Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, 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 were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

12 Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

18 And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

20 And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

25 Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:

32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;

42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.

63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

The Dedication of the Temple

At that time, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families[a] of the Israelites[b] before King Solomon, in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion. All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the festival in the month of Ethnaim, that is, the seventh month. All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. So they brought up the ark of Yahweh and the tent of assembly[c] and all of the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who were assembling with him in the presence of the ark were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted nor numbered because of abundance. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place,[d] under the wings of the cherubim, for the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place of the ark. The cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles from above. The poles were long, and the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place in front of[e] the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from the outside, and they are there until this day. There was not anything in the ark except[f] the two tablets of stone which Moses had placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh made[g] a covenant with the Israelites[h] after they went out from the land of Egypt. 10 When the priests went out from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh. 11 The priests were not able to stand to minister because of the presence of[i] the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

Solomon’s Proclamation to the Assembly of Israel

12 Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the very thick cloud. 13 I have certainly built a lofty house for you, a place for you to live forever.” 14 Then the king turned his face around, and he blessed all of the assembly of Israel. (Now all the assembly of Israel was standing). 15 Then he said, “Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has promised with his mouth to David my father and fulfilled by his oath,[j] saying, 16 ‘From the day that I brought out my people Israel from Egypt I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a house where my name might be, but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 David my father desired[k] to build a house for the name of Yahweh the God of Israel, 18 but Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Because you desired[l] to build a house for my name, you did well in that it was within your heart. 19 However, you will not build the house, but your son who has come from your loins, he shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Yahweh has carried out his promise which he had made; I have risen in place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel as Yahweh promised, and I have built the house for the name of Yahweh the God of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant which Yahweh made with our ancestors[m] when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer to Yahweh

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all of the assembly of Israel, and he spread out his hands to the heavens, 23 and he said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no god like you in the heavens above or on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the loyal love for your servants who are walking before you with all their heart. 24 You have kept for your servant David my father what you promised to him, and you have spoken with your mouth, and with your hand you have fulfilled it this very day. 25 So then, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you promised to him, saying, ‘For you, no man will be cut off from before me who will be sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their ways to walk before me just as you have walked before me.’ 26 So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised[n] to your servant David my father. 27 For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! How could[o] this house that I have built? 28 You must regard the prayer of your servant and his plea! O Yahweh my God, listen to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant is praying before you this day, 29 so that your eyes will be open to this house night and day, to the place which you said, ‘My name will be there,’ to hear the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. 30 You must listen to the plea of your servant and your people Israel which they pray toward this place; and you must hear from the place where you live, from heaven you must hear and you must forgive. 31 If a man sins against his neighbor and he pronounces an oath against him to curse him, and the curse comes before your altar in this house, 32 then you shall hear in heaven and you shall act and you shall judge your servant, to declare the wicked guilty by bringing his way upon his head and to declare the righteous innocent[p] by rewarding him according to his righteousness. 33 When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because[q] they sinned against you, and when they turn to you and confess your name and pray and beg for mercy from you in this house, 34 then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you shall bring them back to the ground which you gave to their ancestors.[r] 35 When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, 36 then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance. 37 If there should be in the land famine or disease, if there should be blight or mildew or locust or caterpillars, if it happens that his enemy lays siege against him in the land of his gates, if any plague or any disease, 38 any prayer or any plea which is offered by any person for all of your people Israel, who each knows the infestation of his own heart and spreads out his palms to this house, 39 then you shall hear in heaven the place of your dwelling, and you shall forgive and act and give to the man whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of man. 40 Do these things so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the face of the land that you gave to our ancestors.[s] 41 Also for the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land because of your name, 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your powerful hand and your outstretched arm), and he shall come and pray toward this house, 43 you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, and act according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you as your people Israel, and to know that your name has been invoked over this house that I have built. 44 If your people go out to battle against his enemy in the way that you shall send them and they pray to Yahweh, toward the city which you have chosen and the house which I have built for your name, 45 then you shall hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and you shall vindicate[t] them.

