1 Kings 8

Wycliffe Bible

8 Then all the greater men in birth in Israel, with [the] princes of the lineages, and the dukes of [the] families of the sons of Israel, were gathered to king Solomon, into Jerusalem, that they should bear the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord from the city of David, that is, from Zion. (Then all the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Israel, with the leaders of the tribes and the families of the Israelites, were gathered unto King Solomon, in Jerusalem, so that they could bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the City of David, that is, from Zion.)

² And all Israel came together [to king Solomon] in the month [of] Ethanim, that is September, in the solemn day; which is the seventh month. (And all Israel came together to King Solomon on the feast day in the month of Ethanim, that is September, which is the seventh month.)

³ And all the eld men of Israel came; and the priests took the ark,

⁴ and they bare the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, and all the vessels of the saintuary, that were in the tabernacle; and the priests and deacons bare those. (and they carried the Ark of the Lord, and the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the Tabernacle; yea, the priests and the Levites carried all of it.)

⁵ And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that came together to him, went with him before the ark; and they offered sheep and oxen, without guessing and number^[a]. (And King Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, who came together to him, went with him before the Ark; and they offered sheep and oxen, beyond estimating, or counting.)

⁶ And [the] priests brought the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord into his place, into God’s answering place of the temple, into the holy of holy things, under the wings of the cherubims. (And the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into its place, into God’s answering place at the Temple, yea, into the Inner Temple, that is, the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.)

⁷ And the cherubims spreaded forth their wings over the place of the ark; and they covered the ark, and the bars thereof above.

⁸ And when the bars stood forth, and the highness of those appeared without the saintuary, before God’s answering place, those bars appeared no further withoutforth; the which bars also were there unto this present day. (And when the bars were drawn out, the ends of them could be seen outside the sanctuary, in front of the Inner Temple, but those bars could not be seen otherwise; and these bars be there to this present day.)

⁹ And in the ark was none other thing, no but [the] two tables of stone, which Moses in Horeb had put in the ark, when the Lord made (a) bond of peace with the sons of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt. (And there was nothing else in the Ark, but the two stone tablets, which Moses had put in the Ark at Horeb, that is, at Mount Sinai, when the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they went out of the land of Egypt.)

¹⁰ And it was done when the priests had gone out of the saintuary, a cloud filled the house of the Lord;

¹¹ and the priests might not stand and minister, for the cloud; for why the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

¹² Then Solomon said, The Lord said, that he would dwell in a cloud/in a mist.

¹³ I building have builded an house into thy dwelling place, into thy most steadfast throne without end. (I have built a house for thy dwelling place, to be thy most steadfast throne forevermore.)

¹⁴ And the king turned his face, and blessed all the church in Israel; for all the church of Israel stood. (And the king turned himself, and blessed all the congregation of Israel; for all the congregation of Israel stood there.)

¹⁵ And Solomon said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that spake with his mouth to David, my father, and performed (it) in his hands, and said, (And Solomon said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to my father David, and fulfilled his word with his hands, and said,)

¹⁶ From the day in which I led my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose not a city of all the lineages of Israel, that an house should be builded, and my name should be there; but I chose David, that he should be over my people Israel. (From the day in which I led my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose not a city out of all the tribes of Israel, where a House should be built, for my name to be honoured there; but I chose David, that he should rule over my people Israel.)

¹⁷ And David, my father, would build/would have builded an house to the name of the Lord God of Israel. (And my father David desired to build a House in honour of the name of the Lord God of Israel.)

¹⁸ And the Lord said to David, my father, That thou thoughtest in thine heart to build an house to my name, thou didest well, treating (also) this same thing in thy soul; (And the Lord said to my father David, That thou desiredest in thy heart to build a House in honour of my name, thou didest well, treating this in thy soul, that is, taking it to heart;)

¹⁹ nevertheless thou shalt not build an house to me, but thy son, that shall go out of thy reins, he shall build an house to my name. (but thou shalt not build a House for me, but thy son, who shall go out of thy loins, he shall build a House in honour of my name.)

