1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

5 And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

8 And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

15 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

18 And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

20 And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

23 And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

25 Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:

32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;

42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

57 The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

58 That he may incline our hearts unto 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 let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

60 That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.

63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

1 Then Solomon assembled the Elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefe of the fathers of the children of Israel, vnto king Solomon in Ierusalem, that they might bring vp the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord, out of the citie of Dauid, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselues vnto king Solomon, at the feast, in the moneth Ethanim, which is the seuenth moneth.

3 And all the Elders of Israel came, and the Priests tooke vp the Arke.

4 And they brought vp the Arke of the Lord, and the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle, euen those did the Priests & the Leuites bring vp.

5 And king Solomon, and all the Congregation of Israel, that were assembled vnto him, were with him before the Arke, sacrificing sheepe, and oxen, that could not bee told nor numbred for multitude.

6 And the Priests brought in the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord vnto his place, into the Oracle of the house to the most holy place, euen vnder the wings of the Cherubims.

7 For the Cherubims spread forth their two wings ouer the place of the Arke, and the Cherubims couered the Arke, and the staues thereof aboue.

8 And they drew out the staues, that the ends of the staues were seene out in the Holy place before the Oracle, and they were not seene without: and there they are vnto this day.

9 There was nothing in the Arke, saue the two Tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a Couenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to passe when the Priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord;

11 So that the Priests could not stand to minister, because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

12 Then spake Solomon; The Lord said that hee would dwell in the thicke darkenesse.

13 I haue surely built thee an house to dwel in, a setled place for thee to abide in for euer.

14 And the King turned his face about, and blessed all the Congregation of Israel: (and all the Congregation of Israel stood.)

15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth vnto Dauid my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying;

16 Since the day that I brought foorth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no citie out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house that my Name might be therein; but I chose Dauid to be ouer my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of Dauid my father, to builde an house for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.

18 And the Lord sayd vnto Dauid my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house vnto my Name, thou diddest well that it was in thine heart.

19 Neuerthelesse, thou shalt not build the house, but thy sonne that shall come foorth out of thy loynes, hee shall build the house vnto my Name.

20 And the Lord hath perfourmed his word that he spake, and I am risen vp in the roume of Dauid my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and haue built an House for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.

21 And I haue set there a place for the Arke, wherein is the Couenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the Altar of the Lord, in the presence of all the Congregation of Israel, and spread foorth his handes toward heauen:

23 And hee said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heauen aboue, or on earth beneath, who keepest couenant and mercy with thy seruants, that walke before thee with all their heart:

24 Who hast kept with thy seruant Dauid my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

25 Therefore now Lord God of Israel, keepe with thy seruant Dauid my father, that thou promisedst him, saying; There shall not faile thee a man in my sight to sit on the Throne of Israel; so that thy children take heede to their way, that they walke before me as thou hast walked before me:

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy worde (I pray thee) bee verified, which thou spakest vnto thy seruant Dauid my father.

27 But will God indeede dwell on the earth? Behold, the heauen, and heauen of heauens cannot conteine thee: how much lesse this House that I haue builded?

28 Yet haue thou respect vnto the prayer of thy seruant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken vnto the crie and to the prayer, which thy seruant prayeth before thee to day:

29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, euen toward the place of which thou hast said, My Name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruant shall make towards this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy seruant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place: and heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and when thou hearest, forgiue.

31 If any man trespasse against his neighbour, and an oath be laid vpon him to cause him to sweare, and the oath come before thine Altar in this house:

32 Then heare thou in heauen, and doe, and iudge thy seruants, condemning the wicked to bring his way vpon his head, and iustifying the righteous, to giue him according to his righteousnesse.

