1 Kings 8-9

Christian Standard Bible

Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple

8 At that time Solomon assembled the elders^(A) of Israel,^(B) all the tribal heads^(C) and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David,^(D) that is Zion.^(E) ²So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month,^[a] at the festival.^(F)

³All the elders^(G) of Israel came, and the priests^(H) picked up the ark.^(I) ⁴The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting,^(J) and the holy utensils that were in the tent.^(K) ⁵King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered, because there were so many.^(L) ⁶The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place^(M) beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁷For the cherubim were spreading their wings over^[b] the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above.^(N) ⁸The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are still there today.^(O) ⁹Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb,^[c]^(P) where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.^(Q)

¹⁰When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple,^(R) ¹¹and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory^(S) of the Lord filled the temple.

¹²Then Solomon said:

The Lord said that he would dwell in total darkness.^(T)
¹³I have indeed built an exalted temple^(U) for you,
a place for your dwelling forever.^(V)

¹⁴The king turned around and blessed^(W) the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. ¹⁵He said:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise^(X) by his power.
He said,
¹⁶“Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,^(Y)
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name^(Z) would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”^(AA)
¹⁷My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.^(AB)
¹⁸But the Lord said to my father David,
“Since your heart was set on building a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.^[d]^(AC)
¹⁹Yet you are not the one to build it;
instead, your son, your own offspring,
will build it for my name.”^(AD)
²⁰The Lord has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David,^(AE)
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised.^(AF)
I have built the temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
²¹I have provided a place there for the ark,
where the Lord’s covenant is
that he made with our ancestors
when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.^(AG)

Solomon’s Prayer

²²Then Solomon stood^(AH) before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.^(AI) ²³He said:

Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like you
in heaven above or on earth below,^(AJ)
who keeps the gracious covenant
with your servants who walk before you
with all their heart.^(AK)
²⁴You 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.^(AL)
²⁵Therefore, 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,^(AM)
if only your sons take care to walk before me
as you have walked before me.^(AN)
²⁶Now Lord^[e] God of Israel,
please confirm what you promised
to your servant, my father David.^(AO)
²⁷But will God indeed live on earth?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you,
much less this temple I have built.^(AP)
²⁸Listen^[f] to your servant’s prayer and his petition,^(AQ)
Lord my God,
so that you may hear the cry and the prayer
that your servant prays before you today,
²⁹so that your eyes may watch over this temple night and day,^(AR)
toward the place where you said,
“My name will be there,”^(AS)
and so that you may hear the prayer
that your servant prays toward this place.
³⁰Hear the petition of your servant^(AT)
and your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.^(AU)
May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven.
May you hear and forgive.
³¹When a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath,^[g]^(AV)
and he comes to take an oath
before your altar in this temple,
³²may 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.^(AW)
³³When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against you,^(AX)
and they return to you and praise your name,
and they pray and plead with you
for mercy in this temple,
³⁴may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your people Israel.
May you restore them to the land
you gave their ancestors.^(AY)
³⁵When the skies are shut and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against you,^(AZ)
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting them,^(BA)
³⁶may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your servants
and your people Israel,
so that you may teach them to walk on the good way.^(BB)
May you send rain on your land
that you gave your people for an inheritance.^(BC)
³⁷When there is famine in the land,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper,^(BD)
when their enemy besieges them
in the land and its cities,^[h]
when there is any plague or illness,
³⁸every prayer or petition
that any person or that all your people Israel may have—
they each know their own affliction^[i]^(BE)—
as they spread out their hands toward this temple,^(BF)
³⁹may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and may you forgive, act, and give to everyone
according to all their ways, since you know each heart,
for you alone know every human heart,^(BG)
⁴⁰so that they may fear^(BH) you
all the days they live on the land^(BI)
you gave our ancestors.
⁴¹Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel
but has come from a distant land^(BJ)
because of your name—
⁴²for they will hear of your great name,
strong hand,^(BK) and outstretched arm,
and will come^(BL) and pray toward this temple—
⁴³may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and do according to all the foreigner asks.
Then all peoples of earth will know^(BM) your name,
to fear you as your people Israel do
and to know that this temple I have built
bears your name.
⁴⁴When your people go out to fight against their enemies,^[j]
wherever you send them,
and they pray to the Lord
in the direction of the city you have chosen^(BN)
and the temple I have built for your name,
⁴⁵may you hear their prayer and petition in heaven
and uphold their cause.^(BO)
⁴⁶When they sin against you—
for there is no one who does not sin^(BP)—
and you are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them to the enemy’s country^(BQ)—
whether distant or nearby—
⁴⁷and when they come to their senses^[k]
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors’ land:
“We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”^(BR)
⁴⁸and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul
in the land of their enemies who took them captive,^(BS)
and when they pray to you in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
the city you have chosen,^(BT)
and the temple I have built for your name,
⁴⁹may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.
⁵⁰May you forgive your people
who sinned against you
and all their rebellions^[l] against you,
and may you grant them compassion
before their captors,
so that they may treat them compassionately.^(BU)
⁵¹For they are your people and your inheritance;^(BV)
you brought them out of Egypt,
out of the middle of an iron furnace.^(BW)
⁵²May your eyes be open to your servant’s petition
and to the petition of your people Israel,
listening to them whenever they call to you.
⁵³For you, Lord God, have set them apart as your inheritance
from all peoples of the earth,
as you spoke through your servant Moses
when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.^(BX)

