1 Kings 8

1 Then doth Solomon assemble the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, princes of the fathers of the sons of Israel, unto king Solomon, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the city of David — it [is] Zion;

Then Solomon summoned before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel, including all the heads of the tribes and the family leaders of the Israelites. He instructed them to bring up with them the Ark of the Lord's Agreement from Zion, the City of David.

2 and all the men of Israel are assembled unto king Solomon, in the month of Ethanim, in the festival — [is] the seventh month.

All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the festival which is held in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim.

3 And all the elders of Israel come in, and the priests lift up the ark,

When all the elders of Israel had gathered, the priests picked up the Ark and brought the Ark of the Lord and the Tent of Meeting with all its holy items.

4 and bring up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that [are] in the tent, yea, the priests and the Levites bring them up.

The priests and Levites carried them up.

5 And king Solomon and all the company of Israel who are met unto him [are] with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that are not counted nor numbered for multitude.

In front of the Ark, King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had gathered there with him sacrificed many, many sheep and bulls—so numerous they couldn't be counted!

6 And the priests bring in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, unto the oracle of the house, unto the holy of holies, unto the place of the wings of the cherubs;

Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord's Agreement to its place in the inner sanctuary of the Temple, the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.

7 for the cherubs are spreading forth two wings unto the place of the ark, and the cherubs cover over the ark, and over its staves from above;

The cherubim spread their wings over the place where the Ark was, covering the Ark and its carrying poles.

8 and they lengthen the staves, and the heads of the staves are seen from the holy [place] on the front of the oracle, and are not seen without, and they are there unto this day.

The poles were so long that the ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside. They are there to this day.

9 There is nothing in the ark, only the two tables of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, when Jehovah covenanted with the sons of Israel in their going out of the land of Egypt.

There was nothing in the Ark apart from the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord had made an agreement with the Israelites after they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the holy [place], that the cloud hath filled the house of Jehovah,

When the priests left the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord.

11 and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

Due to the cloud, the priests could not stay there to carry out their service, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's Temple.

12 Then said Solomon, 'Jehovah hath said to dwell in thick darkness;

Then Solomon said: “Lord, you said that you would live in the thick cloud.

13 I have surely built a house of habitation for Thee; a fixed place for Thine abiding to the ages.'

Now I have built for you a majestic Temple, a place where you may live for ever.”

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

The king turned around to the whole assembly of Israel who were standing there, and blessed them,

15 And he saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who spake by His mouth with David my father, and by His hand hath fulfilled [it], saying,

saying, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who by his own power has fulfilled the promise he made to my father David when he said,

16 From the day that I brought out My people, even Israel, from Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house for My name being there; and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt I have not chosen any town of the tribes of Israel as the place to build a Temple to honor me. But I have chosen David as king over my people Israel.’

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

My father David really wanted to build a Temple to honor the Lord, the God of Israel.

18 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;

But the Lord told my father David, ‘You had the desire to build a Temple to honor me, and it was good that you really wanted to do this.

19 only, thou dost not build the house, but thy son who is coming out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

But it won't be you who will build this Temple, but your son who is to be born to you—he will build the Temple to honor me.'

20 'And Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake, and I am risen up instead of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah spake, and build the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel,

Now the Lord has kept his promise that he made. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built the Temple to honor the Lord, the God of Israel.

21 and set there a place for the ark, where [is] the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers in His bringing them out from the land of Egypt.'

I have provided a place there for the Ark, which contains the agreement of the Lord that he made with our forefathers when he led them out of the land of Egypt.”

22 And Solomon standeth before the altar of Jehovah, over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth his hands towards the heavens,

Then Solomon stood in front of the altar of the Lord before the whole assembly of Israel and held out his hands toward heaven.

23 and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, there is not a God like Thee, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants, those walking before Thee with all their heart,

He said, “Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep you agreement of trustworthy love with your servants, those who are totally committed to following you.

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

You have kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father. You yourself promised, and by your own power you have fulfilled it today.

