(A)Then Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, (B)to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David, which is Zion. (C)All the men of Israel assembled themselves before the king at (D)the feast, that is in the seventh month. Then all the elders of Israel came, and (E)the Levites picked up the ark. They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils that were in the tent. The Levitical priests brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled 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 the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its [b]poles. The poles were so long that (F)the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and [c]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 the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of God Fills the Temple

11 When the priests came out from 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 kinsmen, 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 glorify the Lord, and when they raised their voices (L)accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, and when they praised the Lord saying, “(M)He indeed is good for His [d]kindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not rise to minister because of the cloud, for (N)the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 5:6 Lit sheep...numbered for multitude
  2. 2 Chronicles 5:8 Lit poles above
  3. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Lit it is
  4. 2 Chronicles 5:13 Or faithfulness

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.(A) 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.(B) 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.(C) 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.(D)

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),(E) 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.(F) 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,(G) 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.(H)

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Footnotes

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