2 Chronicles 5
Living Bible
5 So the Temple was finally finished. Then Solomon brought in the gifts dedicated to the Lord by his father, King David. They were stored in the Temple treasuries.
2 Solomon now summoned to Jerusalem all of the leaders of Israel—the heads of the tribes and clans—for the ceremony of transferring the Ark from the Tabernacle in the[a] City of David, also known as Zion, to its new home in the Temple. 3 This celebration took place in October at the annual Festival of Tabernacles. 4-5 As the leaders of Israel watched, the Levites lifted the Ark and carried it out of the Tabernacle, along with all the other sacred vessels. 6 King Solomon and the others sacrificed sheep and oxen before the Ark in such numbers that no one tried to keep count!
7-8 Then the priests carried the Ark into the inner room of the Temple—the Holy of Holies—and placed it beneath the wings of the Guardian Angels; their wings spread over the Ark and its carrying poles. 9 These carrying poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the outer room, but not from the outside doorway.
The Ark is still there at the time of this writing. 10 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Mount Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were leaving Egypt.
11-12 When the priests had undergone the purification rites for themselves, they all took part in the ceremonies without regard to their normal duties. And how the Levites were praising the Lord as the priests came out of the Holy of Holies! The singers were Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers, dressed in finespun linen robes and standing at the east side of the altar. The choir was accompanied by 120 priests who were trumpeters, while others played the cymbals, lyres, and harps. 13-14 The band and chorus united as one to praise and thank the Lord; their selections were interspersed with trumpet obbligatos, the clashing of cymbals, and the loud playing of other musical instruments—all praising and thanking the Lord. Their theme was “He is so good! His loving-kindness lasts forever!”
And at that moment the glory of the Lord, coming as a bright cloud, filled the Temple so that the priests could not continue their work.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 5:2 Tabernacle in the, and to its new home in the Temple, implied.
2 Chronicles 5
New Century Version
5 Finally all the work Solomon did for the Temple of the Lord was finished. He brought in everything his father David had set apart for the Temple—all the silver and gold and other articles. And he put everything in the treasuries of God’s Temple.
The Ark Is Brought into the Temple
2 Solomon called for the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families to come to him in Jerusalem. He wanted them to bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord from the older part of the city. 3 So all the Israelites came together with the king during the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the Levites lifted up the Ark. 5 They carried the Ark of the Agreement, the Meeting Tent, and the holy utensils in it; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 6 King Solomon and all the Israelites gathered before the Ark of the Agreement and sacrificed so many sheep and bulls no one could count them.
7 Then the priests put the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord in its place inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple, under the wings of the golden creatures. 8 The wings of these creatures were spread out over the place for the Ark, covering it and its carrying poles. 9 The carrying poles were so long that anyone standing in the Holy Place in front of the Most Holy Place could see the ends of the poles. But no one could see them from outside the Holy Place. The poles are still there today. 10 The only things inside the Ark were two stone tablets[a] that Moses had put in the Ark at Mount Sinai. That was where the Lord made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11 Then all the priests left the Holy Place. (All the priests from each group had made themselves ready to serve the Lord.) 12 All the Levite musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar. They were dressed in white linen and played cymbals, harps, and lyres. With them were one hundred twenty priests who blew trumpets. 13 Those who blew the trumpets and those who sang together sounded like one person as they praised and thanked the Lord. They sang as others played their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments. They praised the Lord with this song:
“He is good;
his love continues forever.”
Then the Temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud. 14 The priests could not continue their work because of the cloud, because the Lord’s glory filled the Temple of God.
Footnotes
- 5:10 stone tablets They were the two stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
