, inside heaven.” The precise nuance of the preposition אֶל (ʾel), used here with the verb “hear,” is unclear. One expects the preposition “from,” which appears in the parallel text in 2 Chr 6:21. The nuance “inside; among” is attested for אֶל (see Gen 23:19; 1 Sam 10:22; Jer 4:3), but in each case a verb of motion is employed with the preposition, unlike 1 Kgs 8:30. The translation above (“from inside”) is based on the demands of the immediate context rather than attested usage elsewhere.
  49. 1 Kings 8:30 tn Heb “hear and forgive.”
  50. 1 Kings 8:31 tn Heb “and forgive the man who sins against his neighbor when one takes up against him a curse to curse him and the curse comes before your altar in this house.” In the Hebrew text the words “and forgive” conclude v. 30, but the accusative sign at the beginning of v. 31 suggests the verb actually goes with what follows in v. 31. The parallel text in 2 Chr 6:22 begins with “and if,” rather than the accusative sign. In this case “forgive” must be taken with what precedes, and v. 31 must be taken as the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, with v. 32 being the apodosis (“then” clause) that completes the sentence.sn Be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. At first it appears that Solomon is asking God to forgive the guilty party. But in v. 32 Solomon asks the Lord to discern who is guilty and innocent, so v. 31 must refer to a situation where an accusation has been made, but not yet proven. The very periphrastic translation reflects this interpretation.
  51. 1 Kings 8:32 tn Heb “and you, hear [from] heaven and act and judge your servants by declaring the guilty to be guilty, to give his way on his head, and to declare the innocent to be innocent, to give to him according to his innocence.”
  52. 1 Kings 8:33 tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 33-34 actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
  53. 1 Kings 8:33 tn Or “are struck down before an enemy.”
  54. 1 Kings 8:33 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
  55. 1 Kings 8:33 tn Heb “and they pray and ask for help.”
  56. 1 Kings 8:35 tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 35-36a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
  57. 1 Kings 8:35 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  58. 1 Kings 8:35 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
  59. 1 Kings 8:35 tn The Hebrew text has “because you answer them,” as if the verb is from עָנָה (ʿanah, “to answer”). However, this reference to a divine answer is premature, since the next verse asks for God to intervene in mercy. It is better to revocalize the consonantal text as תְעַנֵּם (teʿannem, “you afflict them”), a Piel verb form from the homonym עָנָה (ʿanah, “to afflict”).
  60. 1 Kings 8:36 tn The translation understands כִּי (ki) in an emphatic or asseverative sense.
  61. 1 Kings 8:36 tn Heb “the good way in which they should walk.”
  62. 1 Kings 8:36 tn Or “for an inheritance.”
  63. 1 Kings 8:37 tn Actually two Hebrew terms appear here, both of which are usually taken as referring to locusts. Perhaps different stages of growth or different varieties are in view.
  64. 1 Kings 8:37 tn Heb “in the land, his gates.”
  65. 1 Kings 8:38 tn Heb “every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel.”
  66. 1 Kings 8:38 tn Heb “which they know, each the pain of his heart.”
  67. 1 Kings 8:39 tn The words “their sin” are added for clarification.
  68. 1 Kings 8:39 tn Heb “and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 37-39a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
  69. 1 Kings 8:39 tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind.”
  70. 1 Kings 8:40 tn Heb “fear.”
  71. 1 Kings 8:40 tn Heb “all the days [in] which.”
  72. 1 Kings 8:41 tn Heb “your name.” In the OT the word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
  73. 1 Kings 8:42 tn Heb “your great name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in the previous verse.
  74. 1 Kings 8:42 tn Heb “and your strong hand and your outstretched arm.”
  75. 1 Kings 8:43 tn Heb “and do all which the foreigner calls to [i.e., “requests of”] you.”
  76. 1 Kings 8:43 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
  77. 1 Kings 8:43 tn Heb “fear.”
  78. 1 Kings 8:43 tn Heb “that your name is called over this house which I built.” The Hebrew idiom “to call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
  79. 1 Kings 8:44 tn Heb “When your people go out for battle against their enemies in the way which you send them.”
  80. 1 Kings 8:44 tn Or perhaps “to you, O Lord.” See 2 Chr 6:34.
  81. 1 Kings 8:44 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
  82. 1 Kings 8:45 tn Heb “their prayer and their request for help.”
  83. 1 Kings 8:45 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
  84. 1 Kings 8:46 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  85. 1 Kings 8:46 tn Heb “the land of the enemy.”
  86. 1 Kings 8:47 tn Heb “they”; the referent (your people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  87. 1 Kings 8:47 tn Or “stop and reflect”; Heb “bring back to their heart.”
  88. 1 Kings 8:47 tn Or “done wrong.”
  89. 1 Kings 8:48 tn Or “soul.”
  90. 1 Kings 8:48 tn Heb “in the land of their enemies.”
  91. 1 Kings 8:48 tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.
  92. 1 Kings 8:49 tn Heb “their prayer and their request for help.”
  93. 1 Kings 8:49 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
  94. 1 Kings 8:50 tn Heb “and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their rebellious acts by which they rebelled against you, and grant them mercy before their captors so they will show them mercy.”
  95. 1 Kings 8:51 tn Or “for.”
  96. 1 Kings 8:51 tn Heb “inheritance.”
  97. 1 Kings 8:51 tn The Hebrew term כּוּר (kur, “furnace,” cf. Akkadian kūru) is a metaphor for the intense heat of purification. A כּוּר was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19). Thus Egypt served not as a place of punishment for the Israelites, but as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.sn From the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. The metaphor of a furnace suggests fire and heat and is an apt image to remind the people of the suffering they endured while slaves in Egypt.
  98. 1 Kings 8:52 tn Heb “May your eyes be open.”
  99. 1 Kings 8:52 tn Heb “to listen to them in all their calling out to you.”
  100. 1 Kings 8:53 tn Or “For.”
  101. 1 Kings 8:53 tn Heb “your inheritance.”
  102. 1 Kings 8:54 tn Or “toward heaven.”
  103. 1 Kings 8:56 tn Heb “he has given a resting place to his people Israel.”
  104. 1 Kings 8:56 tn Heb “not one word from his entire good word he spoke by Moses his servant has fallen.”
  105. 1 Kings 8:58 tn Heb “to bend our hearts toward him.” The infinitive is subordinate to the initial prayer, “may the Lord our God be with us.” The Hebrew term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) here refers to the people’s volition and will.
  106. 1 Kings 8:58 tn Heb “to walk in all his ways.”
  107. 1 Kings 8:58 tn Heb “keep.”
  108. 1 Kings 8:59 tn Heb “May these words of mine, which I have requested before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night.”
  109. 1 Kings 8:59 tn Heb “accomplish the justice of.”
  110. 1 Kings 8:60 tn Heb “so that.”
  111. 1 Kings 8:60 tn Heb “the Lord, he is the God, there is no other.”
  112. 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “may your hearts be complete with the Lord our God.”
  113. 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “walking in.”
  114. 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “keeping.”
  115. 1 Kings 8:61 tn Heb “as this day.”
  116. 1 Kings 8:63 tn Heb “peace offerings that he sacrificed.” “Peace offerings” could be “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
  117. 1 Kings 8:64 tn Heb “to hold the burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.”
  118. 1 Kings 8:65 tn Or “the Wadi of Egypt” (NAB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “the Egyptian Gorge.”
  119. 1 Kings 8:65 tn Heb “Solomon held at that time the festival, and all Israel was with him, a great assembly from Lebo Hamath to the Stream of Egypt, before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days, fourteen days.”
  120. 1 Kings 8:66 tn Heb “on the eighth day” (that is, the day after the second seven-day sequence).
  121. 1 Kings 8:66 tn Heb “they blessed the king.”
  122. 1 Kings 8:66 tn Heb “good of heart.”
Close NLT

