2 Chronicles 6

1 Thanne Salomon seide, The Lord bihiyte, that he wolde dwelle in derknesse;

Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in the thick cloud.

2 forsothe I haue bilde an hows to his name, that he schulde dwelle there with outen ende.

But I have built you a house of habitation, and a place for you to dwell in forever."

3 And Salomon turnede his face, and blesside al the multitude of Israel; for al the cumpeny stood ententif; and he seide,

The king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.

4 Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for he fillide in werk that thing, that he spak to Dauid, my fadir, and seide,

He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and has with his hands fulfilled it, saying,

5 Fro the dai in which Y ledde my puple out of the lond of Egipt, Y chees not a citee of alle the lynagis of Israel, that an hows schulde be bildid therynne to my name, nether Y chees ony other man, that he schulde be duyk on my puple Israel;

'Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; nor did I choose any man to be a leader over my people Israel:

6 but Y chees Jerusalem, that my name be therynne, and Y chees Dauid, to ordeyne hym on my puple Israel.

but I chose Jerusalem, that my name may be there; and I chose David to be over my people Israel.'

7 And whanne it was of the wille of Dauid, my fadir, to bilde an hows to the name of the Lord God of Israel,

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

8 the Lord seide to hym, For this was thi wille, `that thou woldist bilde an hows to my name, sotheli thou didist wel,

But the LORD said to David my father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart:

9 hauynge suche a wil, but thou schalt not bilde an hows to me; netheles the sone, that schal go out of thi leendis, he schal bilde an hows to my name.

nevertheless you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come forth out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.'

10 Therfor the Lord hath fillid his word, which he spak; and Y roos for Dauid, my fader, and Y sat on the trone of Israel, as the Lord spak, and Y bildide an hous to the name of the Lord God of Israel;

"The LORD has performed his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

11 and I haue put therynne the arke, in which is the couenaunt of the Lord, which he `couenauntide with the sones of Israel.

There I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with the children of Israel."

12 Therfor Salomon stood bifor the auter of the Lord euene ayens al the multitude of Israel, and stretchide forth his hondis.

He stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands

13 For Salomon hadde maad a brasun foundement, and hadde set it in the myddis of the greet hows, and it hadde fyue cubitis of lengthe, and fyue of breede, and thre cubitis of heiythe, and he stood theron; and fro that tyme he knelide ayens al the multitude of Israel, and reiside the hondis in to heuene,

(for Solomon had made a bronze scaffold, eight feet and seven inches long, and eight feet and seven inches broad, and five feet and two inches high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and on it he stood, and kneeled down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; )

14 and seide, Lord God of Israel, noon is lijk thee; `thou art God in heuene and in erthe, which kepist couenaunt and mercy with thi seruauntis, that goon bifor thee in al her herte;

and he said, "LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven, or on earth; you who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart;

15 which hast youe to Dauid thi seruaunt, my fadir, what euer thingis thou hast spoke to hym, and thow hast fillid in werk tho thingis, whiche thou bihiytist bi mouth, as also present tyme preueth.

who have kept with your servant David my father that which you promised him: yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.

16 Now therfor, Lord God of Israel, fille thou to thi seruaunt my fadir Dauid, what euer thingis thou hast spoke, seiynge, A man of thee schal not faile bifor me, that schal sitte on the trone of Israel; so netheles if thi sones kepen my weies, and goon in my lawe, as and thou hast go bifor me.

"Now therefore, LORD, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.'

17 And now, Lord God of Israel, thi word be maad stidefast, which thou spakist to thi seruaunt Dauid.

Now therefore, LORD, the God of Israel, let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David.

18 Therfor whether it is leueful, that the Lord dwelle with men on erthe? If heuene and the heuenes of heuenes `taken not thee, how myche more this hows, which Y haue bildid?

"But will God indeed dwell with humankind on the earth? Look, heaven and the highest heaven can't contain you; how much less this house which I have built.

19 But herto oneli it is maad, that thou, my Lord God, biholde the preier of thi seruaunt, and the bisechyng of hym, and that thou here the preieris, whiche thi seruaunt schedith bifor thee;

Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and to his petition, LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you;

20 that thou opyne thin iyen on this hows bi dayes and nyytis, on the place in which thou bihiytist, that thi name schulde be clepid,

that your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place where you have said that you would put your name; to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.

21 and that thou woldist here the preier, which thi seruaunt preieth therynne. Here thou the preieris of thi seruaunt, and of thi puple Israel; who euer preieth in this place, here thou fro thi dwellyng place, that is, fro heuenes, and do thou merci.

Listen to the petitions of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yes, hear from your dwelling place, even from heaven; and when you hear, forgive.

