Kings III 8
1 And it came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and his own house after twenty years, then king Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel in Sion, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, this is Sion,
Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem all the elders of Israel, all the leaders of the tribes, and the leaders of the clans. He wanted them to join in bringing Yahweh’s Sacred Chest from Zion [Hill to the temple], where it was in the part of the city called ‘The City of David’.
2 in the month of Athanin.
So all the Israeli leaders came to King Solomon during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, in October.
3 And the priests took up the ark,
When they had all arrived, the priests lifted up the Sacred Chest
4 and the tabernacle of testimony, and the holy furniture that was in the tabernacle of testimony.
and brought it to the temple. The descendants of Levi [who assisted the priests] helped them to carry to the temple the Sacred Tent and all the sacred things that had been in the tent.
5 And the king and all Israel [were occupied] before the ark, sacrificing sheep [and] oxen, without number.
Then King Solomon and many of the Israeli people who had gathered in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Chest sacrificed a huge amount of sheep and oxen. No one was able to count the sacrifices [because there were so many].
6 And the priests bring in the ark into its place, into the oracle of the house, even into the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubs.
The the priests then brought the Sacred Chest into the Very Holy Place in the temple, and they placed it under the wings of the [statues of the] winged creatures.
7 For the cherubs spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubs covered the ark and its holy things above.
The wings of those statues spread out over the Sacred Chest and over the poles by which it was carried.
8 And the holy staves projected, and the ends of the holy staves appeared out of the holy places in front of the oracle, and were not seen without.
The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen [by people who were standing] at the entrance to the Most Holy Place, but they could not be seen [by people standing] outside the temple. Those poles are still there.
9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which Moses put [there] in Choreb, which [tables] the Lord made [as a covenant] with the children of Israel in their going forth from the land of Egypt.
The only things that were in the Sacred Chest were the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Sinai [Mountain], where Yahweh made an agreement with the people after they left Egypt.
10 And it came to pass when the priests departed out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house.
When the priests came out of the temple, [suddenly] it was filled with a cloud.
11 And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, because the glory of the Lord filled the house.
It was the glory/radiance of Yahweh that filled the temple, with the result that the priests were not able to continue their work.
Then Solomon prayed this: “Yahweh, you have placed the sun in the sky, but you have decided that you would live in very dark [clouds].
I have built for you a magnificent temple, a place for you to live in forever.”
14 And the king turned his face, and the king blessed all Israel, (and the whole assembly of Israel stood: )
Then, while all the people stood there, the king turned around and faced them, and he [asked God to] bless them.
15 and he said, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel to-day, who spoke by his mouth concerning David my father, and has fulfilled it with his hands, saying,
He said, “Praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis belong! By his own power he has done what he promised to give to my father David. What he promised was this:
16 From the day that I brought out my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in [any] one tribe of Israel to build a house, so that my name should be there: but I chose Jerusalem that my name should be there, and I chose David to be over my people Israel.
‘From the time that I brought my people out of Egypt, I have never chosen any city in Israel in which a temple should be built for my people to worship me there. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.”
17 And it was in the heart of my father to build a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel.
[Then Solomon said], “My father David wanted to build a temple in order that we Israeli people could worship Yahweh our God there.
18 And the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it came into thine heart to build a house to my name, thou didst well that it came upon thine heart.
But Yahweh said to him, ‘You have wanted to build a temple for me, and what you wanted to do was good.
19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house, but thy son that has proceeded out of thy bowels, he shall build the house to my name.
However, you are not the one [who I want] to build it. It is one of your sons, who [I want to] build a temple for me.’
20 And the Lord has confirmed the word that he spoke, and I am risen up in the place of my father David, and I have sat down on the throne of Israel, as the Lord spoke, and I have built the house to the name of the Lord God of Israel.
And now Yahweh has done what he promised to do. I have become the king of Israel to succeed my father, and I am ruling my people, like Yahweh promised. I have [arranged for] this temple [to be] built for us Israelis to worship Yahweh, the God, to whom we Israelis belong.