²⁰ The Lord hath now confirmed his word, that he spake; and I stood for David, my father, and I sat upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord spake; and I have builded an house to the name of the Lord God of Israel. (The Lord hath now fulfilled his word, that he spoke; and I have stood in place of my father David, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord spoke; and I have built a House in honour of the name of the Lord God of Israel.)

²¹ And I have ordained there a place of the ark, in which ark the bond of peace of the Lord is, which he smote with our fathers, when they went out of the land of Egypt. (And I have ordained a place there for the Ark, in which Ark is the Covenant of the Lord, which he struck with our forefathers, when they went out of the land of Egypt.)

²² And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the church of Israel; and he held forth his hands against heaven, (And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, before the congregation of Israel; and he held forth his hands toward heaven,)

²³ and said, Lord God of Israel, no God in heaven above, neither on earth beneath, is like thee, which keepest covenant and mercy to thy servants, that go before thee in all their heart; (and said, Lord God of Israel, there is no god like thee, in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, which keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, who go before thee with all their heart;)

²⁴ and thou keepest to David, my father, thy servant, those things which thou hast spoken to him (and thou hast kept thy promise to thy servant David, my father); by mouth thou hast spoken (it), and by hands thou hast fulfilled (it), as this day proveth.

²⁵ Now therefore, Lord God of Israel, keep thou to thy servant David, my father, those things which thou spakest to him, and saidest, A man of thee shall not be taken away (from) before me, which man shall sit on the throne of Israel, so nevertheless if thy sons keep thy way (as long as thy sons obey thy ways), (so) that they go before me, as thou wentest in my sight.

²⁶ And now, Lord God of Israel, thy words be made steadfast, which thou spakest to thy servant David, my father.

²⁷ Therefore whether it is to guess, that God dwelleth verily on earth; for if heaven, and (the) heaven of heavens be not able to take thee, how much more this house, that I have builded to thee. (And so, is it only a guess, that truly God liveth not on the earth? for if heaven, and the heaven of heavens be not able to hold thee, then how much less this House, that I have built for thee?)

²⁸ But, my Lord God, behold thou to the prayer of thy servant, and to the beseechings of him; hear thou the hymn, either praising, and [the] prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today;

²⁹ that thine eyes be opened on this house by night and day, on the house of which thou saidest, My name shall be there; that thou hear the prayer, which thy servant prayeth to thee in this place;

³⁰ that thou hear the beseeching of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatever thing he prayeth in this place, and hear thou in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hast heard, thou shalt be merciful. (that thou hear the beseeching of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatever thing they prayeth in this place, and hear thou in heaven, in thy dwelling place; and that when thou hast heard, thou shalt be merciful.)

³¹ If a man sinneth against a man, and hath any oath, by which he is holden bound, and cometh for the oath into thine house, before thine altar (and cometh for the oath before thy altar in thy House),

³² (then) thou shalt hear in heaven, and thou shalt do, and thou shalt deem thy servants; and thou shalt condemn the wicked man, and shalt yield his way on(to) his head, and thou shalt justify the just man, and shalt yield to him after his rightfulness.

³³ If thy people Israel fleeth his enemies, for he shall do sin to thee (When thy people Israel fleeth their enemies, for they have sinned against thee), and they do penance, or repent their sin, and acknowledge to thy great name, and come, and worship, and beseech thee in this house,

³⁴ (then) hear thou in heaven, and forgive thou the sin of thy people [Israel]; and thou shalt lead them again into the land, which thou hast given to the fathers of them.

³⁵ If heaven is closed (When the heavens be closed up), and (it) raineth not for the sins of them, and they pray in this place, and do penance to thy name, and be converted, or altogether turned, from their sins for their torment,

³⁶ (then) hear thou them in heaven, and forgive thou the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, and show thou to them a good way, by which they shall go, and give thou rain to them upon the land, which thou hast given to them into possession (which thou hast given to them for a possession).

