2 Chronicles 6

1 Then, said Solomon, —Yahweh, said, that he would make his habitation in thick gloom;

Then said Solomon, 'Jehovah said — to dwell in thick darkness,

2 But, I, have built a house as a home for thee, —A settled place for thee to abide in, for ages.

and I — I have built a house of habitation for Thee, and a fixed place for Thy dwelling to the ages.'

3 And the king turned about his face, and blessed all the convocation of Israel, —while, all the convocation of Israel, was standing;

And the king turneth round his face, and blesseth the whole assembly of Israel, and the whole assembly of Israel is standing,

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:

and he saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath spoken with His mouth with David my father, and with His hands hath fulfilled [it], saying:

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 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;

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.

and I fix on Jerusalem for My name being there, and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

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.

'And it is with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah God of Israel,

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:

and Jehovah saith unto David my father, Because that it hath been with thy heart to build a house for My name, thou hast done well that it hath been with thy heart,

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.

but thou dost not build the house, for thy son who cometh forth out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

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 Jehovah doth establish His word that He spake, and I rise up in the stead of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah spake, and I build the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel,

11 and have put there, the ark, —wherein is the covenant of Yahweh, —which he solemnised with the sons of Israel.

and I place there the ark, where [is] the covenant of Jehovah that He made with the sons of Israel.'

12 Then stood he before the altar of Yahweh, in the presence of all the convocation of Israel, —and spread forth his hands;

And he standeth before the altar of Jehovah, over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth out his hand, —

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;

for Solomon hath made a scaffold of brass, and putteth it in the midst of the court, five cubits its length, and five cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height, and he standeth upon it, and kneeleth on his knees over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth forth his hands towards the heavens —

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 saith, 'O Jehovah God of Israel, there is not like Thee a god in the heavens and in the earth, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants who are walking before Thee with all their heart;

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.

who hast kept for Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst speak to him; yea, Thou dost speak with Thy mouth, and with Thy hand hast fulfilled [it], as at this day.

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.

'And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst speak to him, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from before Me, sitting on the throne of Israel, only, if thy sons watch their way to walk in My law, as thou hast walked before Me.

17 Now, therefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, -verified be thy promise, which thou didst make unto thy servant David.

'And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, is Thy word stedfast that Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, to David,

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!

(for is it true? — God dwelleth with man on the earth! Lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens, do not contain Thee, how much less this house that I 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:

'And Thou hast turned unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer that Thy servant is praying before Thee,

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:

for Thine eyes being open towards this house by day and by night, towards the place that Thou hast said to put Thy name there, to hearken unto the prayer that Thy servant prayeth towards 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?

'And Thou hast hearkened unto the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, that they pray towards this place, and Thou dost hear from the place of Thy dwelling, from the heavens, and hast hearkened, and forgiven.

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 a man doth sin against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up on him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house —

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 Thou dost hear from the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy 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.

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 if Thy people Israel is smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back and confessed Thy name, and prayed and made supplication before Thee in this house —

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?

then Thou dost hear from the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and caused them to turn back unto the ground that Thou hast given to them, and to their fathers.

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,

'In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name — from their sin they turn back because Thou dost afflict them —

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?

then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, because Thou directest them unto the good way in which they walk, and hast given rain on Thy land that Thou hast given to Thy people for an inheritance.

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; -

'Famine, when it is in the land, pestilence, when it is, blasting, and mildew, locust, and caterpillar, when they are, when its enemies have distressed it in the land — its gates, any plague and any sickness;

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—

any prayer, any supplication that is for any man, and for all Thy people Israel, when they know each his own plague, and his own pain, and he hath spread out his hands towards this house:

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:

then Thou dost hear from the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast given to each according to all his ways (because Thou knowest his heart, for Thou — Thou only — hast known the heart of the sons of men),

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?

so that they fear Thee, to walk in Thy ways, all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

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,

'And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and he hath come from a land afar off for the sake of Thy great name, and Thy strong hand, and Thy stretched-out arm, and they have come in and prayed towards this house:

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?

then Thou dost hear from the heavens, from the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for: so that all the peoples of the earth do know Thy name, so as to fear Thee, as Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name is called on this house that I have built.

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 Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemies in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Thee the way of this city that Thou hast fixed on, and the house that I have built for Thy name:

35 then wilt thou hear, out of the heavens, their prayer and their supplication, —and maintain their right.

then Thou hast heard from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause.

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;

'When they sin against Thee — for there is not a man who sinneth not — and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them before an enemy, and taken them captive have their captors, unto a land far off or near;

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; —

and they have turned [it] back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have done wickedly;

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,

yea, they have turned back unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, whither they have taken them captive, and they have prayed the way of their land that Thou hast given to their fathers, and of the city that Thou hast chosen, and of the house that I have built for Thy name:

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 Thou hast heard from the heavens, from the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and hast maintained their cause, and forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee.

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, let, I beseech Thee, Thine eyes be open, and Thine ears attentive, to the prayer of 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.

and now, rise, O Jehovah God, to Thy rest, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength; Thy priests, O Jehovah God, are clothed with salvation, and Thy saints rejoice in the goodness,

42 O Yahweh God! do not turn away thy face from thine Anointed One, —oh remember lovingkindness unto David thy servant.

O Jehovah God, turn not back the face of Thine anointed, be mindful of the kind acts of David Thy servant.'