Old/New Testament
The Ark of the Covenant Is Brought into the Temple
8 Then King Solomon called for all the leaders of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem. He called for the elders, the heads of the tribes and the leaders of the families. He wanted them to bring the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord from the older part of the city. 2 So all the men of Israel came together with King Solomon. This was during a festival in the month of Ethanim. That is the seventh month.
3 All of the elders of Israel arrived. Then the priests took up the Ark of the Covenant. 4 They carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the Meeting Tent and the holy things in it. The Levites helped the priests carry these things. 5 King Solomon and all the people of Israel gathered before the Ark of the Covenant. They sacrificed so many sheep and cattle no one could count them all. 6 Then the priests put the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord in its right place. This was inside the Most Holy Place in the Temple. The Ark of the Covenant was put under the wings of the golden creatures. 7 The wings of the creatures were spread out over the place of the Ark of the Covenant. So they covered it and its carrying poles. 8 The carrying poles were very long. 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. 9 The only things inside the Ark of the Covenant were two stone tablets.[a] Moses had put them in the Ark of the Covenant at Mount Sinai. That was where the Lord made his agreement with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
10 When the priests left the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 11 The priests could not continue their work. This was because the Temple was filled with the glory of the Lord.
Solomon Speaks to the People
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud. 13 Lord, I have truly built a wonderful Temple for you. It is a place for you to live forever.”
14 While all the people of Israel were standing there, King Solomon turned to them and blessed them.
15 Then he prayed: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel. He himself has done what he promised to my father David. The Lord told my father, 16 ‘I brought my people Israel out of Egypt. But I have not yet chosen a city in any tribe of Israel where a temple will be built for worshiping me. But I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.’
17 “My father David wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘I know you want to build a temple for worshiping me. And this is good. 19 But you are not the one to build the temple. It will be your son, who comes from your own body. He is the one who will build my temple.’
20 “So the Lord has kept the promise that he gave. I am the king now in place of David my father. Now I rule Israel as the Lord promised. And I have built the Temple for worshiping the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have made a place in the Temple for the Ark of the Covenant. Inside that Ark is the agreement the Lord made with our ancestors. He made that agreement when he brought them out of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer
22 Then Solomon stood facing the Lord’s altar. All of the people of Israel were standing behind him. He spread out his hands and looked toward the sky. 23 He said:
“Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you. There is no god like you in heaven above or on the earth below. You make agreements with your people because you love them. And you keep your agreements with those who truly follow you. 24 You have kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth. And with your great power you have made it come true today. 25 Now Lord, God of Israel, keep the other promises you made to your servant David, my father. You said, ‘Your sons must be careful to obey me as you have obeyed me. If they do this, there will always be someone from your family ruling Israel.’ 26 Again, Lord, God of Israel, I ask you. Please continue to keep that promise you made to my father.
27 “But, God, can you really live here on the earth? Even the sky and the highest place in heaven cannot contain you. Certainly this house which I have built cannot contain you either. 28 But please listen to my prayer and my request. I am your servant, and you are the Lord my God. Hear this prayer I am praying to you today. 29 In the past you said, ‘I will be worshiped there.’ So please watch over this Temple night and day. Hear the prayer I pray to you here. 30 Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel. Please hear us when we pray facing this place. Hear us from your home in heaven. And when you hear us, forgive us.
31 “If a person does something wrong against someone else, he will be brought to the altar in this Temple. If he swears an oath that he is not guilty, 32 then hear in heaven. Judge the man. Punish the guilty person for what he has done. And declare that the innocent person is not guilty.
33 “Sometimes your people of Israel will sin against you. Because of this their enemies will defeat them. Then the people will come back to you and praise you. They will pray to you in this Temple. 34 Please hear them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people Israel. Allow them to have their land again. This is the land you gave to their ancestors.
35 “Sometimes when they sin against you, you will stop the rain from falling on their land. Then they will pray, facing this place. They will praise you. They will stop sinning when you make them suffer. 36 When this happens, please hear their prayer in heaven. Then forgive the sins of your servant. And forgive the sins of the people of Israel. Teach them to do what is right. Then please send rain to this land you gave them.