³⁷ If hunger riseth in the land, either pestilence is, either corrupt air is (If famine riseth in the land, or pestilence, or corrupt air), either rust, either locust, either mildew, and if his enemy tormenteth him, and besiegeth the gates of him, and (bringeth in) all wound, all sickness,

³⁸ all cursing, and all wishing of evil, that befalleth to each man of thy people Israel, if any man knoweth the wound of his heart, and holdeth forth his hands in this house,

³⁹ thou shalt hear in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling (then thou shalt hear in heaven, in thy dwelling place), and thou shalt do mercy, and thou shalt do that thou give to each man after all his ways, as thou seest his heart; for thou alone knowest the heart of all the sons of men,

⁴⁰ that they dread thee in all days in which they live on the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers. (that they fear thee/that they revere thee all the days in which they live on this land, which thou hast given to our forefathers.)

⁴¹ Furthermore and when an alien, that is not of thy people Israel, cometh from a far land for thy name; (And furthermore when a foreigner, who is not of thy people Israel, cometh from a far land because of thy fame;)

⁴² for thy great name, and thy strong hand, and thine arm stretched out (and thy outstretched arm), shall be heard (of) everywhere; therefore when he cometh, and prayeth in this place,

⁴³ thou shalt hear in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and thou shalt do all things, for which the alien calleth thee; that all peoples of lands learn to dread thy name, as thy people Israel doeth, and prove [they], that thy name is called on this house, which I [have] builded. (thou shalt hear in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and thou shalt do all the things, for which the foreigner calleth thee; so that all the peoples of the lands learn to fear thy name/learn to revere thy name, as thy people Israel doeth, and they learn that this House, which I have built, is called by thy name.)

⁴⁴ If thy people goeth out to battle against his enemies, by the way whither ever thou sendest them, they shall pray (to) thee against the way of the city which thou hast chosen, and over against the house that I have builded to thy name, (If thy people goeth out to battle against their enemies, by the way wherever thou sendest them, they shall pray to thee toward the way of the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the House that I have built in honour of thy name,)

⁴⁵ and (then) thou shalt hear in heaven the prayers of them, and the beseechings of them, and thou shalt make the doom of them (and thou shalt grant them justice).

⁴⁶ That if they sin to thee (But when they sin against thee), for no man is that sinneth not, and thou art wroth, and betakest them to their enemies, and they be led prisoners into the land of (their) enemies, far either nigh,

⁴⁷ and (if) they do penance in their heart in the place of their imprisoning, and be converted, or altogether turned, and beseech (thee) in their imprisoning, and say, We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have done unfaithfully;

⁴⁸ and they turn again to thee in all their heart, and in all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they be led prisoners, and they pray (to) thee over against the way of their land, which thou hast given to their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I [have] builded to thy name, (and they return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they be led prisoners, and they pray to thee toward the way of their land, which thou hast given to their forefathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and the Temple which I have built in honour of thy name,)

⁴⁹ thou shalt hear in heaven, in the firmament of thy seat, the prayers of them, and the beseechings of them, and thou shalt make the doom of them; (then thou shalt hear in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, their prayers, and their beseechings, and thou shalt grant them justice;)

⁵⁰ and thou shalt be merciful to thy people, that have sinned to thee, and to all the wickednesses, by which they have trespassed against thee; and thou shalt do mercy before those men, that had them prisoners, that those men do mercy to them. (and thou shalt be merciful to thy people, who have sinned against thee, and all the wickednesses, by which they have trespassed against thee; and thou shalt give them mercy before those who took them prisoners, so that those men also do mercy to them.)

