1 Kings 8:54-61

New King James Version

Solomon Blesses the Assembly^(A)

⁵⁴^(B)And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. ⁵⁵Then he stood ^(C)and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: ⁵⁶“Blessed be the Lord, who has given ^(D)rest^[a] to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. ^(E)There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. ⁵⁷May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. ^(F)May He not leave us nor forsake us, ⁵⁸that He may ^(G)incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, ⁶⁰^(H)that all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(I)the Lord is God; there is no other. ⁶¹Let your ^(J)heart therefore be ^[b]loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

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Footnotes

1 Kings 8:56 peace
1 Kings 8:61 Lit. at peace with

2 Chronicles 7:1-7

New King James Version

Solomon Dedicates the Temple^(A)

7 When ^(B)Solomon had finished praying, ^(C)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and ^(D)the glory of the Lord filled the ^[a]temple. ²^(E)And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. ³When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying:

^(F)“For He is good,
^(G)For His mercy endures forever.”

⁴^(H)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁵King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶^(I)And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their ^[b]ministry. ^(J)The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.

⁷Furthermore ^(K)Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 7:1 Lit. house
2 Chronicles 7:6 Lit. hand

Psalm 111

New King James Version

Praise to God for His Faithfulness and Justice

111 Praise^[a] the Lord!

^(A)I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

²^(B)The works of the Lord are great,
^(C)Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
³His work is ^(D)honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
⁴He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
^(E)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
⁵He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
⁶He has declared to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the ^[b]heritage of the nations.

⁷The works of His hands are ^(F)verity^[c] and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
⁸^(G)They stand fast forever and ever,
And are ^(H)done in truth and uprightness.
⁹^(I)He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
^(J)Holy and awesome is His name.

¹⁰^(K)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 111:1 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 111:6 inheritance
Psalm 111:7 truth

Psalm 112

New King James Version

The Blessed State of the Righteous

112 Praise^[a] the Lord!

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who ^(A)delights greatly in His commandments.

²^(B)His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
³^(C)Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness ^[b]endures forever.
⁴^(D)Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
⁵^(E)A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs ^(F)with discretion.
⁶Surely he will never be shaken;
^(G)The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷^(H)He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
⁸His ^(I)heart is established;
^(J)He will not be afraid,
Until he ^(K)sees his desire upon his enemies.

⁹He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His ^[c]horn will be exalted with honor.
¹⁰The wicked will see it and be grieved;
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 112:3 stands
Psalm 112:9 Strength

2 Chronicles 7:8-10

New King James Version

⁸^(A)At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly ^(B)from the entrance of Hamath to ^(C)the^[a] Brook of Egypt. ⁹And on the eighth day they held a ^(D)sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. ¹⁰^(E)On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 7:8 The Shihor, 1 Chr. 13:5

Psalm 127

New King James Version

Laboring and Prospering with the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless ^(A)the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
²It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To ^(B)eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

³Behold, ^(C)children are a heritage from the Lord,
^(D)The fruit of the womb is a ^(E)reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵^(F)Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
^(G)They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128

New King James Version

Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

128 Blessed ^(A)is every one who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.

²^(B)When you eat the ^[a]labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be ^(C)well with you.
³Your wife shall be ^(D)like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your ^(E)children ^(F)like olive plants
All around your table.
⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.

⁵^(G)The Lord bless you out of Zion,
And may you see the good of Jerusalem
All the days of your life.
⁶Yes, may you ^(H)see your children’s children.

^(I)Peace be upon Israel!

Footnotes

Psalm 128:2 Fruit of the labor

Psalm 84

New King James Version

The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician. ^(A)On^[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

84 How ^(B)lovely ^[b]is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
²^(C)My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

³Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
⁴Blessed are those who dwell in Your ^(D)house;
They will still be praising You. Selah

⁵Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
⁶As they pass through the Valley ^(E)of ^[c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with ^[d]pools.
⁷They go ^(F)from strength to strength;
^[e]Each one ^(G)appears before God in Zion.

⁸O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹^(H)O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your ^[f]anointed.

¹⁰For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather ^[g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the Lord God is ^(I)a sun and ^(J)shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
^(K)No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.