Solomon Blesses the People

^12 (A)Then Solomon said,

¹⁴ Then the king turned his face around and ^(E)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ And he said, “^(F)Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^(G)who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying, ¹⁶ ‘^(H)Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that ^(I)My name might be there, but ^(J)I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ ^17 (K)And it was ^[a]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was ^[b]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ^[c]in your heart. ^19 (L)Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will ^(M)come forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’ ²⁰ And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and ^(N)I have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh ^[d]promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have set a place for the ark, ^(O)in which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt.”