1 Kings 8
1 Then all the ancients of Israel with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel were assembled to king Solomon in Jerusalem: that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion.
At that time Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.
2 And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon on the festival day in the month of Ethanim, the same is the seventh month.
And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim.
3 And all the ancients of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark,
When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,
4 And carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle: and the priests and the Levites carried them.
and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up.
5 And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that were assembled unto him went with him before the ark, and they sacrificed sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered.
There, before the ark, King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled with him sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the temple, into the holy of holies under the wings of the cherubims.
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
7 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and covered the art, and the staves thereof above.
For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
8 And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen without in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther out, and there they have been unto this day.
The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.
9 Now in the ark there was nothing else but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord,
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
11 And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
12 Then Solomon said: The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud.
Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
13 Building I have built a house for thy dwelling, to be thy most firm throne for ever.
I have indeed built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”
14 And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: for all the assembly of Israel stood.
And as the whole assembly of Israel stood there, the king turned around and blessed them all
15 And Solomon said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and with his own hands hath accomplished it, saying:
and said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,
16 Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built, that my name might be there: but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
17 And David my father would have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel:
Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
18 And the Lord said to David my father: Whereas thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind.
But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.
19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build me a house, but thy son, that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.
Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’
20 The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke: and I stand in the room of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel.
Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
And there I have provided a place for the ark, which contains the covenant of the LORD that He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven;
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,
23 And said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above, or on earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that have walked before thee with all their heart.
and said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, keeping Your covenant of loving devotion with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.
24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father what thou hast promised him: with thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou hast performed, as this day proveth.
You have kept Your promise to Your servant, my father David. What You spoke with Your mouth You have fulfilled with Your hand this day.
25 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father what thou hast spoken to him, saying: There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight, to sit on the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight.
Therefore now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, what You promised when You said: ‘You will never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants guard their way to walk before Me as you have done.’
26 And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David my father.
And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised to Your servant, my father David.
27 Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? for if heaven, and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?
But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
28 But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day:
Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
29 That thy eyes may be open upon this house night and day: upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth in this place to thee.
May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
30 That thou mayest hearken to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, shew them mercy.
Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound: and come because of the oath before thy altar to thy house,
When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple,
32 Then hear thou in heaven: and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head, and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice.
then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
33 If thy people Israel shall fly before their enemies, (because they will sin against thee, ) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name, shall come, and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house:
When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading with You in this temple,
34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.
then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.
35 If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions:
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,
36 Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and shew them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession.
then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
37 If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew, if their enemy afflict them besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity,
When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,
38 Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house,
then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—
39 Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men)
be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—
40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.
so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
41 Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name’s sake, (for they shall hear everywhere of thy great name and thy mighty hand,
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—
42 And thy stretched out arm, ) so when he shall come, and shall pray in this place,
for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
43 Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel, and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I have built.
then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.
44 If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by what way soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way of the city, which thou hast chosen, and towards the house, which I have built to thy name:
When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name,
45 And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them.
then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.
46 But if they sin against thee (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies far or near;
When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near,
47 Then if they do penance in their heart in the place of captivity, and being converted make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness:
and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’
48 And return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they had been led captives: and pray to thee towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have built to thy name:
and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name,
49 Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them:
then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause.
50 And forgive thy people, that have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.
May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
51 For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.
For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron.
52 That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall call upon thee.
May Your eyes be open to the pleas of Your servant and of Your people Israel, and may You listen to them whenever they call to You.
53 For thou hast separated them to thyself for an inheritance from among all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
For You, O Lord GOD, as Your inheritance, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
54 And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had spread his hands towards heaven.
Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a, loud voice, saying:
And he stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
56 Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed so much as one word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses.
“Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.
57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off:
May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us.
58 But may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments which he commanded our fathers.
May He incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances He commanded our fathers.
59 And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, he nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may do judgment for his servant, and for his people Israel day by day:
And may these words with which I have made my petition before the LORD be near to the LORD our God day and night, so that He may uphold the cause of His servant and of His people Israel as each day requires,
60 That all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.
so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other!
61 Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments, as at this day.
So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”
62 And the king, and all Israel him, offered victims before the Lord.
Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.
63 And Solomon slew victims of peace offerings, which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king, and the children of Israel dedicated the temple of the Lord.
And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.
64 In that day the king sanctified the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered the holocaust, and sacrifice, and fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receive the holocaust, and sacrifice, and fat of the peace offerings.
On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.
65 And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him, a great multitude from the entrance of Emath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days.
So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more days—fourteen days in all.
66 And on the eighth day he sent away the people: and they blessed the king, and went to their dwellings rejoicing, and glad in heart for all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
On the fifteenth day Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel.