46 “If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near, 47 and then they return their heart in the land where they have been taken captive and they return and plead to you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and we did wrong. We acted wickedly,’ 48 if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors,[u] the city that you have chosen and the house that you[v] built for your name, 49 then you shall hear in heaven, the place of your dwelling, their prayer and their plea, and you shall vindicate them.[w] 50 You shall forgive your people who sinned against you, even for all their transgressions which they committed against you. You shall give them compassion before their captors so that they may have compassion on them, 51 for they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought from Egypt from the middle of the smelter of iron. 52 O, that your eyes may be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, to listen to them in all things when they call to you. 53 For you have separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, as you promised through the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our ancestors[x] from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh!”

Solomon Charges the People Israel

54 It happened that when Solomon finished praying to Yahweh all of the prayer and this plea, he got up from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling down on his knees with his palms outstretched to heaven. 55 He stood and blessed all of the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be Yahweh who gave a resting place to his people Israel. According to all that he promised, not one word has fallen from all of his promises concerning the good which he spoke through the hand of Moses his servant. 57 May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our ancestors,[y] and may he not leave us or abandon us, 58 to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors.[z] 59 Let these my words which I pleaded before Yahweh be near to Yahweh our God, by day and by night, to maintain the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel as each day requires[aa] 60 so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he is God; there is none other. 61 Let your heart be completely with Yahweh our God by walking in his statutes, by keeping his commands as this day.”

The Great Confirming Sacrifice

62 Then the king and all of Israel with him offered a sacrifice in the presence of Yahweh. 63 Solomon sacrificed the fellowship offerings which he offered to Yahweh: twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep; and the king and all of the Israelites[ab] dedicated the house of Yahweh. 64 On that day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard before the house of Yahweh because he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar that was in the presence of Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offerings and the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. 65 Solomon held the festival at that time and all of Israel with him, a great assembly from Lebo Hamath up to the wadi[ac] of Egypt before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven days, a total of fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day, he sent the people away, and they blessed the king, and they went to their tents rejoicing and in good spirits[ad] because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

Notas al pie

  1. 1 Kings 8:1 Literally “fathers”
  2. 1 Kings 8:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. 1 Kings 8:4 Or “meeting”
  4. 1 Kings 8:6 Literally “holy of the holiest”
  5. 1 Kings 8:8 Literally “on the face of”
  6. 1 Kings 8:9 Hebrew “only”
  7. 1 Kings 8:9 Literally “cut”
  8. 1 Kings 8:9 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  9. 1 Kings 8:11 Literally “from the face of”
  10. 1 Kings 8:15 Literally “by his hand”
  11. 1 Kings 8:17 Literally “It had been within the heart of David my father”
  12. 1 Kings 8:18 Literally “it was within your heart”
  13. 1 Kings 8:21 Or “fathers”
  14. 1 Kings 8:26 Or “spoken”
  15. 1 Kings 8:27 Literally “Even that”
  16. 1 Kings 8:32 Literally “to declare righteous the righteous”
  17. 1 Kings 8:33 Literally “who”
  18. 1 Kings 8:34 Or “fathers”
  19. 1 Kings 8:40 Or “fathers”
  20. 1 Kings 8:45 Literally “their judgment”
  21. 1 Kings 8:48 Or “fathers”
  22. 1 Kings 8:48 The Hebrew Masoretic text (Kethib) reads “you have built”;Qere reads “I have built”
  23. 1 Kings 8:49 Literally “and you shall do their justice”
  24. 1 Kings 8:53 Or “fathers”
  25. 1 Kings 8:57 Or “fathers”
  26. 1 Kings 8:58 Or “fathers”
  27. 1 Kings 8:59 Literally “the word of the day on its day”
  28. 1 Kings 8:63 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  29. 1 Kings 8:65 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  30. 1 Kings 8:66 Literally “and good of heart”