2 Chronicles 5

1 Therfor Salomon brouyte in alle thingis, siluer and gold, whiche Dauid, his fadir, hadde avowid; and he puttide alle vesselis in the tresouris of the hows of the Lord.

After Solomon’s workers had finished building the temple, Solomon put in the temple storage rooms everything that his father David had dedicated to Yahweh—all the silver and gold and all the other things that were used at the temple.

2 After whiche thingis he gaderide togidere alle the grettere men in birthe of Israel, and alle the princes of lynagis, and the heedis of meynees, of the sones of Israel, in to Jerusalem, that thei schulden brynge the arke of boond of pees of the Lord fro the citee of Dauid, which is Syon.

Then King Solomon summoned to Jerusalem all the elders of Israel, all the leaders of the tribes and of the families/clans. He wanted them to help to bring to the temple Yahweh’s Sacred Chest from Zion [Hill], where it was in [the part of the city called] ‘The City of David’.

3 Therfor alle men of Israel camen to the kyng, in the solempne dai of the seuenthe monethe.

So all the leaders of Israel gathered together along with the king, during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, in October.

4 And whanne alle the eldre men of Israel `weren comen, the dekenes baren the arke,

When they had all arrived, the descendants of Levi lifted up the Sacred Chest,

5 and brouyten it in, and al the aray of the tabernacle. Forsothe the preestis with the dekenes baren the vessels of seyntuarie, that weren in the tabernacle.

and they carried it and the Sacred Tent and the sacred things that were inside it. The priests, who were also descended from Levi, carried them.

6 Sotheli kyng Salomon, and alle the cumpenyes of Israel, and alle that weren gaderid to gidere, offriden bifor the arke wetheris and oxis with outen ony noumbre; for the multitude of slayn sacrifices was `so greet.

King Solomon and many of the other people of Israel who had gathered there walked in front of the Sacred Chest. And they sacrificed a huge amount of sheep and cattle. No one was able to count them [because there were very many].

7 And preestis brouyten the arke of boond of pees of the Lord in to his place, that is, to Goddis answeryng place of the temple, in to the hooli of hooli thingis, vndur the wyngis of cherubyns;

The priests then brought the Sacred Chest into the Most Holy Place, the inner room of the temple, and they placed it under the wings of the statues of winged creatures.

8 so that cherubyns spredden forth her wyngis ouer the place, in which the arke was put, and hiliden thilke arke with hise barris.

The wings of those statues spread out over the Sacred Chest and over the poles by which it was carried.

9 Sotheli the heedis, by which the arke was borun, weren opyn bifor Goddis answeryng place, for tho heedis weren a litil lengere; but if a man hadde be a litil with out forth, he myyt not se tho barris. Therfor the arke was there til in to present dai;

The poles were very long, with the result that they could be seen by [those who were standing] at the entrance to the Most Holy Place, but they could not be seen by anyone standing outside the temple. Those poles are still there.

10 and noon other thing was in the arke, no but twei tablis, whiche Moyses hadde put in Oreb, whanne the Lord yaf the lawe to the sones of Israel goynge out of Egipt.

The only things that were inside the Sacred Chest were the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Sinai Mountain, where Yahweh made an agreement with the Israeli people after they came out of Egypt.

11 Forsothe the prestis yeden out of the seyntuarie, for alle preestis, that myyten be foundun there, weren halewid, and the whiles, and the ordre of seruyces among hem was not departid yit in that tyme;

Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were there, from every group, had performed the rituals to cause them to be acceptable to God.

12 bothe dekenes and syngeris, that is, bothe thei that weren vndur Asaph, and thei that weren vndur Eman, and thei that weren vndur Idithum, her sones and britheren, clothid with white lynun clothis, sownyden with cymbalis and sautrees and harpis, and stoden at the west coost of the auter, and with hem weren sixe score preestis trumpynge.

All the descendants of Levi who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons and their other relatives—stood on the east side of the altar. They were wearing linen clothes, and they were playing cymbals, harps, and lyres. There were 120 other priests who were blowing trumpets.

13 Therfor whanne alle sungen togidur both with trumpis, and vois, and cymbalis, and orguns, and of dyuerse kynde of musikis, and reisiden the vois an hiy, the sown was herd fer, so that whanne thei hadden bigunne to preyse the Lord, and to seie, Knouleche ye to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy is in to the world, `ether, with outen ende; the hows of God was fillid with a cloude,

The men blowing trumpets, those playing the cymbals and other musical instruments, and the singers, made music together, praising Yahweh and singing this song: “Yahweh is good [to us]; he faithfully loves us forever.” Then [suddenly] the temple was filled with a cloud.

14 and the preestis miyten not stonde and serue for the derknesse; for the glorie of the Lord hadde fillid the hows of the Lord.

The glorious radiance of Yahweh filled the temple, with the result that the priests were not able to continue doing their work.