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(A)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel to Jerusalem, (B)to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion. (C)And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at (D)the feast, that is in the seventh month. Then all the elders of Israel came, and (E)the Levites carried the ark. And they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who congregated with him before the ark, were sacrificing [a]so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above. But the poles were so long that (F)the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and [b]they are there to this day. 10 (G)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of Yahweh Fills His House

11 Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard (H)to divisions), 12 and all the Levitical singers, (I)Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, (J)with cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests (K)blowing trumpets 13 in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to give thanks to Yahweh, and when they lifted up their voice (L)accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised Yahweh saying, “(M)He indeed is good for His lovingkindness endures forever,” then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for (N)the glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 5:6 Lit sheep...numbered for multitude
  2. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Lit it is

Preparations for the Temple Dedication

At that time(A) Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites—in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David,(B) that is, Zion. So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king’s presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.[a]

All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark. They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many. The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.(C) And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark so that the cherubim formed a cover above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place[b](D) in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside; they are there to this very day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put in it at Horeb,[c](E) where the Lord had made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

11 Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions.(F) When the priests came out of the holy place, 12 the Levitical singers dressed in fine linen and carrying cymbals, harps, and lyres(G) were standing east of the altar, and with them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.(H) The Levitical singers were descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun and their sons(I) and relatives. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments,(J) in praise to the Lord:

For He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(K)

The temple, the Lord’s temple, was filled with a cloud.(L) 14 And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 5:3 = Tishri (September–October)
  2. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read the ark; 1Kg 8:8
  3. 2 Chronicles 5:10 = Sinai