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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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

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

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

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,

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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;

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;

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.

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.

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.

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!

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;

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.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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;

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:

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;

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.

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;

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.

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:

45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and procure them justice.

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;

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;

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:

49 Then hear thou in heaven the place of thy dwelling their prayer and their supplication, and procure them justice;

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;

51 For they are thy people, and thy heritage, whom thou hast brought forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron 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;

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.

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.

55 And he stood up, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, 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.

57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; oh may he not leave us, nor forsake 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.

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;

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

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.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before the Lord.

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.

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.

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.

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.