⁵¹ For it is thy people, and thine heritage, which thou leddest out of the land of Egypt (whom thou leddest out of the land of Egypt), from the midst of the iron furnace;

⁵² that thine eyes (may) be open to the beseeching of thy servant, and of thy people Israel; and thou shalt hear them in all things, for which they call thee.

⁵³ For thou hast separated them to thee into (thine) heritage from all the peoples of [the] earth, as thou spakest by Moses, thy servant, when thou, Lord God, leddest our fathers out of Egypt.

⁵⁴ Forsooth it was done, when Solomon, praying the Lord, had filled all this prayer and beseeching, he rose up from [the] sight of the altar of the Lord; for he had set fast ever either knee to the earth, and he had held forth his hands to heaven. (And it was done, when Solomon, praying to the Lord, had finished all this prayer and beseeching, he rose up from before the altar of the Lord; for he had set both of his knees upon the ground, and he had held forth his hands toward heaven.)

⁵⁵ Therefore he stood, and blessed all the church of Israel, and said with [a] great voice, (And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel, and said with a loud voice,)

⁵⁶ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that hath given rest to his people Israel (who hath given peace to his people Israel), (as) by all things which he spake; a word felled not down, soothly neither one, of all [the] goods/of all the good things which he spake by Moses, his servant.

⁵⁷ Our Lord God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and forsake not us (and desert us not), neither cast us away;

⁵⁸ but bow he our hearts to himself, that we go in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and ceremonies, and dooms, whichever he commanded to our fathers. (but bow he our hearts to himself, so that we go in all his ways, and obey his commandments, and statutes, and judgements, whatever he commanded to our forefathers.)

⁵⁹ And these words of me, by which I have prayed before the Lord, be they nighing to our Lord God by day and night, that he make doom to me his servant, and to his people Israel by all days; (And these words of mine, with which I have prayed before the Lord, be they close to the Lord our God day and night, so that he may grant justice to me his servant, and to his people Israel by all days;)

⁶⁰ and (so that) all the peoples of [the] earth know, that the Lord himself is God, and [there is] none other without him (and there is no one else but him).

⁶¹ Also our heart be perfect with our Lord God, that we go in his dooms, and keep his commandments, as also today. (And let our hearts be perfect with the Lord our God, so that we walk in his judgements, and obey his commandments, as we do this day.)

⁶² Therefore the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before the Lord.

⁶³ And Solomon slew peaceable sacrifices, which he offered to the Lord; of oxes two and twenty thousand, and of sheep sixscore thousand; and the king and the sons of Israel hallowed the temple of the Lord. (And Solomon killed the peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord; yea, they killed twenty-two thousand oxen, and sixscore thousand sheep; and so the king and the Israelites dedicated the Temple of the Lord.)

⁶⁴ In that day the king hallowed the middle of the great street, that was before the house of the Lord; for he made there burnt sacrifice[s], and offering(s), and the inner fatness of peaceable things; for the brazen altar that was before the Lord was too little, and it might not take the burnt sacrifice(s), and the offering(s), and the inner fatness of peaceable things. (On that day the king dedicated the center of the great courtyard that was before the House of the Lord; for he offered there the burnt sacrifices, and the offerings, and the inner fatness of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small, and it could not take, or handle, all the burnt sacrifices, and the offerings, and the inner fatness of the peace offerings.)

⁶⁵ Therefore Solomon made in that time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entering of Hamath unto the strand of Egypt, before our Lord God, in seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days (altogether). (And so Solomon, and all Israel with him, a great multitude from the entering of Hamath unto the River of Egypt, celebrated the Feast of Shelters before the Lord our God, for seven days altogether.)

⁶⁶ And in the eighth day he delivered the peoples, which blessed the king, and went forth into their tabernacles, and they were glad and of joyful heart on all the goods that God had done to David, his servant, and to Israel, his people. (And on the eighth day he let the people go, who blessed the king, and went back to their homes, and they were glad and had joyful hearts for all the good things that God had done for his servant David, and for his people Israel.)