1 Kings 8:41–66

⁴¹Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel

but has come from a distant land ^w

because of Your name—

⁴²for they will hear of Your great name,

mighty hand, ^xand outstretched arm,

and will come ^yand pray toward this temple—

⁴³may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,

and do according to all the foreigner asks You for.

Then all the people on earth will know ^zYour name,

to fear You as Your people Israel do

and know that this temple I have built

is called by Your name.

⁴⁴When Your people go out to fight against their enemies, ^a

wherever You send them,

and they pray to Yahweh

in the direction of the city You have chosen ^b

and the temple I have built for Your name,

⁴⁵may You hear their prayer and petition in heaven

and uphold their cause. ^c

⁴⁶When they sin against You—

for there is no one who does not sin ^d—

and You are angry with them

and hand them over to the enemy,

and their captors deport them to the enemy’s country ^e—

whether distant or nearby—

⁴⁷and when they come to their senses ^f

in the land where they were deported

and repent and petition You in their captors’ land:

“We have sinned and done wrong;

we have been wicked,” ^g

⁴⁸and when they return to You with their whole mind and heart

in the land of their enemies who took them captive, ^h

and when they pray to You in the direction of their land

that You gave their ancestors,

the city You have chosen, ⁱ

and the temple I have built for Your name,

⁴⁹may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,

their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.

⁵⁰May You forgive Your people

who sinned against You

and all their rebellions ^jagainst You,

and may You give them compassion

in the eyes of their captors,

so that they may be compassionate to them. ^k

⁵¹For they are Your people and Your inheritance; ^l

You brought them out of Egypt,

out of the middle of an iron furnace. ^m

⁵²May Your eyes be open to Your servant’s petition

and to the petition of Your people Israel,

listening to them whenever they call to You.

⁵³For You, Lord God, have set them apart as Your inheritance

from all the people on earth,

as You spoke through Your servant Moses

when You brought their ancestors out of Egypt. ⁿ

Solomon’s Blessing

⁵⁴When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven, ^o55and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel ^pwith a loud voice: ⁵⁶“May the Lord be praised! He has given rest ^qto His people Israel according to all He has said. Not one of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses has failed. ^r57May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our ancestors. May He not abandon us or leave us ^s58so that He causes us to be devoted ^tto Him, ^uto walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, which He commanded our ancestors. ⁵⁹May my words I have made my petition with before the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night, so that He may uphold His servant’s cause and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, ^v60and so that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh is God. There is no other! ^w61Let your heart be completely devoted to the Lord our God ^xto walk in His statutes and to keep His commands, as it is today.”

⁶²The king and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence. ⁶³Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. ^yIn this manner the king and all the Israelites dedicated ^zthe Lord’s temple. ^a

⁶⁴On the same day, the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple because that was where he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings ^bsince the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to accommodate the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings. ^c

⁶⁵Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath ^deto the Brook of Egypt ^f—observed the festival at that time ^gin the presence of the Lord our God, seven days, and seven more days—14 days. ^hi66On the fifteenth day ^jhe sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home to their tents rejoicing and with joyful hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had done for His servant David and for His people Israel. ^k