1 Kings 8

1 Then King Salomon assembled the Elders of Israel, euen all the heads of the tribes, the chiefe fathers of the children of Israel vnto him in Ierusalem, for to bring vp the Arke of the couenant of the Lord from the citie of Dauid, which is Zion.

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 the men of Israel assembled vnto King Salomon at the feast in the moneth of Ethanim, which is the seuenth moneth.

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 Elders of Israel came and the Priests tooke the Arke.

When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,

4 They bare the Arke of the Lord, and they bare the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle: those did the Priestes and Leuites bring vp.

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 Salomon and all the Congregation of Israel, that were assembled vnto him, were with him before the Arke, offering sheepe and beeues, which could not be tolde, nor nombred for multitude.

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 So the Priestes brought the Arke of the couenant of the Lord vnto his place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, euen vnder 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 ye Cherubims stretched out their wings ouer the place of the Arke, and the Cherubims couered the Arke, and the barres thereof aboue.

For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.

8 And they drewe out the barres, that the endes of the barres might appeare out of the Sanctuarie before the oracle, but they were not seene without: and there they are vnto 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 Nothing was in the Arke saue the two tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a couenant with the children of Israel, when he brought them 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 when the Priestes were come out of the Sanctuarie, the cloude 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 So that the Priestes could not stande to minister, because of the cloude: for the glorie 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 spake Salomon, The Lord said, that he woulde dwell in the darke cloude.

Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

13 I haue built thee an house to dwell in, an habitation for thee to abide in for euer.

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 Congregation of Israel: for all the Congregation of Israel stoode there.

And as the whole assembly of Israel stood there, the king turned around and blessed them all

15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who spake with his mouth vnto Dauid my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled 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 citie of all the tribes of Israel, to builde an house that my name might be there: but I haue chosen Dauid to be ouer 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 it was in ye heart of Dauid my father to builde an house to the Name of the Lord 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 vnto Dauid my father, Where as it was in thine heart to build an house vnto my Name, thou diddest well, that thou wast so minded:

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 Neuerthelesse thou shalt not builde the house, but thy sonne that shall come out of thy loynes, he shall builde the house vnto 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 And the Lord hath made good his worde that he spake: and I am risen vp in the roume of Dauid my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and haue built the house for the Name of the Lord 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 haue prepared therein a place for the Arke, wherein is the couenant of the Lord which he made with our fathers, whe he brought them out of the lande 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 Then Salomon stoode before the altar of the Lord in the sight of all the Congregation of Israel, and stretched out his handes towarde heauen,

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 sayd, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heauen aboue, or in the earth beneath, thou that keepest couenant and mercie with thy seruants that walke 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 Thou that hast kept with thy seruant Dauid my father, that thou hast promised him: for thou spakest with thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with thine hande, as appeareth this day.

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 Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keepe with thy seruant Dauid my father that thou hast promised him, saying, Thou shalt not want a man in my sight to sit vpon ye throne of Israel: so that thy childre take heed to their way, that they walke 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 nowe, O God of Israel, I pray thee, let thy worde be verified, which thou spakest vnto thy seruant Dauid my father.

And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised to Your servant, my father David.

27 Is it true in deede that God will dwell on the earth? beholde, the heauens, and the heauens of heauens are not able to conteine thee: howe much more vnable is this house that I haue 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 haue thou respect vnto the prayer of thy seruant, and to his supplication, O Lord, my God, to heare the cry and prayer which thy seruant 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 thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, euen towarde the place whereof thou hast said, My Name shalbe there: that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruant prayeth in this place.

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 Heare thou therefore the supplication of thy seruant, and of thy people Israel, which pray in this place, and heare thou in the place of thine habitation, euen in heauen, and when thou hearest, haue mercie.

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 When a man shall trespasse against his neighbour, and he lay vpon him an othe to cause him to sweare, and the swearer shall come before thine altar in this 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 heare thou in heauen, and doe and iudge thy seruants, that thou condemne the wicked to bring his way vpon his head, and iustifie the righteous, to giue him according to his righteousnesse.

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 When thy people Israel shall be ouerthrowen before the enemie, because they haue sinned against thee, and turne againe to thee, and confesse thy Name, and pray and make supplication vnto 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 heare thou in heauen, and be mercifull vnto the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the lande, which thou gauest vnto 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 When heauen shalbe shut vp, and there shalbe no raine because they haue sinned against thee, and shall pray in this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou doest afflict them,

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 heare thou in heauen, and pardon the sinne of thy seruants and of thy people Israel (when thou hast taught the the good way wherein they may walke) and giue raine vpon the land that thou hast giuen to thy people to inherite.