25 'And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest 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 before Me as thou hast walked before Me.

So now, Lord, God of Israel, please also keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said: ‘You will never fail to have a descendant sit in my presence on the throne of Israel, as long as they make sure to follow me as you have done.’

26 'And now, O God of Israel, let it be established, I pray Thee, Thy word which Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, David my father.

Now, God of Israel, please keep the promise you made to our servant, my father David.

27 But, is it true? — God dwelleth on the earth! lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens do not contain Thee, how much less this house which I have builded!

But will God really live here on earth? The heavens, even highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this Temple I have built!

28 'Then 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 which Thy servant is praying before Thee to-day,

Please hear the prayer of your servant and his request, Lord my God. Please hear the appeals and the prayers that your servant is presenting before you today.

29 for Thine eyes being open towards this house night and day, towards the place of which Thou hast said, My Name is there; to hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant prayeth towards this place.

May you watch over this Temple day and night, caring for the place where you said you would be honored. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place,

30 'Then Thou hast hearkened unto the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they pray towards this place; yea, Thou dost hearken in the place of Thy dwelling, in the heavens — and Thou hast hearkened, and hast forgiven,

and may you hear the request of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Please hear from heaven where you live. May you hear and forgive.

31 that which a man sinneth against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up upon him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house,

When someone sins against another and is required to take an oath before your altar in this Temple,

32 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to declare wicked the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

listen from heaven—act and judge your servants. Pay back the guilty; vindicate and reward those who do right.

33 'In Thy people Israel being smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back unto Thee, and have confessed Thy name, and prayed, and made supplication unto Thee in this house,

When your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they come back in repentance to you, praying for forgiveness in this Temple,

34 then thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and brought them back unto the ground that Thou gavest to their fathers.

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

35 '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, and from their sin turn back, for Thou dost afflict them,

If the skies are closed shut and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and if they come back in repentance to you, turning away from their sin because you have punished them,

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

then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the good way so that they can walk on it, and send rain on the earth that you have given to your people as their possession.

37 'Famine — when it is in the land; pestilence — when it is; blasting, mildew, locust; caterpillar — when it is; when its enemy hath distressed it in the land [in] its gates, any plague, any sickness, —

If there is famine in the land, or disease, or blight or mildew on the crops, or if there are locusts or caterpillars, or if an enemy comes to lay siege to the towns in the land—it can be whatever kind of plague or whatever kind of disease—

38 any prayer, any supplication that [is] of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house,

then whatever kind of prayer or whatever kind of appeal is made by anyone or all your people Israel, in fact anyone who, knowing their problems and pains, prays toward this Temple,

39 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known — Thyself alone — the heart of all the sons of man),

then hear from heaven, the place where you live, and forgive. Give according to the way they live their lives, for you know what people are really like inside, and you alone know the true character of people.

40 so that they fear Thee all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

Then they will respect you and follow your ways all the time they live in the land you gave to our forefathers.

41 'And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake —

As for the foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel but who come from a distant land,

42 (for they hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm) — and he hath come in and prayed towards this house,

having heard of your great nature and power and ability to help, when they come and pray toward this Temple,

43 Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.

then hear from heaven, the place where you live, and give them what they're asking. That way, everyone on earth will come to know and respect you, just as your own people Israel do. They will also know that this Temple I have built is dedicated to you.

44 'When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Jehovah the way of the city which thou hast fixed on, and of the house which I have builded for Thy name;

When your people go to fight against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you towards the city you have chosen and the house I have built to honor you,

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

then hear from heaven what they are praying and asking for, and support their cause.

46 '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 up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity unto the land of the enemy far off or near;

If they sin against you—and there is nobody who does not sin—you may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy who takes them away as prisoners to a foreign land, near or far away.

