2 Chronicles 7

1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the sky and burned all the offerings and sacrifices [that were on the altar], and the glorious radiance of Yahweh filled the temple.

2 The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD's house.

The radiance [was extremely bright], with the result that the priests could not enter the temple of Yahweh.

3 All the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD was on the house; and they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped, and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "For he is good; for his loving kindness endures for ever."

When all the Israeli people [who were there] saw the fire coming down and the glory of Yahweh above the temple, they prostrated themselves with their faces touching the ground. They worshiped and thanked Yahweh, singing, “Yahweh is always good to us; he faithfully loves us forever.”

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the LORD.

Then the king and all the people who were there dedicated the temple to Yahweh by offering more sacrifices to him. King Solomon gave 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats to be sacrificed.

5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated God's house.

6 The priests stood, according to their positions; the Levites also with instruments of music of the LORD, which David the king had made to give thanks to the LORD, when David praised by their ministry, saying "For his loving kindness endures for ever." The priests sounded trumpets before them; and all Israel stood.

The priests stood in their positions, and the other descendants of Levi stood in their positions holding the musical instruments [to praise] Yahweh, instruments that King David had caused to be made for praising Yahweh and thanking him. [They sang], “He faithfully loves us forever.” Facing the other descendants of Levi the priests stood, blowing their trumpets, while all the Israeli people were standing [and listening].

7 Moreover Solomon made the middle of the court holy that was before the house of the LORD; for there he offered the burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat.

Solomon dedicated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple. Then he gave offerings to be completely burned there along with the fat of the animals to be sacrificed to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. The priests burned them there in the courtyard because in addition to those things there were offerings of grain, with the result that there was not enough space on the bronze altar to burn all those sacrifices.

8 So Solomon held the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt.

Solomon [and the other people] celebrated the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters for seven days. There was a huge group of people who celebrated with him. Some of them came from [as far away as] Lebo-Hamath [in the far north] and the border of Egypt [in the far south].

9 On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

On the eighth/next day they gathered again [to worship Yahweh]. They had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters for seven days.

10 On the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

Then on the next day Solomon sent them to their homes. They were very joyful because of all the good things that Yahweh had done for David and Solomon and for all his Israeli people.

11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and he successfully completed all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house.

Solomon’s [workers] finished building the temple and Solomon’s palace. And Solomon finished doing everything else that he had planned to do.

12 The LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice.

Then Yahweh appeared to him one night [in a dream] and said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this temple to be the place where my people will offer sacrifices to me.

13 If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among my people;

“When I prevent any rain from falling, or when I command locusts to eat all the crops, or when I send a plague among my people,

14 then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

if the people who belong to me humble themselves and pray, and request me to help them, and if they turn away from their sinful behavior, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive them for having sinned and I will cause them to prosper again.

15 Now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive, to the prayer that is made in this place.

I [SYN] will see them and I [SYN] will hear them when they pray to me in this place.

16 For now have I chosen and made this house holy, that my name may be there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

I have chosen and have (set apart/dedicated) this temple in order that people may worship [MTY] me there forever. I will always watch over [MTY] it and protect [IDM] it.

17 As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances;

“And as for you, if you obey me as David your father did, and if you do all that I command you to do, and obey all my laws and decrees,

18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I covenanted with David your father, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.'

I will make sure that your descendants will always be kings, which is what I promised to David your father, saying, ‘Some of your descendants will always be the kings of Israel.’

19 But if you turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

“But if you Israelis turn away from me and disobey the decrees and commands that I have given to you, and you start to worship other gods,

20 then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

I will cause you to be expelled from this land that I have given to you, and I will abandon this temple that I have set apart to be the place where people should worship me. I will cause it to be despised and ridiculed by people of all nations.

21 And this house, which is exalted, will become a heap of ruins. Everyone who passes by it will be astonished, and will say, 'Why has the LORD done this to this land, and to this house?'

Although this temple is now greatly respected, when that happens, all the people who pass by will be appalled, and they will say, ‘Why has Yahweh done terrible things like this to this country and to this temple?’

22 And they shall answer, 'Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and took other gods, worshiped them, and served them. Therefore he has brought all these disasters on them.'"

And others will reply, ‘It happened because they rejected Yahweh, the God to whom their ancestors belonged, the one who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they have been worshiping other gods and trying to please them. And that is why Yahweh has caused them to experience all these disasters.’”