1 Kings 8:1–21

Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple

8At that time Solomon assembled the elders ^fof Israel, ^gall the tribal heads ^hand the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David, ⁱthat is Zion. ^j2So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim, ^kat the festival. ^l

³All the elders ^mof Israel came, and the priests ⁿpicked up the ark. ^o4The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, ^pand the holy utensils that were in the tent. ^q5King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered, because there were so many. ^r6The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place ^sbeneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁷For the cherubim were spreading their wings over ^tthe place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above. ^u8The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are there to this day. ^v9Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, ^wxwhere the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. ^y

¹⁰When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple, ^z11and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory ^aof the Lord filled the temple.

¹²Then Solomon said:

The Lord said that He would dwell in thick darkness. ^b

¹³I have indeed built an exalted temple ^cfor You,

a place for Your dwelling forever. ^d

¹⁴The king turned around and blessed ^ethe entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. ¹⁵He said:

May the Lord God of Israel be praised!

He spoke directly to my father David,

and He has fulfilled the promise ^fby His power.

He said,

¹⁶“Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, ^g

I have not chosen a city to build a temple in

among any of the tribes of Israel,

so that My name ^hwould be there.

But I have chosen David to rule My people Israel.” ⁱ

¹⁷It was in the desire of my father David

to build a temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ^j

¹⁸But the Lord said to my father David,

“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,

you have done well to have this desire. ^k

¹⁹Yet you are not the one to build it;

instead, your son, your own offspring,

will build it for My name.” ^l

²⁰The Lord has fulfilled what He promised.

I have taken the place of my father David, ^m

and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. ⁿ

I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

²¹I have provided a place there for the ark,

where the Lord’s covenant is

that He made with our ancestors

when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^o