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2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10
New American Standard Bible

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

12 Then he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 (A)For Solomon had made a bronze platform, [a]five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the courtyard; and he stood on it, (B)knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said, “Lord, God of Israel, (C)there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, (D)keeping [b]Your covenant and [c]Your faithfulness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart; 15 (E)You who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You [d]promised him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 Now then, Lord, God of Israel, keep to Your servant David, my father, that which You [e]promised him, saying, ‘[f](F)You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay attention to their way, to walk in My Law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 Now then, Lord, God of Israel, let Your word be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant David.

18 “But (G)will God really dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, (H)heaven and the [g]highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built! 19 Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You; 20 that Your (I)eye will be open toward this house day and night, toward (J)the place of which You have said that You would put Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. 21 Listen to the pleadings of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place; hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; (K)hear and forgive.

22 “If someone sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, 23 then hear from heaven and take action and judge Your servants, [h](L)punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by [i]repaying him according to his righteousness.

24 “If Your people Israel are [j]defeated before an enemy because (M)they have sinned against You, and they return to You and praise Your name, and pray and plead before You in this house, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You have given to them and to their fathers.

26 “When the (N)heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, 27 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; indeed, (O)teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

28 “If there is a (P)famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is blight or mildew, if there is locust or grasshopper, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their [k]cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is, 29 whatever prayer or plea is made by anyone or by all Your people Israel, [l]each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house, 30 then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know—(Q)for You alone know the hearts of the sons of mankind— 31 so that they may [m]fear You, to walk in Your ways [n]as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

32 “Also concerning (R)the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house, 33 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and [o]fear You as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that [p]this house which I have built is (S)called by Your name.

34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their pleading, and maintain their cause.

36 “When they sin against You ((T)for there is no one who does not sin), and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that [q]they take them away captive to a land far off or near, 37 if they [r]take it to heart in the land where they are taken captive, and repent and plead to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and have acted wickedly’; 38 (U)if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which You have given to their fathers and the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your name, 39 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and pleadings, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

40 “Now, my God, please, (V)let Your eyes be open and (W)Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

41 “(X)Now then arise, Lord God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might; let Your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your godly ones rejoice in what is good.

42 “Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; (Y)remember Your faithfulness to Your servant David.”

The Shekinah Glory

7 (Z)Now when Solomon had finished praying, (AA)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. 2 (AB)And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. 3 All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, “(AC)Certainly He is good, certainly His faithfulness is everlasting.”

Sacrifices Offered

4 (AD)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their posts, and (AE)the Levites also, with the musical instruments for the Lord, which King David had made for giving praise to the Lord—“for His faithfulness is everlasting”—whenever David gave praise through their [s]ministry; (AF)the priests on the other side blew trumpets and all Israel was standing.

7 (AG)Then Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was before the house of the Lord, for he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings there, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to contain the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat.

The Feast of Dedication

8 So (AH)Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly that came from the entrance of Hamath to the (AI)brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held (AJ)a solemn assembly, because they held the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days. 10 Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the Lord had shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel.

God’s Promise and Warning

11 (AK)So Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s palace, and successfully completed everything that [t]he had planned on doing in the house of the Lord and in his palace.

12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and (AL)have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 (AM)If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, 14 (AN)and My people [u]who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 (AO)Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the [v]prayer offered in this place. 16 For (AP)now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there [w]always. 17 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, to do according to everything that I have commanded you, and keep My statutes and My ordinances, 18 then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘[x](AQ)You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’

19 “(AR)But if you turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 (AS)then I will uproot [y]you from My land which I have given [z]you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight; and I will make it (AT)a proverb and an object of scorn among all peoples. 21 As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘(AU)Why has the Lord done these things to this land and to this house?’ 22 And they will say, ‘Because (AV)they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshiped and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Solomon’s Activities and Accomplishments

8 (AW)Now it came about at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, 2 that he built the cities which Huram had given [aa]him, and settled the sons of Israel there.

3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities which he had built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper (AX)Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, which were (AY)fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars; 6 and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for [ab]his chariots and cities for [ac]his horsemen, and everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the land [ad]under his rule.

