2 Chronicles 6
1 Then, said Solomon, —Yahweh, said, that he would make his habitation in thick gloom;
Then Solomon said, “Yahweh, you said that you would live in a dark cloud.
2 But, I, have built a house as a home for thee, —A settled place for thee to abide in, for ages.
But now I have built a glorious temple for you to live in forever!”
3 And the king turned about his face, and blessed all the convocation of Israel, —while, all the convocation 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 Yahweh, God of Israel, who spake with his mouth, unto David my father, -and, with his hand, hath fulfilled, saying:
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 From the day I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I made choice of no city, out of all the tribes of Israel, for building a house, where my Name might be, —neither made I choice of any man, to be chief ruler over my people 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 nevertheless I have made choice of Jerusalem, that my Name might be there, —and I have made choice of David, that he might 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 so it came to pass, that it was near the heart of David my father, —to build a house, to the Name of Yahweh, God of Israel.
[Then Solomon said], “My father David wanted to build a temple for Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong.
8 Then said Yahweh unto David my father, Because it was near thy heart to build a house for my Name, thou didst well that it was near 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 Only, thou thyself, must not build the house, —but, thine own son, that proceedeth out of thy loins—he, shall build the house for 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 So then Yahweh hath established his word, which he spake, —and I have been raised up instead of David my father, and have taken my seat upon the throne of Israel, as spake Yahweh, and have built the house to the Name of Yahweh, 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 have put there, the ark, —wherein is the covenant of Yahweh, —which he solemnised with the sons 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 Then stood he before the altar of Yahweh, in the presence of all the convocation 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 platform of bronze, and had set it in the midst of the enclosure, five cubits, the length thereof, and, five cubits, the breadth thereof, and, three cubits, the height thereof, -and he stood thereon, and knelt upon his knees, in the presence of all the convocation of Israel, and spread forth his hands, heavenward;
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 said, O Yahweh! God of Israel, Not like unto thee, is there a god, in the heavens, or throughout the earth, —who keepest Covenant and Lovingkindness for thy servants who are walking 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 hast kept, for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, —in that thou didst promise with thy mouth, and, with thy hand, hast fulfilled, 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 Now, therefore, O Yahweh—God of Israel, keep thou, for thy servant David my father, that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not be cut off to thee a man, from before me, to sit upon the throne of Israel, if only, thy sons 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 Now, therefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, -verified be thy promise, which thou didst make unto thy servant David.
So now, God of us Israeli people, cause what you promised David, who served you [well], to happen.
18 But, in very deed, will God dwell with man on the earth? Lo! the heavens, even the leaven of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which 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 Wilt thou then turn unto the prayer of thy servant and unto his supplication, O Yahweh my God, —to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer, wherewith thy servant is praying 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 thine eyes may be open toward this house, day and night, toward the place of which thou hast said thou wouldst set thy Name there, —to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant may pray towards 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 wilt thou therefore hearken unto the supplications of thy servant, and thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, —yea wilt, thou thyself, hear, out of thine own dwelling-place, out of the heavens, and, when thou hearest, then wilt thou 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 a man shall sin against his neighbour, and there shall be laid upon him an oath, to put him on oath, —and an oath shall come before thine 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 wilt, thou thyself, hear out of the heavens, and act, and judge thy servants, bringing back unto the lawless, to set his way upon his own head, —and justifying the righteous, by giving to 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 Or, if thy people Israel be smitten before an enemy, because they have been sinning against thee, —and they turn, 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 wilt, thou thyself, hear out of the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, —and bring them back unto the soil, which thou didst give 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 are shut up and there is no rain, because they have been sinning against thee, —and they shall pray towards this place, and shall confess thy Name, from their sin, shall return, because thou hast been afflicting 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 wilt, thou thyself, hear [out of] the heavens and forgive the sin of thy servants, and thy people Israel, that thou mayest direct them into the good way, wherein they should walk, —and give 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 When there shall be, a famine, in the land, when there shall be, a pestilence, —when there shall be, blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar, —when their enemy shall besiege them in the land at their own gates-whatsoever plague or 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 whatsoever prayer, whatsoever supplication, which any son of earth may have, or any of thy people Israel, —when any man shall come to know his plague, or his pain, and so he shall spread abroad his hands towards 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 wilt, thou thyself, hear out of the heavens, the settled place of thine abode, and forgive, and grant to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou wilt know, —for, thou thyself alone, knowest the heart of the sons 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 to the end they may revere thee, to walk in thy ways, all the days which they shall be living upon the face of the soil, —which thou gavest unto their 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 Moreover also, unto the stranger who is not, of thy people Israel, but he shall come in out of a far country—for the sake of thy great Name, and of thy strong hand, and of thine outstretched arm, —and so they shall come in and pray towards 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 then wilt, thou thyself, hear out of the heavens, out of the settled place of thine abode, and do according to all for which the stranger shall cry unto thee, —to the end that all the peoples of the earth may know thy Name, so as to revere thee like thy people Israel, and know that, thy Name, hath been given unto this house, which I have built?
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 When thy people shall go forth to war against their enemies, whithersoever thou mayest send them, —and shall pray unto thee in the direction of this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for 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 wilt thou hear, out of the heavens, their prayer and their supplication, —and maintain their right.
listen in heaven to their prayers; listen to what they plead for you [to do], and assist them.
36 When they sin against thee—for there is no son of earth who sinneth not—and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them up before an enemy, —who shall carry them away as their captives into a land—far away 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 they come back to their right mind, in the land whither they have been taken captive, —and so turn and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and been lawless; —
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 so turn unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captive, —and shall pray in the direction of their own land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and unto the house which I have built for 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 wilt thou hear out of the heavens—out of the settled place of thine abode—their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, —and forgive thy people, that wherein they 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, O my God, let—I beseech thee—thine eyes be open, and thine ears attent, —unto the prayer of this place.
“Now, my God, look at us and listen to us as we pray to you in this place.
41 Now, therefore, arise! O Yahweh God, unto thy rest, thou, and the ark of thy strength: Thy priests, O Yahweh God, let them be clothed with salvation, and, thy men of lovingkindness, let them rejoice in prosperity.
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 Yahweh God! do not turn away thy face from thine Anointed One, —oh remember lovingkindness unto 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].”