Solomon’s Blessing

⁵⁴When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven,^(BY) ⁵⁵and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel^(BZ) with a loud voice: ⁵⁶“Blessed be the Lord! He has given rest^(CA) to his people Israel according to all he has said. Not one of all the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed.^(CB) ⁵⁷May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us^(CC) ⁵⁸so that he causes us to be devoted^[m] to him,^(CD) to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. ⁵⁹May my words with which I have made my petition before the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. May he uphold his servant’s cause and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires.^(CE) ⁶⁰May all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord is God. There is no other!^(CF) ⁶¹Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God^(CG) to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.”

⁶²The king and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence. ⁶³Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats.^(CH) In this manner the king and all the Israelites dedicated^(CI) the Lord’s temple.^(CJ)

⁶⁴On the same day, the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple because that was where he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings,^(CK) since the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to accommodate the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings.^(CL)

⁶⁵Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath^[n]^(CM) to the Brook of Egypt^(CN)—observed the festival at that time^(CO) in the presence of the Lord our God, seven days, and seven more days—fourteen days.^[o]^(CP) ⁶⁶On the fifteenth day^[p] he sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went to their homes^[q] rejoicing and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.^(CQ)

The Lord’s Response

9 When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord,^(CR) the royal palace, and all that Solomon desired to do,^(CS) ²the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time just as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.^(CT) ³The Lord said to him:

I have heard your prayer and petition you have made before me. I have consecrated this temple you have built, to put^[r] my name there forever;^(CU) my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.^(CV)

⁴As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances,^(CW) ⁵I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.^(CX)

⁶If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands—my statutes that I have set before you—and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,^(CY) ⁷I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them,^(CZ) and I will reject^[s] the temple I have sanctified for my name.^(DA) Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.^(DB) ⁸Though this temple is now exalted,^[t] everyone who passes by will be appalled and will scoff.^[u] They will say, “Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?”^(DC) ⁹Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. They held on to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, the Lord brought all this ruin on them.”^(DD)

King Hiram’s Twenty Towns

¹⁰At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the two houses, the Lord’s temple and the royal palace^(DE)— ¹¹King Hiram of Tyre^(DF) having supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold^(DG) for his every wish^(DH)—King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee. ¹²So Hiram went out from Tyre to look over the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them. ¹³So he said, “What are these towns you’ve given me, my brother?” So he called them the Land of Cabul,^[v] as they are still called today.^(DI) ¹⁴Now Hiram had sent the king nine thousand pounds^[w] of gold.^(DJ)

Solomon’s Forced Labor

¹⁵This is the account of the forced labor^(DK) that King Solomon had imposed to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces,^(DL) the wall of Jerusalem,^(DM) and Hazor,^(DN) Megiddo,^(DO) and Gezer.^(DP) ¹⁶Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He then burned it, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.^(DQ) ¹⁷Then Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,^(DR) ¹⁸Baalath,^(DS) Tamar^[x]^[y] in the Wilderness of Judah, ¹⁹all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, the chariot cities,^(DT) the cavalry cities,^(DU) and whatever Solomon desired to build^(DV) in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

²⁰As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites— ²¹their descendants who remained in the land after them, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely^(DW)—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is still this way today.^(DX) ²²But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to slavery;^(DY) they were soldiers, his servants, his commanders, his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. ²³These were the deputies^(DZ) who were over Solomon’s work: 550 who supervised the people doing the work.^(EA)

Solomon’s Other Activities

²⁴Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the city of David^(EB) to the house that Solomon had built for her;^(EC) he then built the terraces.^(ED)

²⁵Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them in the Lord’s presence.^(EE) So he completed the temple.^(EF)

²⁶King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber,^(EG) which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. ²⁷With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon’s servants. ²⁸They went to Ophir^(EH) and acquired gold there—sixteen tons^[z]—and delivered it to Solomon.^(EI)

Footnotes

8:2 = September–October
8:7 LXX; MT reads toward
8:9 = Sinai
8:18 Lit well because it was with your heart
8:26 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg, 2Ch 6:16; other Hb mss omit Lord
8:28 Lit Turn
8:31 Lit and he lifts a curse against him to curse him
8:37 Lit land of its gates
8:38 Lit know in his heart of a plague
8:44 Some Hb mss, some ancient versions, 2Ch 6:34; other Hb mss read enemy
8:47 Lit they return to their heart
8:50 Lit rebellions that they have rebelled
8:58 Lit causes our hearts to be inclined
8:65 Or from Lebo-hamath
8:65 Temple dedication lasted seven days, and the Festival of Shelters lasted seven days.
8:66 Lit the eighth day
8:66 Lit tents
9:3 Or by putting
9:7 Lit send from my presence
9:8 Some ancient versions read temple will become a ruin
9:8 Lit hiss
9:13 = Like Nothing
9:14 Lit 120 talents
9:18 Alt Hb traditions, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read Tadmor; 2Ch 8:4
9:18 Tamar was a city in southern Judah; Ezk 47:19; 48:28.
9:28 Lit 420 talents

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