2 Chronicles 6
1 Then Solomon said, “YHWH said [He would] dwell in thick darkness,
Then Solomon spoke, “The Lord said that he lives in deep darkness.
2 and I have built a house of habitation for You, and a fixed place for Your dwelling for all ages.”
However, I have built you a magnificent Temple, a place for you to live forever.”
3 And the king turns around his face, and blesses the whole assembly of Israel, and the whole assembly of Israel is standing,
Then the king turned and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, as they all stood.
4 and he says, “Blessed [is] YHWH, God of Israel, who has spoken with His mouth with my father David, and with His hands has fulfilled [it], saying,
He said, “Praise the Lord God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father David when he said,
5 From the day that I brought out My people from the land of Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of any of the tribes of Israel to build a house for my name being there, and I have not fixed on a man to be leader over My people Israel;
‘Ever since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a town from any tribe of Israel where a Temple could be built to honor me, and I have not chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel.
6 and I fix on Jerusalem for My Name being there, and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.
But now I have chosen Jerusalem so that I will be honored there, and I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.’
7 And it is with the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of YHWH God of Israel,
My father David really wanted to build this Temple to honor the Lord, the God of Israel.
8 and YHWH says to my father David, Because that it has been with your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well that it has been with your heart,
But the Lord told my father David, ‘You really wanted to build me a Temple to honor me—and it was good for you to want to do this.
9 but you do not build the house, for your son who comes forth out from your loins, he builds the house for My Name.
But you are not going to build the Temple. Your son, one of your children, will build the Temple to honor me.’
10 And YHWH establishes His word that He spoke, and I rise up in the stead of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as YHWH spoke, and I build the house for the Name of YHWH, God of Israel,
Now the Lord has kept the promise he made. For I have taken the place of my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord said, and I have built the Temple to honor the Lord God of Israel.
11 and I place the Ark there, where the covenant of YHWH [is] that He made with the sons of Israel.”
I have placed the Ark there, which has inside it the agreement the Lord made with the sons of Israel.”
12 And he stands before the altar of YHWH, in front of all the assembly of Israel, and spreads out his hand—
Then Solomon stood in front of the altar of the Lord before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands in prayer.
13 for Solomon has made a scaffold of bronze, and puts it in the midst of the court, five cubits its length, and five cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height, and he stands on it, and kneels on his knees in front of all the assembly of Israel, and spreads forth his hands toward the heavens—
Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. He had set it in the middle of the courtyard, and he was standing on it. Then he knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven.
14 and says, “O YHWH God of Israel, there is not like You a god in the heavens and in the earth, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Your servants who are walking before You with all their heart;
He said, “Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth, keeping your agreement of trustworthy love with your servants who follow you with complete devotion.
15 who has kept for Your servant, my father David, that which You spoke to him; indeed, You speak with Your mouth, and with Your hand have fulfilled [it], as at this day.
You have kept the promise you made to your servant, my father David. With your own mouth you made that promise, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today.
16 And now, O YHWH, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, that which You spoke to him, saying, A man of yours is never cut off from before My face, sitting on the throne of Israel—only, if your sons watch their way to walk in My law, as you have walked before Me.
So now, Lord God of Israel, please keep the promise you made to your servant David, my father, when you told him, ‘If your descendants pay close attention to follow my way, and to keep my law as you have done, you will never fail to have one of them to sit on the throne of Israel.’
17 And now, O YHWH, God of Israel, let Your word be steadfast that You have spoken to Your servant, to David.
Now, Lord God of Israel, please fulfill this promise you made to your servant David.
18 For is it true [that] God dwells with man on the earth? Behold, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens, do not contain You, how much less this house that I have built?
But will God really live here on earth among people? The heavens, even highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this Temple I have built!
19 And You have turned to the prayer of Your servant, and to his supplication, O YHWH my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer that Your servant is praying before You,
Please listen to the prayer of your servant and his request, Lord my God. Please hear the appeals and the prayers that your servant is presenting before you.
20 for Your eyes being open toward this house by day and by night, toward the place that You have said to put Your Name there, to listen to the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
May you watch over this Temple day and night, caring for the place where you said you would be honored. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place,
21 And You have listened to the supplications of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, that they pray toward this place, and You hear from the place of Your dwelling, from the heavens, and have listened, and forgiven.
and hear the request of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Please hear from heaven where you live. May you hear and forgive.
22 If a man sins against his neighbor, and he has lifted up an oath on him to cause him to swear, and the oath has come in before Your altar in this house—
When someone sins against another and is required to take an oath declaring the truth before your altar in this Temple,
23 then You hear from the heavens, and have done, and have judged Your servants, to give back to the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness.
listen from heaven, act and judge your servants. Pay back the guilty; vindicate and reward those who do right.