21 And I have set there a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord, which the Lord made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
I have also provided a place [in the temple] for the Sacred Chest in which are the two stone tablets [on which are engraved the Ten Commandments of] the agreement that Yahweh made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
22 And Solomon stood up in front of the altar before all the congregation of Israel; and he spread out his hands toward heaven:
Then Solomon stood in front of the altar which was facing the Israeli people who had gathered there. He spread out his arms toward heaven,
23 and he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above and on the earth beneath, keeping covenant and mercy with thy servant who walks before thee with all his heart;
and he prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom we Israeli people [belong to/worship], there is no god like you up in heaven or down here on the earth. You solemnly promised that you would faithfully love us. And that is what you have done for us who earnestly do what you want us to do.
24 which thou hast kept toward thy servant David my father: for thou hast spoken by thy mouth and thou hast fulfilled it with thine hands, as [at] this day.
You have done the things that you promised my father David, who served you [very well], that you would do. Truly, you promised to do these things for him, and today we see that by your power you have done them.
25 And now, O Lord God of Israel, keep for thy servant David my father, [the promises] which thou hast spoken to him, saying, There shall not be taken from thee a man sitting before me on the throne of Israel, provided only thy children shall take heed to their ways, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
So now, Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [belong to/worship], please do the things that you promised my father that you would do. You told him that there would always be some of his descendants who would rule Israel, if they would conduct their lives as he did.
26 And now, O Lord God of Israel, let, I pray thee, thy word to David my father be confirmed.
So now, God of us Israeli people, cause what you promised to do for my father David, who served you [well], to happen.
27 But will God indeed dwell with men upon the earth? if the heaven and heaven of heavens will not suffice thee, how much less even this house which I have built to thy name?
But God, you cannot really live on the earth. There is surely not enough space for you in the sky, or even in the heaven. So there is surely not enough space for you to live in this temple that my workers have built.
28 Yet, O Lord God of Israel, thou shalt look upon my petition, to hear the prayer which thy servant prays to thee in thy presence this day,
But Yahweh, my God, please listen to me while I am praying to you this day,
29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place which thou saidst, My name shall be there, to hear the prayer which thy servant prays at this place day and night.
Please keep protecting this temple night and day. This is the place about which you have said, ‘I will always be there.’ I request that you listen to me whenever I turn toward this temple and pray.
30 And thou shalt hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place; and thou shalt hear in thy dwelling-place in heaven, and thou shalt do and be gracious.
I request that when I pray to you and your people pray to you while they turn toward this place, that in your home in heaven you will hear us and forgive us [for the sins that we have committed].
31 Whatsoever trespasses any [one] shall commit against his neighbour, —and if he shall take upon him an oath so that he should swear, and he shall come and make confession before thine altar in this house,
If someone is accused of doing something wrong to another person, and they bring him to your altar outside this holy temple, and if he says, ‘I did not do that; may God punish me if I am not telling the truth,’
32 then shalt thou hear from heaven, and do, and thou shalt judge thy people Israel, that the wicked should be condemned, to recompense his way upon his head; and to justify the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness.
then you listen from heaven, and decide who is telling the truth. Then punish the person who is guilty as he deserves to be punished, and declare that the other person is innocent.
33 When thy people Israel falls before enemies, because they shall sin against thee, and they shall return and confess to thy name, and they shall pray and supplicate in this house,
And when your Israeli people are defeated by their enemies [in a battle] because they have sinned against you, [and if they are forced to go to some distant country, ] if they turn away from their sinful behavior and turn toward this temple and admit that you [have justly punished them], and if they plead [that you will forgive them],
34 then shalt thou hear from heaven, and be gracious to the sins of thy people Israel, and thou shalt restore them to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.
listen to them from heaven, and forgive your Israeli people for the sins that they [have committed], and bring them back to this land that you gave to our ancestors.
