⁵⁴ Solomon finished praying. He finished asking the Lord to help his people. Then he got up from in front of the Lord’s altar. He had been down on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven. ⁵⁵ He stood in front of the whole community of Israel. He blessed them with a loud voice. He said,

⁵⁶ “I praise the Lord. He has given peace and rest to his people Israel. That’s exactly what he promised to do. He gave his people good promises through his servant Moses. Every single word of those promises has come true. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our people who lived long ago. May he never leave us. May he never desert us. ⁵⁸ May he turn our hearts to him. Then we will live the way he wants us to. We’ll obey the commands, rules and directions he gave our people of long ago. ⁵⁹ I’ve prayed these words to the Lord our God. May he keep them close to him day and night. May he stand up for me. May he also stand up for his people Israel. May he give us what we need every day. ⁶⁰ Then all the nations on earth will know that the Lord is God. They’ll know that there isn’t any other god. ⁶¹ And may you commit your lives completely to the Lord our God. May you live by his rules. May you obey his commands. May you always do as you are doing now.”