2 Chronicles 6
1 Then Salomon sayd, The Lord hath sayde that he would dwell in the darke cloude:
Then Solomon said, “Yahweh, you said that you would live in a dark cloud.
2 And I haue built thee an house to dwell in, an habitation for thee to dwell in for euer.
But now I have built a glorious temple for you to live in forever!”
3 And the King turned his face, and blessed all the Congregation of Israel (for all the Congregation of Israel stoode there)
Then while all the people stood there, Solomon turned toward the people and he [asked God to] bless them.
4 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,
He said to them, “Praise Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, who has caused to happen what he promised to my father David. What he said to David was this:
5 Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no citie of al the tribes of Israel to buylde an house, that my Name might be there, neyther chose I any man to be a ruler ouer my people Israel:
‘From the time that I brought my people out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city in Israel in which a temple should be built for people to [worship] me there. Nor did I choose anyone to be the leader of my Israeli people.
6 But I haue chosen Ierusalem, that my Name might be there, and haue chosen Dauid to be ouer my people Israel.
But now I have chosen Jerusalem to be the place for people to worship me, and I have chosen you to rule my Israeli people.’”
7 And it was in the heart of Dauid my father to builde an house vnto the Name of the Lord God of Israel,
[Then Solomon said], “My father David wanted to build a temple for Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong.
8 But the Lord sayde to Dauid my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to buylde an house vnto my Name, thou diddest well, that thou wast so minded.
But Yahweh said to him, ‘You have wanted to build a temple for me, and what you wanted to do was good.
9 Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house, but thy sonne which shall come out of thy loynes, he shall buylde an house vnto my Name.
However, you are not the one who I want to build the temple; it is one of your own sons who [I want to] build a temple for me.’
10 And the Lord hath performed his worde that he spake: and I am risen vp in the roume of Dauid my father, and am set on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised, and haue built an house to the Name of the Lord God of Israel.
“And Yahweh has done what he promised to do. I have become the king of Israel to succeed my father, and I am ruling the people, like Yahweh promised, and I have arranged for this temple to be built for us to worship Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong.
11 And I haue set the Arke there, wherein is the couenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.
I have put the Sacred Chest in the temple, in which are the stone tablets [on which are engraved the Ten Commandments of] the agreement that Yahweh made with us Israeli people.”
12 And the King stoode before the altar of the Lord, in the presence of all the Congregation of Israel, and stretched out his hands,
Then Solomon stood in front of the altar which was in front of the people of Israel who had gathered there.
13 (For Salomon had made a brasen skaffold and set it in the middes of the court, of fiue cubites long, and fiue cubites broade, and three cubites of height, and vpon it he stoode, and kneeled downe vpon his knees before all the Congregation of Israel, and stretched out his hands toward heauen)
His workers had built a bronze platform there [for him to stand on], which was 7-1/2 feet long and 7-1/2 feet wide and 4-1/2 feet high. They put it in the outer courtyard. Solomon stood on that platform and then knelt down in front of all the people of Israel who had gathered there, and he spread out his arms toward heaven,
14 And sayd, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heauen nor in earth, which keepest couenant, and mercie vnto thy seruants, that walke before thee with all their heart.
and he prayed, “Yahweh, the God to whom we Israeli people belong, there is no God like you in heaven or 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.
15 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 hand, as appeareth 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 those things for him, and today we see that by your power you have caused it all to happen.
16 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, that shall sit vpon the throne of Israel: so that thy sonnes take heede to their wayes, to walke in my Lawe, as thou hast walked before me.
“So now, Yahweh, the God we Israelis belong to, please do the things that you promised to my father David that you would do. You said that there would always be some of his descendants to rule Israel, if they faithfully conduct their lives as he did.
17 And now, O Lord God of Israel, let thy worde be verified, which thou spakest vnto thy seruant Dauid.
So now, God of us Israeli people, cause what you promised David, who served you [well], to happen.
18 (Is it true in deede that God will dwell with man on earth? beholde, the heauens, and the heauens of heauens are not able to conteine thee: how much more vnable is this house, which I haue buylt?)
“But, my God, will you really live on earth among people? 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.
19 But haue thou respect to the prayer of thy seruant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to heare the crye and prayer which thy seruant prayeth before thee,
But Yahweh, my God, please listen to my prayer, while I am pleading with you this day and do what I am requesting.
20 That thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, euen toward the place, whereof thou hast sayde, that thou wouldest put thy Name there, that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer, which thy seruant prayeth in this place.
Please protect this temple day and night. This is the place about which you have said, ‘I will always be there.’ Please listen to my prayer about this place.
21 Heare thou therefore the supplication of thy seruant, and of thy people Israel, which they pray in this place: and heare thou in the place of thine habitation, euen in heauen, and when thou hearest, be mercifull.
Listen to me when I pray, and listen to your Israeli people when they pray. Listen from heaven, where you live; and when you hear us pray, forgive us.
22 When a man shall sinne against his neighbour, and he laye vpon him an othe to cause him to sweare, and the swearer shall come before thine altar in this house,
“If someone is accused of doing something wrong to another person, and they bring him to testify in front of 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,’
23 Then heare thou in heauen, and doe, and iudge thy seruants, in recompensing the wicked to bring his way vpon his head, and in iustifying the righteous, to giue him according to his righteousnes.
then you listen from heaven, and you 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.