35 When the heaven is restrained, and there is no rain, because they shall sin against thee, and the shall pray toward this place, and they shall make confession to thy name, and shall turn from their sins when thou shalt have humbled them,
And when you do not allow any rain to fall on the land because your people have sinned against you, if they turn toward this temple and admit that you [have justly punished them], if they turn away from their sinful behavior and [humbly] pray to you,
36 then thou shalt hear from heaven, and be merciful to the sins of thy servant and of thy people Israel; for thou shalt shew them the good way to walk in it, and thou shalt give rain upon the earth which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
listen to them from heaven, and forgive your Israeli people for the sins [that they have committed]. Teach them the right way to conduct their lives. Then send rain on this land that you have given to your people to belong to them [permanently].
37 If there should be famine, if there should be death, because there should be blasting, locust, or if there be mildew, and if their enemy oppress them in [any] one of their cities, [with regard to] every calamity, every trouble,
And when the people of this land experience famines, or if there is a plague/illness that causes many people to become sick, or if [their crops are destroyed by] very hot winds or [by] mildew or [by] locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemies surround any of their cities [in order to attack them], if any of those bad things happen to them,
38 every prayer, every supplication whatever shall be made by any man, as they shall know each the plague of his heart, and shall spread abroad his hands to this house,
when your Israeli people earnestly plead with you knowing that they are suffering because they [have sinned], and if they stretch out their arms toward this temple and pray,
39 then shalt thou hearken from heaven, out of thine established dwelling-place, and shalt be merciful, and shalt do, and recompense to [every] man according to his ways, as thou shalt know his heart, for thou alone knowest the heart of all the children of men:
listen to them from your home in heaven, and forgive them, and help them. You are the only one who knows what people are thinking, so act toward everyone as they deserve,
40 that they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.
in order that your people may then have an awesome respect for you, all the years that they live in this land that you gave to our ancestors.
41 And for the stranger who is not of thy people,
There will be some foreigners who do not belong to your Israeli people who have come here from countries far away because they have heard that you are very great and that you perform great miracles. If they come here to this temple to worship you and pray,
42 when they shall come and pray toward this place,
43 then shalt thou hear [them] from heaven, out of thine established dwelling-place, and thou shalt do according to all that the stranger shall call upon thee for, that all the nations may know thy name, and fear thee, as [do] thy people Israel, and may know that thy name has been called on this house which I have builded.
in your home in heaven, listen to their prayers, and do for them what they request you to do. Do that so that all the people-groups in the world will know about you and revere you, like we your Israeli people do. And then they will know that this temple that I have [caused to be] built to honor you, is where you [should be worshiped].
44 [If it be] that thy people shall go forth to war against their enemies in the way by which thou shalt turn them, and pray in the name of the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name,
And if you send your people to go to fight against their enemies, if they pray to you, wherever they are, if they turn toward this city that you have chosen and toward this temple that I have caused to be built for you,
45 then shalt thou hear from heaven their supplication and their prayer, and shalt execute judgment for them.
listen in heaven to their prayers; listen to what they plead for you to do, and assist them.
46 [If it be] that they shall sin against thee, (for there is not a man who will not sin, ) and thou shalt bring them and deliver them up before their enemies, and they that take [them] captive shall carry [them] to a land far or near,
[It is true that] everyone sins. So, if your people sin against you, and you become angry with them, you may allow their enemies to defeat them and capture them and take them away to their enemies’ country, even to countries that are far away.
47 and they shall turn their hearts in the land whither they have been carried captives, and turn in the land of their sojourning, and supplicate thee, saying, We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have transgressed,
If that happens, while they are in those countries to which they were forced to go, if they sincerely repent and plead with you there saying ‘We have sinned and have done things that are very wicked,’
48 and they shall turn to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies whither thou hast carried them captives, and shall pray to thee toward their land which thou hast given to their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:
if they very sincerely repent, and turn toward this land that you gave to our ancestors, and toward this city that you have chosen [to be the place where we should worship you], and toward this temple that I have [caused to be] built for you, and if they pray,
49 then shalt thou hear from heaven thine established dwelling-place,
then from your home in heaven listen to them while they plead [for your help], and assist them.
50 and thou shalt be merciful to their unrighteousness wherein they have trespassed against thee, and according to all their transgressions wherewith they have transgressed against thee, and thou shalt cause them to be pitied before them that carried them captives, and they shall have compassion on them:
Forgive them for all the sins that they [have committed] against you, and cause their enemies to be kind to them.