47 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 captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely — we have done wickedly;

But if they think again in their land of captivity and repent and plead for mercy from you, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly,’

48 yea, they have turned back unto Thee, with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed unto Thee the way of their land, which Thou gavest to their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have builded for Thy name:

and they come back to you with complete sincerity in their thoughts and attitudes there in their land of captivity; and they pray towards the land you gave their forefathers, the city you chose, and the Temple I have built to honor you,

49 'Then Thou hast heard in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause,

then hear from heaven, the place where you live, respond and support their cause.

50 and hast forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee, even all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee, and hast given them mercies before their captors, and they have had mercy [on] them —

Forgive your people who have sinned against you, all the rebellious acts they have committed against you. Please make those who have captured them show mercy to them.

51 (for Thy people and Thy inheritance [are] they, whom Thou didst bring out of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron) —

For they are your people—they belong to you! You led them out of Egypt, out of the middle of furnace used for smelting iron.

52 for Thine eyes being open unto the supplication of Thy servant, and unto the supplication of Thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all they call unto Thee for;

May you pay attention to the requests of your servant, and to the requests of your people Israel, and may you respond whenever they call out to you.

53 for Thou hast separated them to Thyself for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, as Thou didst speak by the hand of Moses Thy servant, in Thy bringing out our fathers from Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.'

For you set them apart from all the nations of the world as a people who belonged to you, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you led our fathers out of Egypt.”

54 And it cometh to pass, at Solomon's finishing to pray unto Jehovah all this prayer and supplication, he hath risen from before the altar of Jehovah, from bending on his knees, and his hands spread out to the heavens,

After Solomon finished praying all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he stood up before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands held out toward heaven.

55 and he standeth and blesseth all the assembly of Israel [with] a loud voice, saying,

Solomon stood, and in a loud voice he blessed the whole assembly of Israel, saying,

56 'Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He hath spoken; there hath not fallen one word of all His good word, which He spake by the hand of Moses his servant.

“Praise the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel in accordance with everything he promised. Not a single word has failed among all the good promises he made through his servant Moses.

57 'Jehovah our God is with us as He hath been with our fathers; He doth not forsake us nor leave us;

May the Lord our God be with us in the same way he was with our forefathers. May he never leave us or abandon us.

58 to incline our heart unto Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers;

May he help us to come to him, to follow all his ways and to keep the commandments, statutes, and regulations he ordered our forefathers to observe.

59 and these my words with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, are near unto Jehovah our God by day and by night, to maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, the matter of a day in its day;

May these words of mine I have used to make my request in the Lord's presence be before the Lord our God day and night. In that way he may support the cause of his servant and of his people Israel as is needed every day,

60 for all the peoples of the earth knowing that Jehovah, He [is] God; there is none else;

in order that everyone on the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is no other!

61 and your heart hath been perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commands, as [at] this day.'

So make sure you are completely committed to the Lord our God just as you are today, and be careful to follow his statutes and to keep his commandments.”

62 And the king and all Israel with him are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah;

Then the king and together with all of Israel offered sacrifices before the Lord.

63 and Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he hath sacrificed to Jehovah, oxen, twenty and two thousand, and sheep, a hundred and twenty thousand; and the king and all the sons of Israel dedicate the house of Jehovah.

Solomon presented as friendship offerings to the Lord 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Lord's Temple.

64 On that day hath the king sanctified the middle of the court that [is] before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings; for the altar of brass that [is] before Jehovah [is] too little to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

On that same day, the king dedicated the center of the courtyard in front of the Lord's Temple. There he presented burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the friendship offerings, since the bronze altar in the Lord's presence was too small to hold all these offerings.

65 And Solomon maketh, at that time, the festival — and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt — before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days; fourteen days.

Then Solomon together with all of Israel observed the festival before the Lord our God for seven days, and then another seven days—fourteen days in all. It was a large assembly of people, who came from as far away as Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt.

66 On the eighth day he hath sent the people away, and they bless the king, and go to their tents, rejoicing and glad of heart for all the good that Jehovah hath done to David His servant, and to Israel His people.

One day later Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went home, full of joy and happy for all the good things that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.