The Ark Enters the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5:1–14)

1Then Solomon gathered the elders of Israel, & al the heads of the tribes, and them that were captaynes amog the fathers of the children of Israel, vnto him in Hierusalem, that they might bring vp the arke of the appoyntment of the Lorde out of the citie of Dauid, which is Sion. 2And all the men of Israel assembled vnto king Solomon to the feast that falleth in the moneth Ethanim, which is the seuenth moneth. 3And al the elders of Israel were come, and the priestes tooke vp the arke. 4And they bare the arke of the Lorde, the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle: those dyd the priestes and the leuites beare. 5And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled vnto him and went with him before the arke, did offer sheepe and oxen, that could not be tolde nor numbred for multitude. 6And so the priestes brought the arke of the appoyntment of the Lord vnto his place euen into the quier of the temple and place most holy, vnder the winges of the Cherubs: 7For the Cherubs stretched out their winges ouer the place of the arke, and couered both it and also the staues therof a hie vpon it. 8And they drew out the staues, that the endes of them might appeare out of the holy place within the quier, but they were not seene without, and there they haue ben vnto this day. 9And there was nothing in the arke saue the two tables of stone, which Moyses put there at Horeb, in ye which tables the Lorde made an appoyntment with the children of Israel when he brought them out of the lande of Egypt. 10And it fortuned that when the priestes were come out of the holy place, the cloude filled the house of the Lorde, 11That the priestes could not stand and minister because of the cloude: for the glory of the Lorde had filled the house of the Lorde.

Solomon Blesses the LORD
(2 Chronicles 6:1–11)

12Then spake Solomon: The Lorde saide that he would dwell in the darke cloude.

13I haue built thee an house to dwell in, an habitation for thee to abyde in for euer.

14And the king turned his face, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stoode still. 15And he saide: Blessed be the Lorde God of Israel, which spake with his mouth vnto Dauid my father, & hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying: 16Sence the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no citie of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein: But I haue chosen Dauid to be ruler ouer my people of Israel. 17And it was in the heart of Dauid my father to build an house for the name of the Lorde God of Israel: 18And the Lorde saide vnto Dauid my father: Whereas it was in thyne heart to build an house vnto my name, thou diddest well that thou wast so minded: 19Neuerthelesse, thou shalt not build the house: but thy sonne that shall come out of thy loynes, he shall build the house vnto my name. 20And the Lorde hath made good his word that he spake, and I am rysen vp in the roome of Dauid my father, and sit on the seate of Israel, as the Lorde promysed, and haue built an house for the name of the Lorde God of Israel: 21And I haue prepared therein a place for the arke, wherein is the couenaunt of the Lorde which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the lande of Egypt.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 6:12–42)

22Solomon stoode before the aulter of the Lorde in the sight of all the congregation of Israel, and stretched out his handes toward heauen, and sayde: 23Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heauen aboue, or in the earth beneath, thou that kepest couenaunt & mercy for thy seruauntes that walke before thee with all their heart. 24Thou that hast kept with thy seruaut Dauid my father that thou promisedst him: Thou spakest also with thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with thyne hand, as it is come to passe this day. 25Therfore now Lorde God of Israel, keepe with thy seruaunt Dauid my father that thou promisedst him, saying, Thou shalt not be without a man in my sight to syt on the seate of Israel: so that thy childre take heede to their way, that they walke before me, as thou hast walked in my sight. 26And now O God of Israel, let thy word be verified which thou spakest vnto thy seruaunt Dauid my father.

27Wyll God in deede dwell on the earth? Beholde, the heauens and heauens of all heauens are not able to contayne thee: and how should then this house do it that I haue builded? 28Haue thou therefore respect vnto the prayer of thy seruaunt, and to his supplication O Lorde my God, to heare the crye and prayer which thy seruaunt prayeth before thee this day: 29That thyne eyes may be open toward this house nyght and day, euen toward this place, of which thou haste said, My name shal be there: That thou mayst hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruaunt prayeth in this place, 30And regarde thou the supplication of thy seruaunt and of thy people Israel when they pray in this place: and heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest haue mercy.

31If any man trespasse against his neyghbour, & there go an oth betweene them, and the one compel the other, and come, swearing before thyne aulter in this house: 32Then hearken thou in heauen, and do and iudge thy seruauntes, that thou condemne the vngodly, to bring his way vpon his head: and iustifie the righteous, to geue him according to his righteousnesse.

33When thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemie, because they haue sinned against thee, & afterwarde turne againe to thee, and knowledge vnto thy name, and pray and make supplication vnto thee in this house: 34Then heare thou in heauen, to be mercifull vnto the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the land which thou gauest vnto their fathers.

35If heauen be shut vp, and there be no rayne, because they haue sinned against thee: yet if they pray in this place, and knowledge vnto thy name, and turne from their sinne through thy scourging of them: 36Then heare thou in heauen, and be mercyfull vnto the sinnes of thy seruauntes, and of thy people Israel, that thou shewe them a good way to walke in, and geue rayne vpon the lande that thou hast geuen to thy people to inherite.