51 for [they are] thy people and thine inheritance, whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron.
Do not forget that the Israelis are your people; they are your special possession; you brought [our ancestors] out of Egypt where [they were greatly suffering as though] they were in a blazing furnace.
52 And let thine eyes and thine ears be opened to the supplication of thy servant, and to the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken to them in all things for which they shall call upon thee.
I request that you always listen to your Israeli people and to me, their king, and heed their prayers whenever they call out to you [to help them].
53 Because thou hast set them apart for an inheritance to thyself out of all the nations of the earth, as thou spokest by the hand of thy servant Moses, when thou broughtest our fathers out of the land of Egypt, O Lord God.
You chose them from all the other people-groups in the world to belong to you, which is what you told Moses to tell them when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
54 And it came to pass when Solomon had finished praying to the Lord all this prayer and supplication, that he rose up from before the altar of the Lord, [after] having knelt upon his knees, and his hands [were] spread out towards heaven.
After Solomon had finished praying and pleading to Yahweh [for his help], he stood up in front of the altar where he had been kneeling. He lifted up his arms.
55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
Then he [asked God to] bless all the Israeli people. [He prayed] loudly, saying,
56 Blessed [be] the Lord this day, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he said: there has not failed one word among all his good words which he spoke by the hand of his servant Moses.
“Praise Yahweh, who has given us his people peace, like he promised that he would do. He has done every one of the good things that he promised to Moses, the man who served him [very well].
57 May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not desert us nor turn from us,
I pray that our God will be with us like he was with our ancestors, and that he will never abandon us.
58 that he may turn our hearts toward him to walk in all his ways, and to keep all his commandments, and his ordinances which he commanded our fathers.
I pray that he will cause us to loyally serve him, to conduct our lives as he wants us to, and to obey all his commandments and statutes and laws that he gave to our ancestors.
59 And let these words, which I have prayed before the Lord our God, [be] near to the Lord our God day and night, to maintain the cause of thy servant, and the cause of thy people Israel for ever.
I pray that Yahweh our God will never forget these words that I have prayed, pleading for his help; I pray that he will think about them by day and by night. I pray that he will always help [us] Israeli people and me, giving us the things that we need day by day.
60 that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord God, he [is] God, and there is none beside.
If he does that, all the people-groups in the world will know that he is the only one who is God, and that there is no other one who is God.
61 And let our hearts be perfect toward the Lord our God, to walk also holily in his ordinances, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
I pray that you, [his people, ] will always be fully committed to Yahweh, and that you will obey all his statutes and commands, like you are doing now.”
62 And the king and all the children of Israel offered sacrifice before the Lord.
Then the king and all the Israeli people who were there offered sacrifices to Yahweh.
63 And king Solomon offered for the sacrifices of peace-offering which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and hundred and twenty thousand sheep: and the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
They sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then the king and all the people dedicated the temple.
64 In that day the king consecrated the middle of the court in the front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered the whole-burnt-offering, and the sacrifices, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which was before the Lord [was too] little to bear the whole-burnt-offering and the sacrifices of peace-offerings.
On that day, the king also dedicated/set apart the middle part of the courtyard that was in front of the temple. Then he offered sacrifices that would be completely burned [in the courtyard], the offerings of grain and the fat of the animals that were sacrificed to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. They sacrificed them there because the bronze altar was not big enough for all those sacrifices to be burned on it [that day].
65 And Solomon kept the feast in that day, and all Israel with him, even a great assembly from the entering in of Hemath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God in the house which he built, eating and drinking, and rejoicing before the Lord our God seven days.
Then Solomon and all the Israeli people celebrated the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people there, some of whom had come from [distant places like] Hamath [in the far north] and the border of Egypt [in the far south].
66 And on the eighth day he sent away the people: and they blessed the king, and each departed to his tabernacle rejoicing, and [their] heart [was] glad because of the good things which the Lord had done to his servant David, and to Israel his people.
On the eighth day, Solomon sent the people to their homes. They all praised him and went home happy because of all the things that Yahweh had done to bless [King] David and his Israeli people.
