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2 Chronicles 5:2-14
New Living Translation

The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of Israel. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. 3 So all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn.[a]

4 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the Levites picked up the Ark. 5 The priests and Levites brought up the Ark along with the special tent[b] and all the sacred items that had been in it. 6 There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

7 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place,[c] which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai,[d] where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left Egypt.

11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. 12 And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words:

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

At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 5:3 Hebrew at the festival that is in the seventh month. The Festival of Shelters began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day occurred in late September, October, or early November.
  2. 5:5 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; i.e., the tent mentioned in 2 Sam 6:17 and 1 Chr 16:1.
  3. 5:9 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version (see also 1 Kgs 8:8); Masoretic Text reads from the Ark.
  4. 5:10 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
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2 Chronicles 5:2-14
New English Translation

Solomon Moves the Ark into the Temple

2 Then Solomon convened Israel’s elders—all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families—in Jerusalem, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David[a] (that is, Zion).[b] 3 All the men of Israel assembled before the king during the festival[c] in the seventh month.[d] 4 When all Israel’s elders had arrived, the Levites lifted the ark. 5 The priests and Levites carried the ark, the tent where God appeared to his people,[e] and all the holy items in the tent.[f] 6 Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered.[g]

7 The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its assigned[h] place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim’s wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.[i] 9 The poles were so long their ends extending out from the ark were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point.[j] They have remained there to this very day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb.[k] (It was there that[l] the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.)

11 The priests left the Holy Place.[m] All the priests who participated had consecrated themselves, no matter which division they represented.[n] 12 All the Levites who were musicians, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, wore linen. They played cymbals and stringed instruments as they stood east of the altar. They were accompanied by 120 priests who blew trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians played together, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they loudly praised the Lord, singing:[o] “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!” Then a cloud filled the Lord’s temple.[p] 14 The priests could not carry out their duties[q] because of the cloud; the Lord’s splendor filled God’s temple.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 5:2 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  2. 2 Chronicles 5:2 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David (it is Zion).”
  3. 2 Chronicles 5:3 sn This festival in the seventh month was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.
  4. 2 Chronicles 5:3 sn The seventh month would be September-October in modern reckoning.
  5. 2 Chronicles 5:5 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”sn See Exod 33:7-11.
  6. 2 Chronicles 5:5 tn Heb “and they carried the ark of the Lord…. The priests and the Levites carried them.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 5:6 tn Heb “And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, those who had been gathered to him, [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle which could not be counted or numbered because of the abundance.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 5:7 tn The word “assigned” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  9. 2 Chronicles 5:8 sn These poles were used to carry the ark. The Levites were to carry it with the poles on their shoulders. See Exod 25:13-15; 1 Chr 15:15.
  10. 2 Chronicles 5:9 tn Heb “they could not be seen outside.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 5:10 sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).
  12. 2 Chronicles 5:10 tn Heb “in Horeb where.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 5:11 tn Heb “and when the priests went from the holy place.” The syntactical relationship of this temporal clause to the following context is unclear. Perhaps the thought is completed in v. 14 after a lengthy digression.
  14. 2 Chronicles 5:11 tn Heb “Indeed [or “for”] all the priests who were found consecrated themselves without guarding divisions.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 5:13 tn Heb “like one were the trumpeters and the musicians, causing one voice to be heard, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, and while raising a voice with trumpets and with cymbals and with instruments of music, and while praising the Lord.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 5:13 tn Heb “and the house was filled with a cloud, the house of the Lord.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 5:14 tn Heb “were not able to stand to serve.”
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2 Chronicles 4
2 Chronicles 6
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