| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 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. | 1Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel's elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the LORD's covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). |
| 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. | 2All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month Ethanim (the seventh month). |
| 3When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. | 3When all Israel's elders had arrived, the priests lifted the ark. |
| 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. | 4The priests and Levites carried the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy items in the tent. |
| 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! | 5Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. |
| 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. | 6The priests brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubs. |
| 7The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. | 7The cherubs' wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubs overshadowed the ark and its poles. |
| 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. | 8The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day. |
| 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. | 9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. It was there that the LORD made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt. |
| 10When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. | 10Once the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the LORD's 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 | 11The priests could not carry out their duties because of the cloud; the LORD's glory filled his temple. |
| 12Then Solomon prayed, “O LORD, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. | 12Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he lives in thick darkness. |
| 13Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever! ” | 13O LORD, truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently." |
| 14Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: | 14Then the king turned around and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. |
| 15“Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, | 15He said, "The LORD God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David. |
| 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.’” | 16He told David, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.' |
| 17Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. | 17Now my father David had a strong desire to build a temple to honor the LORD God of Israel. |
| 18But the LORD told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, | 18The LORD told my father David, 'It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. |
| 19but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’ | 19But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.' |
| 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. | 20The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David's place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the LORD God of Israel |
| 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 | 21and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the LORD made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt." |
| 22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, | 22Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky. |
| 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. | 23He prayed: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity. |
| 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. | 24You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. |
| 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.’ | 25Now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, 'You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and serve me as you have done.' |
| 26Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father. | 26Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant, my father David, be realized. |
| 27“But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! | 27"God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! |
| 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. | 28But respond favorably to your servant's prayer and his request for help, O LORD my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you today. |
| 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. | 29Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant's prayer for this place. |
| 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. | 30Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably. |
| 31“If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar in this Temple, | 31"When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. |
| 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. | 32Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants' claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. |
| 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, | 33"The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple, |
| 34then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors. | 34then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. |
| 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, | 35"The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them, |
| 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. | 36then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess. |
| 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— | 37"The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. |
| 38and if your people Israel pray about their troubles, raising their hands toward this Temple, | 38When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their pain and spread out their hands toward this temple, |
| 39then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. | 39then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) |
| 40Then they will fear you as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. | 40Then they will obey you throughout their lifetimes as they live on the land you gave to our ancestors. |
| 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, | 41"Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. |
| 42for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, | 42When they hear about your great reputation and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds, they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. |
| 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. | 43Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. |
| 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, | 44"When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to the LORD toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, |
| 45then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause. | 45then listen from heaven to their prayers for help and vindicate them. |
| 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. | 46"The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by. |
| 47But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ | 47When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.' |
| 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— | 48When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, |
| 49then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. | 49then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help and vindicate them. |
| 50Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, | 50Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them. |
| 51for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt. | 51After all, they are your people and your special possession whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. |
| 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. | 52"May you be attentive to your servant's and your people Israel's requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you. |
| 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 | 53After all, you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign LORD, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt." |
| 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. | 54When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the LORD, he got up from before the altar of the LORD where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky. |
| 55He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel: | 55When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: |
| 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. | 56"The LORD is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! |
| 57May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. | 57May the LORD our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. |
| 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. | 58May he make us submissive, so we can follow all his instructions and obey the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. |
| 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. | 59May the LORD our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, so that he might vindicate his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. |
| 60Then people all over the earth will know that the LORD alone is God and there is no other. | 60Then all the nations of the earth will recognize that the LORD is the only genuine God. |
| 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.” | 61May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the LORD our God by following his rules and obeying his commandments, as you are presently doing." |
| 62Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the LORD. | 62The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to 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. | 63Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the LORD's temple. |
| 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. | 64That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the LORD's temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the LORD was too small to hold all these offerings. |
| 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. | 65At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the LORD our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south. |
| 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. | 66On the fifteenth day after the festival started, he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king and then went to their homes, happy and content because of all the good the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel. |
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