37 “At times the land will become so dry that no food will grow. Or, a great sickness will spread among the people. Sometimes all the crops will be destroyed by locusts or grasshoppers. Your people will be attacked in their cities by their enemies. Your people will become sick. 38 When any of these things happen, the people will become truly sorry. If anyone of your people Israel spreads his hands in prayer toward this Temple, 39 please hear his prayer. Hear it from your home in heaven. Then forgive the people and help them. Only you know what people are really thinking. So judge each person, and do to him what is right. 40 Do this so your people will respect you all the time they live in this land. This is the land you gave to our ancestors.
41-42 “People who are not Israelites, who come from other lands, will hear about your greatness and power. They will come from far away to pray at this Temple. 43 Please hear their prayers from your home in heaven. Please do whatever they ask you. Then people everywhere will know you and respect you, as your people in Israel do. Then everyone will know I built this Temple for worship to you.
44 “Sometimes you will command your people to go and fight against their enemies. Then your people will pray to you facing this city which you have chosen. They will pray facing the Temple I have built for your worship. 45 When they pray, hear their prayers from your home in heaven. Then help them.
46 “Everyone sins. So your people will also sin against you. And you will become angry with your people. You will let their enemies defeat them. Their enemies will make them prisoners and carry them away to their own countries. 47 Your people might be sorry for their sins when they are held as prisoners in another country. Perhaps they will be sorry and pray to you in the land where they are held as prisoners. They might say, ‘We have sinned and done wrong.’ 48 They may truly turn back to you in the land of their enemies. Perhaps they will pray to you, facing this land you gave their fathers. They may pray to you, facing this city you have chosen. They may face this Temple I have built for your worship. 49 If they do, then please hear them from your home in heaven. Hear their prayers and do what is right. 50 Forgive your people of all their sins. And forgive them for turning against you. Make those who have taken them as prisoners show them mercy. 51 Remember that they are your people. Remember that you brought them out of Egypt. It was as if you pulled them out of a blazing furnace!
52 “Please give your attention to my prayers. And please give your attention to the prayers of your people Israel. Listen to their prayers anytime they ask you for help. 53 You chose them from all the nations on earth to be your very own people. This is what you promised through Moses your servant. You promised it when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Lord God.”
54 Solomon prayed this prayer to the Lord. He had been kneeling in front of the altar. And his arms had been raised toward heaven. When Solomon finished praying, he stood up. 55 Then, in a loud voice, he blessed all the people of Israel. Solomon said: 56 “Praise the Lord! He promised he would give rest to his people Israel. And he has given us rest! The Lord has kept all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 I ask that the Lord our God be with us. May he be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us. 58 May he cause us to turn to him and follow him. May we obey all the laws and commands he gave our ancestors. 59 I ask that the Lord our God always remember this prayer. I pray that he will help his servant and his people Israel. I pray he will help us every day as we need it. 60 Then all the people of the world will know the Lord is the only true God. 61 So you must fully obey the Lord our God. You must follow all his laws and commands. You must continue to obey in the future as you do now.”
Sacrifices Are Offered
62 Then King Solomon and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon killed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. These were fellowship offerings. In this way the king and the Israelites showed they had given the Temple to the Lord.
64 Also that day King Solomon made the courtyard before the Temple holy. He offered whole burnt sacrifices and grain offerings. He also offered the fat from the fellowship offerings. He had to make these offerings in the courtyard. This was because the bronze altar before the Lord was too small. It could not hold all the offerings.
65 So King Solomon and all the people of Israel also celebrated the other festival that came at that time. People came from as far away as Lebo Hamath in the north. And they came from as far as the brook of Egypt in the south. A great many people were there. They ate, drank and rejoiced before the Lord for a total of 14 days. 66 On the following day Solomon sent the people home. So they blessed the king and went home. They were happy because of all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people, Israel.
The Lord Appears to Solomon Again
9 So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord and his royal palace. Solomon finished building everything he wanted to build. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him again. This was just as he had done before, in Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer. I have heard what you asked me to do. You built this Temple. And I have made it a holy place. So I will be worshiped there forever. I will watch over it and protect it always.
