1 Kings 8:1-21

New Century Version

The Ark Is Brought into the Temple

8 King Solomon called for the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families to come to him in Jerusalem. He wanted them to bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord from the older part of the city. ² So all the Israelites came together with King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.

³ When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests lifted up the Ark. ⁴ They carried the Ark of the Lord, the Meeting Tent, and the holy utensils; the priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ King Solomon and all the Israelites gathered before the Ark and sacrificed so many sheep and cattle no one could count them all. ⁶ Then the priests put the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord in its place inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the golden creatures. ⁷ The wings of these creatures were spread out over the place for the Ark, covering it and its carrying poles. ⁸ The carrying poles were so long that anyone standing in the Holy Place in front of the Most Holy Place could see the ends of the poles, but no one could see them from outside the Holy Place. The poles are still there today. ⁹ The only things inside the Ark were two stone tablets^[a] that Moses had put in the Ark at Mount Sinai. That was where the Lord made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

¹⁰ When the priests left the Holy Place, a cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. ¹¹ The priests could not continue their work, because the Temple was filled with the glory of the Lord.

Solomon Speaks to the People

¹² Then Solomon said, “The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud. ¹³ Lord, I have truly built a wonderful Temple for you—a place for you to live forever.”

¹⁴ While all the Israelites were standing there, King Solomon turned to them and blessed them.

¹⁵ Then he said, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel. He has done what he promised to my father David. The Lord said, ¹⁶ ‘Since the time I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel where a temple will be built for me. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’

¹⁷ “My father David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘It was good that you wanted to build a temple for me. ¹⁹ But you are not the one to build it. Your son, who comes from your own body, is the one who will build my temple.’

²⁰ “Now the Lord has kept his promise. I am the king now in place of David my father. Now I rule Israel as the Lord promised, and I have built the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ I have made a place there for the Ark, in which is the Agreement the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”