24 And when thy people Israel shalbe ouerthrowen before the enemie, because they haue sinned against thee, and turne againe, and confesse thy Name, and pray, and make supplication before thee in this house,
“And when your Israeli people are defeated by their enemies because they sinned against you, [and 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 plead [that you will forgive them],
25 Then heare thou in heauen, and be mercifull vnto the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the land which thou gauest to them and 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.
26 When heauen shall be shut vp, and there shalbe no rayne, 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 you do not allow any rain to fall because your people have sinned against you, if they turn toward this temple and admit [that] you [have justly punished them], and turn away from their sinful behavior and humbly pray to you,
27 Then heare thou in heauen, and pardon the sinne of thy seruants, and of thy people Israel (when thou hast taught them the good way wherein they may walke) and giue rayne vpon thy lande, which thou hast giuen vnto thy people for an inheritance.
hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your Israeli people. Teach them the right way to conduct their lives. Then cause it to rain here on the land that you gave to your people to belong to them [permanently].
28 When there shalbe famine in the land, when there shalbe pestilence, blasting, or mildew, when there shall be grashopper, or caterpiller, when their enemie shall besiege them in the cities of their land, or any plague or any sickenesse,
“And when the people of this land experience famines or if there is a plague, or when 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,
29 Then what prayer and supplication so euer shalbe made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, whe euery one shall knowe his owne plague, and his owne disease, and shall stretch forth his hands toward this house,
when your Israeli people earnestly plead with you, knowing in their inner beings that they are suffering [because they have sinned], if they stretch out their hands toward this temple and pray,
30 Heare thou then in heauen, thy dwelling place, and be merciful, and giue euery man according vnto all his wayes, as thou doest knowe his heart (for thou onely knowest the hearts of the children of men)
hear from your home in heaven, and forgive them. You alone know what each person is thinking, so reward each person according to everything that he does,
31 That they may feare thee, and walke in thy wayes as long as they liue in the land which thou gauest vnto our fathers.
in order that they will revere you and conduct their lives as you want them to, all the time that they live in this land that you gave to our ancestors.
32 Moreouer, as touching ye stranger which is not of thy people Israel, who shall come out of a farre countrey for thy great Names sake, and thy mighty hande, and thy stretched out arme: when they shall come and pray in this house,
“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 turn toward this temple and pray,
33 Heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and doe according to all that the stranger calleth for vnto thee, that all the people of the earth may knowe thy Name, and feare thee like thy people Israel, and that they may knowe, that thy Name is called vpon in this house which I haue built.
from your home in heaven listen to their prayer, and do for them what they request you to do. Do that in order that all the people-groups in the world will know about you and revere you, like we, your own Israeli people do. And then they will know that this is the temple that I have caused to be built for you.
34 When thy people shall goe out to battell against their enemies, by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee, in the way towarde this citie, which thou hast chosen, euen toward the house which I haue built to thy Name,
“When you send your people to go to places to attack 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 to honor you,
35 Then heare thou in heauen their prayer and their supplication, and iudge their cause.
listen in heaven to their prayers; listen to what they plead for you [to do], and assist them.
36 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, and they take them and cary them away captiue vnto a land farre or neere,
[“It is true that] everyone sins. So, when your people sin against you, and you become angry with them, you may allow their enemies to capture them and take them to their countries, even to countries that are far away.
37 If they turne againe to their heart in the lande whither they be caryed in captiues, and turne and pray vnto thee in the lande of their captiuitie, saying, We haue sinned, we haue transgressed and haue done wickedly,
When that happens, while they are in the countries to which they were forced to go, if they are sorry for having sinned, if they say, ‘We have sinned; we have done things that are wrong and have done things that are very wicked,’
38 If they turne againe to thee with all their heart, and with all their soule in the land of their captiuitie, whither they haue caryed them captiues, and pray toward their land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers, and toward the citie which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I haue built for thy Name,
if they repent very sincerely, and if they 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 pray,
39 Then heare thou in heauen, in the place of thine habitation their prayer and their supplication, and iudge their cause, and be mercifull vnto thy people, which haue sinned against thee.
then from your home in heaven hear their prayer, and listen to them while they plead [for your help], and do what they ask you to do, and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
40 Nowe my God, I beseech thee, let thine eyes be open, and thine eares attent vnto the prayer that is made in this place.
“Now, my God, look at us and listen to us as we pray to you in this place.
41 Nowe therefore arise, O Lord God, to come into thy rest, thou, and the Arke of thy strength: O Lord God, let thy Priestes be clothed with saluation, and let thy Saints reioyce in goodnesse.
Yahweh our God, come and stay in this place with the Sacred Chest, the chest that shows that you are powerful. Yahweh God, cause your priests to know clearly that you have blessed them. Cause us your people to rejoice because of all the good things [that you do for us].
42 O Lord God, refuse not the face of thine anoynted: remember the mercies promised to Dauid thy seruant.
Yahweh God, do not reject me [the king] whom you have appointed [to be the king of Israel]; do not forget that you greatly loved David, who served you [very well].”