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 When there shalbe famine in the land, when there shalbe pestilence, when there shall be blasting, mildewe, grashopper or caterpiller, when their enemie shall besiege them in the cities of their lande, or any plague, or any sickenesse,

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 Then what prayer, and supplication so euer shalbe made of any man or of all thy people Israel, when euery one shall knowe the plague in his owne heart, and stretch foorth his handes 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 Heare thou then in heauen, in thy dwelling place, and be mercifull, and doe, and giue euery man according to all his wayes, as thou knowest his heart, (for thou only knowest the heartes 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 feare thee as long as they liue in ye lad, which thou gauest vnto our fathers.

so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.

41 Moreouer as touching the stranger that is not of thy people Israel, who shall come out of a farre countrey for thy Names sake,

And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—

42 (When they shall heare of thy great name, and of thy mightie hande, and of thy stretched out arme) and shall come and pray in this house,

for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,

43 Heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth for vnto thee: that all the people of the earth may know thy Name, and feare thee, as do thy people Israel: and that they may know, that thy Name is called vpon in this house which I haue 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 When thy people shall go out to battell against their enemie by the way that thou shalt sende them, and shall pray vnto the Lord towarde the way of the citie which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I haue built for 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 Heare thou then in heauen their prayer and their supplication, and iudge their cause.

then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.

46 If they sinne against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliuer them vnto the enemies, so that they cary them away prisoners vnto the land of the enemies, either farre or neere,

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 Yet if they turne againe vnto their heart in the lande (to the which they be caryed away captiues) and returne and pray vnto thee in the lande of them that caryed them away captiues, saying, We haue sinned, we haue transgressed, and done wickedly,

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 If they turne againe vnto thee with all their heart, and with all their soule in the lande of their enemies, which led them away captiues, and pray vnto thee toward the way of their land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers, and toward the citie which thou hast chosen, and the house, which I haue built for 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 heare thou their prayer and their supplication in heauen thy dwelling place, and iudge their cause,

then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause.

50 And be mercifull vnto thy people that haue sinned against thee, and vnto all their iniquities (wherein they haue transgressed against thee) and cause that they, which led them away captiues, may haue pitie and 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 be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out of Egypt from the middes of the yron fornace.

For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron.

52 Let thine eyes be open vnto the prayer of thy seruant, and vnto the prayer of thy people Israel, to hearken vnto them, in all that they call for vnto 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 diddest separate them to thee from among all people of the earth for an inheritance, as thou saidest by the hand of Moses thy seruant, 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 when Salomon had made an ende of praying all this prayer and supplication vnto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees, and stretching of his handes to heauen,

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 stoode and blessed all the Congregation of Israel with a loud voyce, saying,

And he stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

56 Blessed be the Lord that hath giuen rest vnto his people Israel, according to all that hee promised: there hath not fayled one word of all his good promise which he promised by the hand of Moses his seruant.

“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 vs, as he was with our fathers, that he forsake vs not, neither leaue vs,

May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us.

58 That he may bow our heartes vnto him, that we may walke in all his waies, and keepe his commandements, and his statutes, and his lawes, 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 these my wordes, which I haue prayed before the Lord, be neere vnto the Lord our God day and night, that he defende the cause of his seruant, and the cause of his people Israel alway as the matter requireth,

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 ye earth may knowe, that the Lord is God, and none other.

so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other!

61 Let your heart therefore be perfit with the Lord our God to walke in his statutes, and to keepe his commandements, as 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 Then the King and all Israel with him offred sacrifice before the Lord.

Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.

63 And Salomon offered a sacrifice of peace offrings which he offered vnto the Lord, to wit, two and twentie thousande beeues, and an hundreth and twentie thousande sheepe: so the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house 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 The same day did the King halowe the middle of the court, that was before the house of the Lord: for there he made burnt offerings, and the meate offrings, and the fat of the peace offeringes, because the brasen altar that was before the Lord, was too litle to receiue the burnt offerings, and the meate offerings, and the fat of the peace offrings.

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 Salomon made at that time a feast and all Israel with him, a very great Congregation, euen from the entring in of Hamath vnto the riuer of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seuen dayes and seuen dayes, euen fourteene dayes.

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 the eight day he sent the people away: and they thanked the King and went vnto their tentes ioyous and with glad heart, because of al the goodnesse that the Lord had done for Dauid his seruant, 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.