4 “But you must serve me as your father David did. He was fair and sincere. You must obey my laws and do everything I command. 5 If you do these things, I will allow your family to rule Israel forever. I made this promise to your father David. I told him that someone from his family would always be king over Israel.
6 “But you and your children must follow me. You must obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not go off to serve or worship other gods. 7 If you do, I will force Israel to leave the land I have given them. I made the Temple holy for people to worship me there. But if you don’t obey me, I will tear it down. Then Israel will become a bad example, a joke, to other people. 8 If the Temple is destroyed, everyone who sees it will be shocked. They will make fun of you and ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this? Why did he do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’ 9 Other people will answer, ‘This happened because they left the Lord their God. He brought their ancestors out of Egypt. But they decided to follow other gods. They worshiped and served those gods. That is why the Lord brought all this disaster to them.’”
Solomon’s Other Activities
10 By the end of 20 years, King Solomon had built the Temple of the Lord. And he had built the royal palace. 11 At that time King Solomon gave 20 towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre. Solomon did this because Hiram had helped with the buildings. Hiram had given him all the cedar, pine and gold he wanted. 12 So Hiram traveled from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him. When Hiram saw them, he was not pleased. 13 He asked, “What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” So he named that land the Land of Cabul.[b] And it is still called that today. 14 Hiram had sent to King Solomon about 9,000 pounds of gold.
15 King Solomon had forced slaves to build the Temple and the palace. Then he had them fill in the land on the east side of the city. And he had them build the wall around Jerusalem. He also had them rebuild the cities of Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16 (In the past the king of Egypt had attacked Gezer and captured it. He had burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived there. Then he gave it to his daughter as a wedding present. His daughter married Solomon. 17 So Solomon rebuilt it.) He also built the cities of Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath and Tadmor, which is in the Judean desert. 19 King Solomon also built cities where he could store grain and supplies. And he built cities for his chariots and chariot soldiers. Solomon built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon and everywhere he ruled.
20 There were people in the land who were not Israelites. There were some Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 21 The Israelites had not been able to destroy them from the land. So Solomon forced them to work for him as slaves. And they are still slaves today. 22 But Solomon did not force any Israelites to be his slaves. The Israelites were his soldiers, government leaders, officers, captains and chariot commanders and drivers.
23 There were 550 supervisors over Solomon’s projects. They were supervisors over the men who did the work.
24 The daughter of the king of Egypt moved from the old part of Jerusalem to the palace. This was the palace Solomon had built for her. Then Solomon filled in the land on the east side of the city.
25 Three times each year Solomon offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. This is the altar he had built for the Lord. Solomon also burned incense before the Lord. So he finished the work on the Temple.
26 Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber. This town is near Elath. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the land of Edom. 27 King Hiram had sailors who knew much about the sea. So he sent them to serve in Solomon’s ships with Solomon’s men. 28 Solomon’s ships sailed to Ophir. From there they brought back about 32,000 pounds of gold to King Solomon.
True Giving
21 Jesus saw some rich people putting their gifts into the Temple money box.[a] 2 Then Jesus saw a poor widow. She put two small copper coins into the box. 3 He said, “I tell you the truth. This poor widow gave only two small coins. But she really gave more than all those rich people. 4 The rich have plenty; they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had. And she needed that money to live on.”
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
5 Some of the followers were talking about the Temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts offered to God.
6 But Jesus said, “The time will come when all that you see here will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another!”
7 Some followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will these things happen? What will show us that it is time for them to take place?”
8 Jesus said, “Be careful! Don’t be fooled. Many people will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Christ’ and, ‘The right time has come!’ But don’t follow them. 9 When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things must happen first. Then the end will come later.”
10 Then he said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. 11 There will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and other terrible things in many places. In some places there will be no food for the people to eat. Fearful events and great signs will come from heaven.
12 “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and treat you cruelly. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. They will do all these things to you because you follow me. 13 But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me. 14 Don’t worry about what you will say. 15 I will give you the wisdom to say things so that none of your enemies will be able to show that you are wrong. 16 Even your parents, brothers, relatives and friends will turn against you. They will kill some of you. 17 All people will hate you because you follow me. 18 But none of these things can really harm you. 19 You will save yourselves by continuing strong in your faith through all these things.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.