1 Kings 8

CHAPTER 8

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

^1aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ^bthe heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^cto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from ^dthe city of David, which is Zion.

²And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at ^athe feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

³Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^athe priests carried the ark.

⁴And they brought up the ark of Yahweh and ^athe tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up.

⁵And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who congregated to him being ^awith him before the ark, were sacrificing ¹so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

⁶Then ^athe priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh ^bto its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, ^cunder the wings of the cherubim.

⁷For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above.

⁸But ^athe poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day.

^9aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where ^bYahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place, ^athe cloud filled the house of Yahweh,

¹¹so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

Solomon Blesses the People

^12aThen Solomon said,

“Yahweh has said that ^bHe would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.

¹³“^aI have surely built You a lofty house,

^bA place for Your dwelling forever.”

¹⁴Then the king turned his face around and ^ablessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

¹⁵And he said, “^aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^bwho spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying,

¹⁶‘^aSince the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that ^bMy name might be there, but ^cI have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

¹⁷“^aAnd it was ¹in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

¹⁸“But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was ¹in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ²in your heart.

¹⁹‘^aNevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will ^bcome forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’

²⁰“And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and ^aI have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh ¹promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

²¹“And there I have set a place for the ark, ^ain which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Israel

²²Then ^aSolomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and ^bspread out his hands toward heaven.

²³And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^athere is no god like You in heaven above or upon earth beneath, ^bkeeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart,

²⁴who have kept with Your ¹servant, my father David, that which You have ²promised him; indeed, You have ³promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand as it is this day.

²⁵“So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your ¹servant David my father that which You have ²promised him, saying, ‘^aYou shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their way to walk as you have walked before Me.’

²⁶“So now, O God of Israel, let Your word truly ¹endure ^awhich You have spoken to Your ²servant, my father David.

²⁷“But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, ^aheaven and the ¹highest heaven cannot ²contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

²⁸“Yet have regard to the ^aprayer of Your slave and to his supplication, O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your slave prays before You today;

^29athat Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^bthe place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place.

³⁰“^aAnd listen to the supplication of Your slave and of Your people Israel, ^bwhen they pray toward this place; listen in heaven Your dwelling place; listen and ^cforgive.

³¹“^aIf a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house,

³²then listen in heaven and act and judge Your slaves, ^acondemning the wicked by ¹bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by ²bringing him reward according to his righteousness.

³³“^aWhen Your people Israel are ¹defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, ^bif they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house,

³⁴then listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

³⁵“^aWhen the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

³⁶then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; ^aindeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And ^bgive rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

³⁷“^aIf there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their ¹cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,

³⁸whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each of whom knows the ¹affliction of his own heart, and spreads his ²hands toward this house;

³⁹then listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to each according to all his ways, ^awhose heart You know, for ^bYou alone know the hearts of all the sons of men,

⁴⁰that they may ¹fear You all the days that they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹“Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake

⁴²(for they will hear of Your great name ^aand Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house,

⁴³listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^athat all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to ¹fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.

⁴⁴“When Your people go out to battle against ¹their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and ^athey pray to Yahweh ²toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,

⁴⁵then listen in heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.

⁴⁶“When they sin against You (for ^athere is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that ¹they take them away captive ^bto the land of the enemy, far off or near;

^47aand if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and ¹return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘^bWe have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’;

^48aand if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and ^bpray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name;

⁴⁹then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them,

⁵⁰and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and ^agive them over as objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them

⁵¹(^afor they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, ^bfrom the midst of the iron furnace),

^52athat Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your slave and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.

⁵³“For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, ^aas You spoke by the hand of Moses Your ¹servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.”

Solomon Blesses Yahweh

^54aNow it happened that when Solomon had ¹finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to Yahweh, ^bhe arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his ²hands spread toward heaven.

⁵⁵And he stood and ^ablessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶“Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, ^aaccording to all that He ¹promised; ^bnot one promise has ²failed of all His good ³promises, which He ⁴promised by the hand of Moses His ⁵servant.

⁵⁷“May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; ^amay He not forsake us or abandon us,

⁵⁸that ^aHe may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.

⁵⁹“And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be…