22 If ony man synneth ayens his neiybore, and cometh redi to swere ayens him, and byndith hym silf with cursyng bifor the auter in this hows,

"If a man sins against his neighbor and obliges him to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before your altar in this house;

23 thou schalt here fro heuene, and schalt do the doom of thi seruauntis; so that thou yelde to the wickid man his weie in to his owne heed, and that thou venge the iust man, and yelde to hym after his riytfulnesse.

then hear from heaven, and do, and judge your servants, bringing retribution to the wicked, to bring his way on his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

24 If thi puple Israel is ouercomen of enemyes, for thei schulen do synne ayens thee, and if thei conuertid doen penaunce, and bisechen thi name, and preien in this place,

"If your people Israel be struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you, and shall turn again and confess your name, and pray and make petition before you in this house;

25 thou schalt here fro heuene, and do thou mercy to the synne of thi puple Israel, and brynge hem ayen `in to the lond, which thou hast youe to hem, and to `the fadris of hem.

then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to them and to their fathers.

26 If whanne heuene is closid, reyn come not doun for the synne of thi puple, and thei bisechen thee in this place, and knowlechen to thi name, and ben turned fro her synnes, whanne thou hast turmentid hem,

"When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you punish them:

27 here thou, Lord, fro heuene, and foryyue thou synnes to thi seruauntis, and to thi puple Israel, and teche thou hem a good weie, bi which thei schulen entre, and yyue thou reyn to the lond, which thou hast youe to thi puple to haue in possessioun.

then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.

28 If hungur risith in the lond, and pestilence, and rust, and wynd distriynge cornes, and a locuste, and bruke cometh, and if enemyes bisegen the yatis of the citee, aftir that the cuntreis ben distried, and al veniaunce and sikenesse oppressith;

"If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is;

29 if ony of thi puple Israel bisechith, and knowith his veniaunce and sikenesse, and if he spredith abrood hise hondis in this hows,

whatever prayer and petition be made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall know every man his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house:

30 thou schalt here fro heuene, that is, fro thin hiye dwellyng place, and do thou mercy, and yelde thou to ech man aftir hise weies, whiche thou knowist, that he hath in his herte; for thou aloone knowist the hertis of the sones of men;

then hear from heaven, your dwelling place and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of the children of humankind; )

31 that thei drede thee, and go in thi weies in alle daies, in which thei lyuen on the face of erthe, which thou hast youe to oure fadris.

that they may fear you, to walk in your ways, so long as they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

32 Also thou schalt here fro heuene, thi moost stidfast dwellyng place, a straunger, which is not of thi puple Israel, if he cometh fro a fer lond for thi greet name, and for thi stronge hond, and arm holdun forth, `and preye in this place;

"Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for the sake of your name, for they shall hear of your great name, and your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm, when they shall come and pray toward this house,

33 and thou schalt do alle thingis, for which thilke pilgrym `inwardli clepith thee, that alle the puplis of erthe knowe thi name, and drede thee, as thi puple Israel doith; and that thei knowe, that thi name is clepid on this hows, which Y haue bildid to thi name.

then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, and fear you, as does your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.

34 If thi puple goith out to batel ayens hise aduersaries, bi the weie in which thou sendist hem, thei schulen worschipe thee ayens the weie in which this citee is, which thou hast chose, and the hows which Y bildide to thi name,

"If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name;

35 that thou here fro heuene her preieris and bisechyng, and do veniaunce.

then hear from heaven their prayer and their petition, and maintain their cause.

36 Forsothe if thei synnen ayens thee, for no man is that synneth not, and if thou art wrooth to hem, and bitakist hem to enemyes; and enemyes leden hem prisoneris in to a fer lond, ether certis which lond is nyy;

"If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn't sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to a land far off or near;

37 and if thei ben conuertid in her herte in the lond, to which thei ben led prisoneris, and thei don penaunce, and bisechen thee in the lond of her caitifte, and seien, We han synned, we han do wickidly, we diden vniustli;

yet if they shall repent themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and repent and make petition to you in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly;'

38 and if thei turnen ayen to thee in al her herte, and in al her soule, in the lond of her caitifte, to which thei ben led, thei schulen worschipe thee ayens the weie of her lond, which thou hast youe to the fadris of hem, and of the citee which thou hast chose, and of the hows which Y bildide to thi name; that thou here fro heuene,

if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, and the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name:

39 that is, fro thi stidefast dwellyng place, the preieris of hem, and that thou make dom, and foryyue to thi puple, thouy `it be synful; for thou art my God;

then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, their prayer and their petitions, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you.

40 Y biseche, be thin iyen openyd, and thin eeris be ententif to the preier which is maad in this place.

"Now, my God, let, I beg you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive, to the prayer that is made in this place.

41 Now therfor, Lord God, rise in to thi reste, thou and the arke of thi strengthe; Lord God, thi preestis be clothid with helthe, and thi hooli men be glad in goodis.

"Now therefore arise, LORD God, into your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength: let your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your faithful ones rejoice in what is good.

42 Lord God, turne thou not a weie the face of thi crist; haue thou mynde on the mercyes of Dauid thi seruaunt.

"LORD God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one. Remember your loving kindnesses to David your servant."