1 Kings 8

1 Then did Solomon assemble the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the divisions of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

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 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

So all the Israeli leaders came to King Solomon during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, in October.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

When they had all arrived, the priests lifted up the Sacred Chest

4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle: even these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

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 king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

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 brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto its place, into the debir of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim.

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 cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves from above.

The wings of those statues spread out over the Sacred Chest and over the poles by which it was carried.

8 And they had made the staves so long, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place in the front of the debir, but they were not seen without; and they have remained there until this day.

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 save the two tables of stone, which Moses had placed therein at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of 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 were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord:

When the priests came out of the temple, [suddenly] it was filled with a cloud.

11 And the priests were not able to stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

It was the glory/radiance of Yahweh that filled the temple, with the result that the priests were not able to continue their work.

12 Then said Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

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].

13 I have indeed built a dwelling-house for thee, a settled place for thy abode for ever.

I have built for you a magnificent temple, a place for you to live in forever.”

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel; and all the congregation of Israel was standing;

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, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, when he said,

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 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I did not make choice of any city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be therein; but I made choice of 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 David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the 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 But the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy 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 thyself build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto 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 hath fulfilled his word that he hath spoken: and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord hath spoken, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord the 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 assigned there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them forth 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 now placed himself before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth 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, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like thee, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath, thou who keepest the covenant and the kindness for thy servants that walk before thee with all their 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 Who hast kept for thy servant David my father what thou hadst promised him; and thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is 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, the God of Israel, keep for thy servant David my father what thou hast spoken concerning him, saying, There shall never fail thee a man in my sight who sitteth on the throne of Israel; if thy children but take heed to their way 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 God of Israel, I pray thee, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David my father.

So now, God of us Israeli people, cause what you promised to do for my father David, who served you [well], to happen.

27 For in truth will God then dwell on the earth? behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee: how much less then this house that I have built!

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 wilt thou turn thy regard unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen unto the entreaty and unto the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today;

But Yahweh, my God, please listen to me while I am praying to you this day,

29 That thy eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there; that thou mayest listen unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray at this place.

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 listen thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they will pray at this place: and oh, do thou hear in heaven thy dwelling-place; and hear, and forgive.

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 If any man trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy 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 do thou hear in heaven, and act, and judge thy servants, by condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and by justifying the righteous, to give 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 are struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and they return then to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee 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 do thou hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and cause them to return unto the land which thou hast given unto 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 heavens be shut up, and there be no rain, because they have sinned against thee, and they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, because thou hast afflicted 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 do thou hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel; for thou wilt teach them the good way wherein they should walk; and give then rain upon thy land, 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 be a famine in the land, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, or if there be locust, caterpillar, if their enemy besiege them in the land of their gates; at whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness;

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 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall be conscious every man of the plague of his own heart, and he then spread forth his hands toward 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 do thou hear in heaven the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and act, and give to every man in accordance with all his ways, as thou mayest know his heart; for thou, thyself 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 In order that they may fear thee all the days that they live on the face of the land which thou hast given unto 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 But also to the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far-off country for the sake of thy name;

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 For they will hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy outstretched arm; when he will come and pray at this house:

43 Mayest thou listen in heaven the place of thy dwelling, and do according to all that the stranger will call on thee for; in order that all the nations of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as [do] thy people Israel; and that they may understand that this house, which I have built, is called by thy name.

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 thy people go out to battle against their enemy, on the way on which thou mayest send them, and they do pray unto the Lord in the direction of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the house that I have built for 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 hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and procure them justice.

listen in heaven to their prayers; listen to what they plead for you to do, and assist them.

46 If they sin against thee, [for there is no man that may not sin, ] and thou be angry with them, and give them up before the enemy, so that their captors carry them away captive unto the land of the enemy, [be it] 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 if they then take it to their heart in the land whither they have been carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly;

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 return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who have led them away captive, and they pray unto thee in the direction of their land, which thou hast given unto their fathers, of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the house which I have built for 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 hear thou in heaven the place of thy dwelling their prayer and their supplication, and procure them justice;

then from your home in heaven listen to them while they plead [for your help], and assist them.

50 And forgive thy people for what they have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions whereby they have transgressed against thee, and cause them to find mercy before their captors, that they may have mercy 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 thy heritage, whom thou hast brought forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace;

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 That thy eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to listen unto them in all for which they call unto 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 For thou hast separated them unto thee as a heritage from all the people of the earth, as thou spokest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest forth our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Eternal.

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 happened, that, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord from kneeling on his knees, with his hands spread out toward 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 up, 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, who hath given rest unto his people Israel, in accordance with all that he hath spoken: [so that] there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he spoke by the hand of Moses his servant.

“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 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; oh may he not leave us, nor forsake 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 incline our heart unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, 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 may these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel in their daily requirements;

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 In order that all the nations of the earth may know that the Lord is the [true] God, and none else.

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 Let your heart therefore be entire with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, 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 Israel with him, offered sacrifices before the Lord.

Then the king and all the Israeli people who were there offered sacrifices to Yahweh.

63 And Solomon offered [as] the sacrifice of peace-offering which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. And thus did the king and all the children of Israel dedicate 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 On the same day did the king hallow the interior of the court that was before the house of the Lord; for he prepared there the burnt-offerings, and the meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings; because the copper altar that was before the Lord was too small to contain the burnt-offerings, and the meat-offerings, and the fat of the 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 held at that time the feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Chamath unto the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen 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 On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king; and they went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart, because of all the good that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for 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.