24 And if Your people Israel is struck before an enemy because they sin against You, and they have turned back and confessed Your Name, and prayed and made supplication before You in this house—
When your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they come back in repentance to you, praying for forgiveness in this Temple,
25 then You hear from the heavens and have forgiven the sin of Your people Israel, and caused them to return to the ground that You have given to them, and to their fathers.
then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave them and their forefathers.
26 In the heavens being restrained and there is no rain because they sin against You, and they have prayed toward this place and confessed Your Name, [and] they turn back from their sin because You afflict them—
If the skies are closed shut and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and if they come back in repentance to you, turning away from their sin because you have punished them,
27 then You hear in the heavens, and have forgiven the sin of Your servants, and of Your people Israel, because You direct them to the good way in which they walk, and have given rain on Your land that You have given to Your people for an inheritance.
then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the good way so that they can walk on it, and send rain on the earth that you have given to your people as their possession.
28 Famine, when it is in the land, [and] pestilence, when it is [in the land], blasting and mildew, locust and caterpillar, when they are [in the land], when its enemies have distressed it in the land—its gates, any plague and any sickness;
If there is famine in the land, or disease, or blight or mildew on the crops, or if there are locusts or caterpillars, or if an enemy comes to lay siege to the towns in the land—it can be whatever kind of plague or whatever kind of disease—
29 any prayer, any supplication that is for any man, and for all Your people Israel, when they each know his own plague, and his own pain, and he has spread out his hands toward this house—
then whatever kind of prayer or whatever kind of appeal is made by anyone or all your people Israel, in fact anyone who, knowing their problems and pains, prays toward this Temple,
30 then You hear from the heavens, the settled place of Your dwelling, and have forgiven, and have given to each according to all his ways (because You know his heart, for You alone have known the heart of the sons of men),
then hear from heaven, the place where you live, and forgive. Give according to the way they live their lives, for you know what people are really like inside, and you alone know the true character of people.
31 so that they fear You, to walk in Your ways, all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that You have given to our fathers.
Then they will respect you and follow your ways all the time they live in the land you gave to our forefathers.
32 And also, to the stranger who is not of Your people Israel, and he has come from a far-off land for the sake of Your great Name, and Your strong hand, and Your outstretched arm, and they have come in and prayed toward this house—
As for the foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel but who come from a distant land, having heard of your great nature and power and ability to help, when they come and pray toward this Temple,
33 then You hear from the heavens, from the settled place of Your dwelling, and have done according to all that the stranger calls to You for, so that all the peoples of the earth know Your Name, so as to fear You, as Your people Israel, and to know that Your Name is called on this house that I have built.
then hear from heaven, the place where you live, and give them what they're asking. That way, everyone on earth will come to know and respect you, just as your own people Israel do. They will also know that this Temple I have built honors you.
34 When Your people go out to battle against its enemies in the way that You send them, and they have prayed to You [in] the way of this city that You have fixed on, and the house that I have built for Your Name—
When your people go to fight against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you towards the city you have chosen and the house I have built to honor you,
35 then You have heard their prayer and their supplication from the heavens, and have maintained their cause.
then hear from heaven what they are praying and asking for, and support their cause.
36 When they sin against You—for there is not a man who does not sin—and You have been angry with them, and have given them before an enemy, and their captors have taken them captive to a land far off or near;
If they sin against you—and there is nobody who does not sin—you may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy who takes them away as prisoners to a foreign land, near or far.
37 and they have turned [it] back to their heart in the land to where they have been taken captive, and have turned back and made supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have done wickedly;
But if they think again in their land of captivity and repent and plead for mercy from you, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly,’
38 indeed, they have turned back to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to where they have taken them captive, and they have prayed [in] the way of their land that You have given to their fathers, and of the city that You have chosen, and of the house that I have built for Your Name—
and they come back to you with complete sincerity in their thoughts and attitudes there in their land of captivity; and they pray towards the land you gave their forefathers and the city you chose and the Temple I have built to honor you,
39 then You have heard from the heavens, from the settled place of Your dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and have maintained their cause, and forgiven Your people who have sinned against You.
then hear from heaven, the place where you live, respond and support their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you.
40 Now my God, I implore You, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.
Now my God, please open your eyes, and may your ears pay attention to the prayers offered in this place.
41 And now, rise, O YHWH God, to Your rest, You and the Ark of Your strength; Your priests, O YHWH God, are clothed with salvation, and Your saints rejoice in the goodness.
‘Come, Lord, and enter your home, together with your Ark of power. May your priests wear salvation like clothing; may your faithful people shout for joy in your goodness.
42 O YHWH God, do not turn back the face of Your anointed, be mindful of the kind acts of Your servant David.”
Lord God, don't reject the king you have chosen. Remember your trustworthy love for your servant David.’”
