The Dedication of the Temple

7:1–10pp—1Ki 8:62–66

7 When Solomon finished praying, firet came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filledu the temple.v 2 The priests could not enterw the temple of the Lord because the gloryx of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;

his love endures forever.”y

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levitesz with the Lord’s musical instruments,a which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fatb of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

8 So Solomon observed the festivalc at that time for seven days, and all Israeld with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamathe to the Wadi of Egypt.f 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebratedg the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festivalh for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon

7:11–22pp—1Ki 9:1–9

11 When Solomon had finishedi the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appearedj to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosenk this place for myselfl as a temple for sacrifices.

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,m or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name,n will humbleo themselves and pray and seek my facep and turnq from their wicked ways, then I will hearr from heaven, and I will forgives their sin and will healt their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.u 16 I have chosenv and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfullyw as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decreesx and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenantedy with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successorz to rule over Israel.’a

19 “But if youa turn awayb and forsakec the decrees and commands I have given youb and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uprootd Israel from my land,e which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridiculef among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. Allc who pass by will be appalledg and say,h ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving themi—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”