2 Chronicles 6

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

Then Solomon said, “Yahweh, you said that you would live in a dark cloud.

2 And I have indeed built a dwelling-house for thee, and have settled a place for thy abode for ever.”

But now I have built a glorious temple for you to live in forever!”

3 And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel was standing.

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

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 forth my people out of the land 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; nor did I make choice of any man to be a ruler over my people of 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 have made choice of Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and I have made choice of David to be over 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 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 for Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong.

8 But the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well in 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.

9 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 the temple; it is one of your own sons who [I want to] build a temple for me.’

10 And the Lord hath fulfilled his word that he hath spoken; and I am risen up in the stead of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord hath spoken, and I have built the house unto the name of the Lord the 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 have placed there the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord which he hath 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 he now placed himself before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth 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 Solomon had made a laver of copper, and had placed it in the midst of the out-court, five cubits being its length, five cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height; and he placed himself upon it, and kneeled down upon his knees in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;

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 he said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like thee in the heavens, or on the earth, 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 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 Who has kept for thy servant David my father that which 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 those things for him, and today we see that by your power you have caused it all to happen.

16 And now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for thy servant David my father that which 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 in my law, 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, the God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant, unto David.

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

18 For, in truth, will God then dwell with men 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, 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 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 the prayer which thy servant 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 thy eyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place of which thou hast said that thou wouldst put thy name there; that thou mayest listen unto the prayer which thy servant will pray at 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 And listen thou to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they will pray at this place: and oh, do thou hear from thy dwelling-place, from heaven; and hear, and forgive.

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 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 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 do thou hear from heaven, and act, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

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 if thy people Israel be struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and they return and confess 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 do thou hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and cause them to return unto the land which thou hast given 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 the heavens be shut up, and there he 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:

“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 do thou hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel; for thou wilt direct them unto the good way, wherein they should walk; and give then rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto 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 If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, blasting, or mildew, if there be locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in their land, in their gates at whatsoever plague, and at whatsoever sickness;

“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 What prayer and what supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, when they shall be conscious every man of his plague and his pain, and he then spread 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 Then do thou hear from heaven the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, 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 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 In order that they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, all the days that they live on the face of the land which thou hast given unto 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 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 great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy outstretched arm, — if they 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 Mayest thou likewise listen from heaven, from the place of thy dwelling, and do according to all that the stranger will call on thee for: in order that all people of the earth may know thy name, both to fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and to understand that this house, which I have built, is called by thy name.

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 If thy people go out to battle against their enemies on the way on which thou mayest send them, and they do pray unto thee in the direction of this city which thou hast chosen, and of the house that I have built unto 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 hear thou from 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.

36 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 a land far off or near;

[“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 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 captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, and have acted 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 And they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have been carried captive, and they pray in the direction of their land, which thou hast given unto their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built unto 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 hear thou from heaven, from the place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and procure them justice, and forgive thy people for what they have 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 Now, my God, let I beseech thee, thy eyes be open, and thy ears be attentive unto the prayer on this place.

“Now, my God, look at us and listen to us as we pray to you in this place.

41 And now arise, O Lord God, unto thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, clothe themselves with salvation, and let thy pious servants rejoice in happiness.

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, turn not away the face of thy anointed: remember the pious deeds of David thy servant.

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].”