7 (AZ)All of the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 that is, from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel had not destroyed, (BA)Solomon raised them as forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves from the sons of Israel for his work; for they were men of war, his chief captains and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen. 10 These were the chief [ae]officers of King Solomon, 250 who ruled over the people.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 6:13 About 7.5 ft. long and wide and 4.5 ft. high or 2.3 m and 1.4 m
  2. 2 Chronicles 6:14 Or the
  3. 2 Chronicles 6:14 Or the
  4. 2 Chronicles 6:15 Lit spoke to
  5. 2 Chronicles 6:16 Lit have spoken to
  6. 2 Chronicles 6:16 Lit There shall not be cut off to you a man from before Me
  7. 2 Chronicles 6:18 Lit heaven of heavens
  8. 2 Chronicles 6:23 Lit returning
  9. 2 Chronicles 6:23 Lit giving
  10. 2 Chronicles 6:24 Lit struck
  11. 2 Chronicles 6:28 Lit gates
  12. 2 Chronicles 6:29 Lit whoever shall know
  13. 2 Chronicles 6:31 Or revere
  14. 2 Chronicles 6:31 Lit all the days that they live on the face of the land
  15. 2 Chronicles 6:33 Or revere
  16. 2 Chronicles 6:33 Lit Your name is called upon this house
  17. 2 Chronicles 6:36 Lit their captors lead them captive
  18. 2 Chronicles 6:37 Lit return to their heart
  19. 2 Chronicles 7:6 Lit hand
  20. 2 Chronicles 7:11 Lit came upon the heart of Solomon to do
  21. 2 Chronicles 7:14 Lit over whom My name is called
  22. 2 Chronicles 7:15 Lit prayer of this place
  23. 2 Chronicles 7:16 Lit all the days
  24. 2 Chronicles 7:18 Lit There shall not be cut off to you a man
  25. 2 Chronicles 7:20 As in ancient versions; MT them
  26. 2 Chronicles 7:20 As in some ancient versions; MT them
  27. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Lit Solomon
  28. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Lit the
  29. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Lit the
  30. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Lit of
  31. 2 Chronicles 8:10 Or deputies
Close NLT

2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10
New Living Translation

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. 13 Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 7 1⁄2 feet long, 7 1⁄2 feet wide, and 4 1⁄2 feet high[a] and had placed it at the center of the Temple’s outer courtyard. He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven. 14 He prayed,

“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today.

16 “And now, O Lord, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow my Law as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 17 Now, O Lord, God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David.

18 “But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 19 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you. 20 May you watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name. May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 21 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.

22 “If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar at this Temple, 23 then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Pay back the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.

24 “If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave to them and to their ancestors.

26 “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.

28 “If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— 29 and if your people Israel pray about their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, 30 then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. 31 Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.

32 “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands when they hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, 33 then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.

34 “If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to you by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, 35 then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause.

36 “If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far away or near. 37 But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ 38 If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their captivity and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— 39 then hear their prayers and their petitions from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you.

40 “O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place.

41 “And now arise, O Lord God, and enter your resting place,
    along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
May your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation;
    may your loyal servants rejoice in your goodness.
42 O Lord God, do not reject the king you have anointed.
    Remember your unfailing love for your servant David.”

The Dedication of the Temple

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,

“He is good!
    His faithful love endures forever!”

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. 6 The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.

7 Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.

8 For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters.[b] A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. 9 On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. 10 Then at the end of the celebration,[c] Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and to Solomon and to his people Israel.

The Lord’s Response to Solomon

11 So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. 12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

17 “As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 18 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’

19 “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 20 then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 21 And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’

22 “And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.’”

Solomon’s Many Achievements

8 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, 2 Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram[d] had given him, and he settled Israelites in them.

3 Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. 4 He rebuilt Tadmor in the wilderness and built towns in the region of Hamath as supply centers. 5 He fortified the towns of Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, rebuilding their walls and installing barred gates. 6 He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses[e] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.

7 There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 8 These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 10 King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people.

Footnotes

  1. 6:13 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters] long, 5 cubits wide, and 3 cubits [1.4 meters] high.
  2. 7:8 Hebrew the festival (also in 7:9); see note on 5:3.
  3. 7:10 Hebrew Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in October or early November.
  4. 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant spelling of Hiram; also in 8:18.
  5. 8:6 Or and charioteers.
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