1 Kings 8
New Living Translation

The Ark Brought to the Temple

8 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. 2 So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.[a]

3 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. 4 The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent[b] and all the sacred items that had been in it. 5 There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

6 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. 9 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai,[c] where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

10 When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 11 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Solomon Praises the Lord

12 Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. 13 Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever![d]”

14 Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: 15 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, 16 ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

17 Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, 19 but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

20 “And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, 23 and he prayed,

“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today.

25 “And now, O Lord, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow me as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 26 Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father.

27 “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29 May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar in this Temple, 32 then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Punish the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.

33 “If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors.

35 “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.

37 “If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— 38 and if your people Israel pray about their troubles, raising their hands toward this Temple, 39 then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. 40 Then they will fear you as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.

41 “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, 42 for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, 43 then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.

44 “If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to the Lord by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, 45 then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. 47 But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ 48 If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— 49 then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. 50 Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, 51 for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.

52 “May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. May you hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you. 53 For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign Lord, you told your servant Moses that you had set Israel apart from all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession.”

The Dedication of the Temple

54 When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. 55 He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel:

56 “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. 58 May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. 59 And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the Lord be before him constantly, day and night, so that the Lord our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. 60 Then people all over the earth will know that the Lord alone is God and there is no other. 61 And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.”

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon offered to the Lord a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the Lord.

64 That same day the king consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters[e] in the presence of the Lord our God. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. The celebration went on for fourteen days in all—seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters.[f] 66 After the festival was over,[g] Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the Lord had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 8:2 Hebrew at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. The Festival of Shelters began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day occurred in late September, October, or early November.
  2. 8:4 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; i.e., the tent mentioned in 2 Sam 6:17 and 1 Chr 16:1.
  3. 8:9 Hebrew at Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  4. 8:13 Some Greek texts add the line Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?
  5. 8:65a Hebrew the festival; see note on 8:2.
  6. 8:65b Hebrew seven days and seven days, fourteen days; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:8-10.
  7. 8:66 Hebrew On the eighth day, probably referring to the day following the seven-day Festival of Shelters; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:9-10.
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