37If there be in the lande dearth, or pestilence, drouth, blasting, grashopper, or caterpiller: or if their enemie besiege the in the lande of their cities, or whatsoeuer plague or sickenesse chaunce, 38Then what prayers and supplication soeuer be made of any man, of all thy people Israel, which shall knowledge euery man the plague of his owne heart, and stretch foorth his handes toward this house: 39Heare thou then in heauen, euen in thy dwelling place, and be mercyfull, and do and geue euery man according to his wayes, euen as thou that onely knowest his heart (for thou onely knowest the heartes of all the children of men:) 40That they may feare thee as long as they lyue in the lande which thou gauest vnto our fathers.

41And likewyse if a straunger that is not of thy people Israel, come out of a farre countrey for thy names sake: 42(For they shal heare of thy great name, and of thy mightie hand, & of thy stretched out arme) and shall come and pray in this house: 43Therfore heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, & do all that the straunger calleth to thee for: that all nations of the earth may knowe thy name, and feare thee as do thy people Israel, and that they may knowe that thy name is called vpon in this house which I haue builded.

44If thy people go out to battell against their enemie whythersoeuer thou shalt send them, and shal pray vnto the Lord toward the way of the citie which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I haue built for thy name: 45Heare thou in heauen their prayer and supplication, and iudge their cause.

46If they sinne against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) & thou be angry with them, and delyuer them into the hand of their enemies, so that they cary them away prisoners, vnto the lande of their enemies whether farre or neare: 47Yet if they turne againe vnto their heartes in the lande of them that caryed them away captiues, & returne and pray vnto thee in the lande of their enemies, saying, we haue sinned, we haue done wickely, and haue committed vngodlynesse: 48And so turne agayne vnto thee with all their heart and all their soule in the lande of their enemies which led them away captiue, and pray vnto thee, toward the way of their land which thou gauest vnto their fathers, and toward the citie which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I haue built for thy name: 49Then heare thou their prayer and supplication in heauen thy dwellyng place, and iudge their cause: 50And be mercyfull vnto thy people that haue sinned against thee, and vnto all their iniquities wherby they haue done wickedly against thee, & get thou them the fauour of those whiche led them away captiue, that they may haue compassion on them. 51For they be thy people, and thyne inheritaunce, whiche thou broughtest out of Egypt, euen from the middest of the fornace of iron. 52And let thyne eyes be open vnto the prayer of thy seruaunt, and vnto the prayer of thy people Israel, to hearken vnto them in all that they call for vnto thee. 53For thou dyddest seperate them from among all the nations of the earth to be thyne owne inheritaunce, as thou saydest by the hande of Moyses thy seruaunt, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt O Lorde God.

Solomon’s Benediction

54And when Solomon had made an ende of praying all this prayer and supplication vnto the Lorde, he arose from before the aulter of the Lorde, & from kneling on his knees, & from stretching of his handes vp to heauen, 55And stoode & blessed all the congregatio of Israel, with a loude voyce, saying:

56Blessed be the Lorde that hath geuen rest vnto his people Israel, according to al that he promised: there hath not fayled one worde of all the good promise which he promised by the hand of Moyses his seruaunt. 57The Lorde our God be with vs, as he was with our fathers, and forsake vs not, neither leaue vs: 58But that he may bowe our heartes vnto him, that we may walke in all his wayes, & kepe his commaundementes, his statutes, and his lawes whiche he commaunded our fathers. 59And these my wordes whiche I haue prayed before the Lorde, be nye vnto the Lorde our God day and night, that he defende the cause of his seruaunt, and the cause of his people Israel, what thing soeuer chaunce at any time: 60That al nations of ye earth may knowe that the Lord is God, and none but he. 61Let your heart therfore be perfect with the Lord our God, that ye walke in his statutes, and kepe his commaundementes, as this day.

Sacrifices of Dedication
(2 Chronicles 7:4–10)

62And the king and al Israel with him offered offeringes before the Lorde. 63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offringes whiche he offered vnto the Lorde to wit twentie and two thousande oxen, and an hundred and twentie thousande sheepe: And so the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lorde. 64The same day dyd the king halowe the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offeringes, meate offeringes, and the fat of the peace offeringes: because the brasen aulter that was before the Lorde, was to litle to receaue the burnt offringes, meate offeringes, and the fat of the peace offeringes.

65And Solomon helde that same time an hye feast, and all Israel with him, a verie great congregation, euen from the entring in of Hemath vnto the riuer of Egypt before the Lorde our God seuen dayes, and seuen dayes, euen foureteene dayes. 66And the eyght day he sent the people away, & they blessed the king, and went vnto their tentes, ioyous and with glad heart, because of all the goodnesse that the Lorde had done for Dauid his seruaunt, and for Israel his people.