2 Chronicles 5

1 Then Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had vowed, the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, which he placed in the treasuries of the house of God.

When all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was completed, Solomon brought in the things that David, his father, had set apart for this purpose, including the silver, the gold, and all the furnishings—he placed them into the treasuries of the house of God.

2 After this, he gathered together those greater by birth of Israel, and all the leaders of the tribes, and the heads of the families, from the sons of Israel, to Jerusalem, so that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion.

3 And so, all the men of Israel went to the king, on the solemn day of the seventh month.

All the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

4 And when all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites carried the ark,

All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

5 and they brought it in, along with all the equipment of the tabernacle. Then too, the priests with the Levites carried the vessels of the sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle.

They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tent. The priests who were of the tribe of Levi brought these things up.

6 Now king Solomon, and the entire assembly of Israel, and all who had gathered together before the ark, were immolating rams and oxen without any number, for so great was the multitude of the victims.

King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel came together before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted.

7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, that is, to the oracle of the temple, in the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim,

The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner room of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim.

8 so that the cherubim extended their wings over the place where the ark was positioned, and they covered the ark itself and its bars.

For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and they covered the ark and the poles by which it was carried.

9 But concerning the bars by which the ark was carried, because they were a little longer, the ends were able to be seen before the oracle. Yet truly, if anyone were a little ways toward the exterior, he would not be able to see them. And so the ark has been in that place, even to the present day.

The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner room, but they could not be seen from outside. They are there to this day.

10 And there was nothing else in the ark, except the two tablets, which Moses had placed there at Horeb when the Lord gave the law to the sons of Israel, at the departure from Egypt.

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

11 And having gone out from the Sanctuary, the priests (for all the priests who were able to be found there were sanctified, and in that time the turns and orders of the ministries had not yet been divided among them)

It came about that the priests came out of the holy place. All the priests who were present had consecrated themselves to Yahweh, not ordering themselves according to their divisions.

12 with both the Levites and the singing men, that is, those who were under Asaph, and those who were under Heman, and those who were under Jeduthun, with their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen, sounded out with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, standing toward the eastern side of the altar. And with them were one hundred twenty priests, sounding out with trumpets.

Also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood at the east end of the altar. With them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.

13 And when they all sounded out together, with trumpets, and voice, and cymbals, and pipes, and with various kinds of musical instruments, lifting their voice on high, the sound was heard from far away, so that when they had begun to praise the Lord, and to say, “Confess to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy is eternal,” the house of God was filled with a cloud.

It came about that the trumpeters and singers made music together, making one sound to be heard for praising and thanking Yahweh. They raised their voices with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments, and they praised Yahweh. They sang, “For he is good, for his covenant loyalty endures forever.” Then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud.

14 Neither were the priests able to stand and to minister, because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

The priests could not stand in order to serve because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled his house.