¹²Then Solomon said, “Lord, you have said you would live in a dark cloud. ¹³As you can see, I’ve built a beautiful temple for you. You can live in it forever.”

¹⁴The whole community of Israel was standing there. The king turned around and gave them his blessing. ¹⁵Then he said,

“I praise the Lord. He is the God of Israel. With his own mouth he made a promise to my father David. With his own powerful hand he made it come true. He said, ¹⁶‘I brought my people Israel out of Egypt. Ever since I did that, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel where a temple could be built for my Name. But I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.’

¹⁷“With all his heart my father David wanted to build a temple. He wanted to do it so the Lord could put his Name there. The Lord is the God of Israel.

¹⁸“But the Lord spoke to my father David. He said, ‘With all your heart you wanted to build a temple for my Name. It is good that you wanted to do that. ¹⁹But you will not build the temple. Instead, your son will build the temple for my Name. He is your own flesh and blood.’

²⁰“The Lord has kept the promise he made. I’ve become the next king after my father David. Now I’m sitting on the throne of Israel. That’s exactly what the Lord promised would happen. I’ve built the temple where the Lord will put his Name. He is the God of Israel. ²¹I’ve provided a place for the ark there. The tablets of the Lord’s covenant are inside it. He made that covenant with our people of long ago. He made it when he brought them out of Egypt.”

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