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The First Book of Kings 8

8 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, the lifted ones of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to the king Solomon at Jerusalem, to bring up the box of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David (it is Zion). 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to the king Solomon in the month of Ethanim at the feast (it is the seventh month). 3 And all the elders of Israel came and the priests lifted the box. 4 And they brought up the box of Yahweh and the tent of meeting and all the vessels of holiness that were in the tent. And the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And the king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, the ones who congregated to him, were with him before the face of the box, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted and could not be numbered because of abundance. 6 And the priests brought the box of the covenant of Yahweh into its place, into the inner room of the house, into the holiest holy place, to beneath the wings of the cherubs. 7 For the cherubs were spreading out wings toward the place of the box. And the cherubs covered over the box and over its poles from above. 8 And the poles were made long and the heads of the poles were seen from the holy place on the face of the inner room, and they were not seen on the outside. And they are there until this day. 9 There was nothing in the box except the two tablets of stone, which Moses caused to rest there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut with the sons of Israel when they went out from the land of Egypt. 10 And it happened when the priests went out from the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Yahweh. 11 And the priests were not able to stand to minister because of the face of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

12 Then Solomon said,

“Yahweh has said

he would dwell in the dark cloud.

13 Surely I have built a house of elevation for you, a place for your dwelling forever.” 14 And the king turned his face around and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke by his mouth with David my father, and fulfilled by his hand, saying, 16 ‘From the day when I brought out my people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a house, so that my name would be there. But I chose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 And it was with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 18 But Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 However, you will not build the house, but rather your son, the one who comes out from your loins, he himself will build the house for my name.’ 20 And Yahweh has raised up his word that he had spoken. And I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as Yahweh spoke. And I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 21 And I have set a place there for the box, where there is the covenant of Yahweh, which he cut with our fathers when he brought them out from the land of Egypt.”

22 And Solomon stood before the face of the altar of Yahweh, in front of all the assembly of Israel. And he spread out his palms to the heavens. 23 And he said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in the heavens from above or on the earth from below, keeping the covenant and the covenant faithfulness to your servants, the ones who walk before your face with all their heart; 24 which you have kept for your servant David my father, what you spoke to him. And you spoke with your mouth and with your hand you fulfilled, as this day. 25 And now, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father, what you spoke to him, saying, ‘A man will not be cut off for you from before my face, sitting on the throne of Israel, if only your sons will keep their way, to walk before my face, just as you have walked before my face.’ 26 And now, the God of Israel, please let your word be proven faithful, which you spoke to your servant David my father.

27 Indeed, would God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heavens of the heavens can not contain you, how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet you will turn to the prayer of your servant and to his plea for favor, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer that your servant is praying before your face today: 29 that your eyes be opened to this house night and day, to the place where you have said, ‘My name will be there,’ to listen to the prayer that your servant will pray to this place. 30 And you will listen to the plea for favor of your servant and your people Israel that they will pray toward this place. And you, you will listen toward the place of your dwelling to the heavens. And you will hear and forgive

31 a man who sins against his neighbor and lifts up against him a curse to curse him and a curse comes before the face of your altar in this house. 32 And you, you will hear in the heavens and act and judge your servants, by declaring as wicked a wicked one, to give his way on his head, and by declaring as righteous a righteous one, to give to him according to his righteousness.

33 When your people Israel are struck down before the face of an enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn back to you and they confess your name and they pray and they plead for favor toward you in this house, 34 then you, you will hear in the heavens and you will forgive for the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the ground that you gave to their fathers.

35 When the heavens are restrained and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray toward this place and they confess your name and they turn back from their sin when you have afflicted them, 36 then you, you will hear in the heavens and forgive for the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you direct the good way in which they will walk. And you will give rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.

37 If famine would be in the land, if there would be pestilence, if there would be blight, mildew, locust, grasshopper, if his enemy would make it narrow for him in the land of his gates, any plague, any sickness, 38 any prayer, any plea for favor that would be for any man, for any of your people Israel, who know, a man the plague of his heart, and he would spread out his palms toward this house, 39 then you, you will hear in the heavens, the place of your dwelling, and you will forgive and act and give to a man according to all his ways, because you know his heart. For you, you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind, 40 so that they may fear you all the days that they are alive on the face of the ground that you gave to our fathers.

41 And also, to the foreigner, he who is not from among your people Israel, and he comes from a distant land on account of your name, 42 for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your extended arm, and he will come and pray toward this house, 43 you, you will hear in the heavens, the place of your dwelling, and you will act according to all that the foreigner has cried out to you, so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name to fear you, like your people Israel, and to know that your name has been called over this house that I have built.

44 If your people go out to battle against his enemy, by the way that you send them, and they pray to Yahweh, in the way of the city, it which you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then you will hear in the heavens their prayer and their plea for favor and you will do their justice.

46 If they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them over before the face of an enemy and they took them captive as their captives to the land of the enemy, distant or near, 47 and they bring back to their heart in the land there where they have been taken captive, and they turn back and plead for favor to you in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and we have done iniquity, we have acted wickedly,’ 48 and they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies where they took them captive and they pray to you toward the way of their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you chose and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then you will hear their prayer in the heavens, the place of your dwelling, and their plea for favor, and you will do their justice. 50 And you will forgive your people who have sinned against you and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against you. And you will give them compassion before the face of those who took them captive and they will have compassion on them. 51 For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out from Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron, 52 for your eyes to be opened to the plea for favor of your servant and to the plea for favor of your people Israel, to listen to them in all their crying out to you. 53 For you yourself separated them for yourself as an inheritance from all the peoples of the earth, just as you spoke by the hand of Moses your servant when you brought out our fathers from Egypt, my Lord Yahweh.”

54 And it happened that as soon as Solomon finishing to pray to Yahweh all this prayer and plea for favor, he rose from before the face of the altar of Yahweh, from bowing on his knees with his palms spread out toward the heavens. 55 And he stood and he blessed all the assembly of Israel with a great voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest for his people Israel, according to all that he had spoken. One word did not fall from all his good word that he had spoken by the hand of Moses his servant. 57 May Yahweh our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us and may he not forsake us, 58 inclining our heart to him, 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, which I have pleaded for favor before the face of Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God by day and night, to do the justice of his servant and the justice of his people Israel, the word of day by its day, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh, he is the God, there is none besides! 61 And may your heart be completely with Yahweh our God, by walking in his statutes and by keeping his commandments, as this day.”

62 And the king and all Israel with him were sacrificing sacrifices before the face of Yahweh. 63 And Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of peace offerings which he sacrificed to Yahweh: 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. And the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh. 64 On that day the king set apart the middle of the courtyard that was before the face of the house of Yahweh, for he made there the burnt up offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings because the altar of bronze that was before the face of Yahweh was too small to contain the burnt up offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings. 65 And Solomon performed the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo Hamath as far as the wadi of Egypt, before the face of Yahweh our God seven days and seven days, 14 days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and they went to their tents rejoicing and good of heart on account of all the goodness that Yahweh had done for David, his servant, and for Israel, his people.

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