| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. | 1Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. |
| 2All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. | 2So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim. |
| 3When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, | 3When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. |
| 4and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, | 4The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the LORD along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. |
| 5and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. | 5There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! |
| 6The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. | 6Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. |
| 7The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. | 7The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. |
| 8These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. | 8These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. |
| 9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. | 9Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt. |
| 10When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. | 10When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. |
| 11And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. | 11The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD. Solomon Praises the LORD |
| 12Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; | 12Then Solomon prayed, “O LORD, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. |
| 13I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever." | 13Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever! ” |
| 14While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. | 14Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: |
| 15Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, | 15“Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, |
| 16Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.' | 16‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’” |
| 17"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. | 17Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. |
| 18But the LORD said to my father David, 'You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. | 18But the LORD told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, |
| 19Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood--he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.' | 19but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’ |
| 20"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. | 20“And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. |
| 21I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt." | 21And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the LORD made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.” Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication |
| 22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven | 22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, |
| 23and said: "LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. | 23and he prayed, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. |
| 24You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it--as it is today. | 24You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today. |
| 25"Now LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.' | 25“And now, O LORD, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow me as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ |
| 26And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. | 26Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father. |
| 27"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! | 27“But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! |
| 28Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. | 28Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. |
| 29May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. | 29May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. |
| 30Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. | 30May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. |
| 31"When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, | 31“If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar in this Temple, |
| 32then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence. | 32then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Punish the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence. |
| 33"When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, | 33“If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, |
| 34then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. | 34then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors. |
| 35"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, | 35“If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, |
| 36then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. | 36then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession. |
| 37"When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, | 37“If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— |
| 38and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel--being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple-- | 38and if your people Israel pray about their troubles, raising their hands toward this Temple, |
| 39then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), | 39then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. |
| 40so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors. | 40Then they will fear you as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. |
| 41"As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name-- | 41“In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, |
| 42for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm--when they come and pray toward this temple, | 42for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, |
| 43then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. | 43then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name. |
| 44"When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, | 44“If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to the LORD by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, |
| 45then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. | 45then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause. |
| 46"When they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; | 46“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. |
| 47and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; | 47But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ |
| 48and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; | 48If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— |
| 49then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. | 49then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. |
| 50And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; | 50Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, |
| 51for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace. | 51for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt. |
| 52"May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. | 52“May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. May you hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you. |
| 53For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign LORD, brought our ancestors out of Egypt." | 53For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign LORD, you told your servant Moses that you had set Israel apart from all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession.” The Dedication of the Temple |
| 54When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. | 54When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the LORD, he stood up in front of the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. |
| 55He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying: | 55He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel: |
| 56"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. | 56“Praise the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. |
| 57May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. | 57May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. |
| 58May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. | 58May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. |
| 59And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, | 59And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the LORD be before him constantly, day and night, so that the LORD our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. |
| 60so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. | 60Then people all over the earth will know that the LORD alone is God and there is no other. |
| 61And may your hearts be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time." | 61And may you be completely faithful to the LORD our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.” |
| 62Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. | 62Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the LORD. |
| 63Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD. | 63Solomon offered to the LORD a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the LORD. |
| 64On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the LORD was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. | 64That same day the king consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the LORD’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar in the LORD’s presence was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings. |
| 65So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him--a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. | 65Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters in the presence of the LORD our God. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. The celebration went on for fourteen days in all—seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters. |
| 66On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel. | 66After the festival was over, Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the LORD had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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