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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

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