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Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought in the things that his father David had dedicated and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.(A)

The Ark Brought into the Temple

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.(B) And all the Israelites assembled before the king at the festival that is in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites carried the ark.(C) So they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be numbered or counted. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place[a] in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day.(D) 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant[b] with the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt.(E)

11 Now when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to their divisions),(F) 12 all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kindred, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with one hundred twenty priests who were trumpeters.(G) 13 It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers together to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,

“For he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever,”

the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,(H) 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.(I)

Footnotes

  1. 5.9 Gk Heb mss: MT from the ark
  2. 5.10 Heb lacks a covenant

When all of Solomon’s work on the Lord’s temple was finished, he brought the silver, gold, and all the objects his father David had dedicated and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Solomon dedicates the temple

Then Solomon assembled Israel’s elders, all the tribal leaders, and the clan chieftains of Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the chest containing the Lord’s covenant from Zion, David’s City. Everyone in Israel assembled before the king in the seventh month,[a] during the festival. When all Israel’s elders had arrived, the Levites picked up the chest. They brought the chest, the meeting tent, and all the holy objects that were in the tent. The priests and[b] the Levites brought them up, while King Solomon and the entire Israelite assembly that had joined him before the chest sacrificed countless sheep and oxen. The priests brought the chest containing the Lord’s covenant to its designated spot beneath the wings of the winged creatures in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the most holy place. The winged creatures spread their wings over the place where the chest rested, covering the chest and its carrying poles. The carrying poles were so long that their tips could be seen from the holy place[c] in front of the inner sanctuary, though they weren’t visible from outside. They are still there today. 10 Nothing was in the chest except the two stone tablets Moses placed there while at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they left Egypt.

11 Then the priests left the holy place. All the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the levitical musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their families and relatives—were dressed in fine linen and stood east of the altar with cymbals, harps, and zithers, along with one hundred twenty priests blowing trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord as one. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, they began to sing, praising the Lord:

Yes, God is good!
    Yes, God’s faithful love lasts forever!

Then a cloud filled the Lord’s temple.[d] 14 The priests were unable to carry out their duties on account of the cloud because the Lord’s glory filled God’s temple.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 5:3 September–October, Tishrei
  2. 2 Chronicles 5:5 LXX; MT the levitical priests
  3. 2 Chronicles 5:9 LXX; MT the chest
  4. 2 Chronicles 5:13 Cf LXX; MT the temple, the Lord’s temple