Solomon Blesses the Lord

^12 (A)Then Solomon said, “The Lord^[a] has said that he would dwell ^(B)in thick darkness. ^13 (C)I have indeed built you an exalted house, ^(D)a place for you to dwell in forever.” ¹⁴ Then the king turned around and ^(E)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. ¹⁵ And he said, ^(F)“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled ^(G)what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, ^16 (H)‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, ^(I)that my name might be there. ^(J)But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ ^17 (K)Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. ^19 (L)Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ ²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, ^(M)as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have provided a place for the ark, ^(N)in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”