33 When thy people Israel bee smitten downe before the enemie, because they haue sinned against thee, and shall turne againe to thee, and confesse thy Name, and pray, and make supplication vnto thee in this house:

34 Then heare thou in heauen, and forgiue the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers.

35 When heauen is shut vp, and there is no raine, because they haue sinned against thee: if they pray towards this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou afflictest them:

36 Then heare thou in heauen, and forgiue the sinne of thy seruants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walke, and giue raine vpon thy land which thou hast giuen to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller: if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities, whatsoeuer plague, whatsoeuer sicknes there be;

38 What prayer and supplication soeuer be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know euery man the plague of his owne heart, and spread forth his handes towards this house:

39 Then heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and forgiue, and do, and giue to euery man according to his wayes, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, euen thou onely knowest the hearts of all the children of men,)

40 That they may feare thee all the dayes that they liue, in the land which thou gauest vnto our fathers.

41 Moreouer, concerning a stranger that is not of thy people Israel, but commeth out of a farre countrey, for thy Names sake;

42 (For they shall heare of thy great Name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arme) when hee shall come and pray towards this house:

43 Heare thou in heauen thy dwelling place, and doe according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy Name, to feare thee, as doe thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I haue builded, is called by thy Name.

44 If thy people goe out to battell against their enemie, whithersoeuer thou shalt send them, and shall pray vnto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I haue built for thy Name:

45 Then heare thou in heauen their prayer & their supplication, and mainteine their cause.

46 If they sinne against thee, ( for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliuer them to the enemy, so that they cary them away captiues, vnto the land of the enemy, farre or neere;

47 Yet if they shall bethinke themselues, in the land whither they were caried captiues, and repent, and make supplication vnto thee in the land of them that caried them captiues, saying, Wee haue sinned, and haue done peruersly, we haue committed wickednes;

48 And so returne vnto thee with all their heart, and with all their soule, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captiue, and pray vnto thee toward their land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I haue built for thy Name:

49 Then heare thou their prayer and their supplication in heauen thy dwelling place, and mainteine their cause,

50 And forgiue thy people that haue sinned against thee, and all their transgressions, wherein they haue transgressed against thee, and giue them compassion before them who caried them captiue, that they may haue compassion on them:

51 For they bee thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest foorth out of Egypt, from the mids of the furnace of iron:

52 That thine eyes may be open vnto the supplication of thy seruant, and vnto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken vnto them in all that they call for vnto thee.

53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy seruant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication vnto the Lord, he arose from before the Altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees, with his handes spread vp to heauen.

55 And he stood, and blessed all the Congregation of Israel, with a lowd voice, saying;

56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath giuen rest vnto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his seruant.

57 The Lord our God be with vs, as he was with our fathers: let him not leaue vs, nor forsake vs:

58 That hee may encline our hearts vnto him, to walke in all his wayes, and to keepe his Commaundements, and his Statutes, and his Iudgements which hee commaunded our fathers.

59 And let these my wordes wherewith I haue made supplication before the Lord, be nigh vnto the Lord our God, day and night, that hee maintaine the cause of his seruant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God: and that there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord your God, to walke in his Statutes, and to keepe his Commandements, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.

63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered vnto the Lord, two and twentie thousand oxen, and an hundred and twentie thousand sheepe: so the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the Court that was before the house of the Lord: for there hee offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen Altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receiue the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great Congregation, from the entring in of Hamath, vnto the riuer of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seuen dayes and seuen dayes, euen fourteene dayes.

66 On the eight day he sent the people away: and they blessed the King, and went vnto their tents ioyfull, and glad of heart, for all the goodnesse that the Lord had done for Dauid his seruant, and for Israel his people.

I == 2nd Sam 5:7 , 9 ; 6:12 , 16-17 ; 2nd Chr 5:2-5

 

 

 

II == Lev 23:34 ; 2nd Chr 7:8

 

III == Num 4:15 ; Deut 31:9 ; Josh 3:3 , 6 ; 1st Chr 15:4 , 15

 

 

 

 

V == 2nd Sam 6:13

 

 

 

VI == Ex 26:33-34 ; 2nd Sam 6:17 ; 1st Kings 6:19 , 27

 

 

 

 

 

VIII == Ex 25:14 ; 2nd Chr 5:9

 

 

 

IX == Ex 25:21 ; 34:27-28 ; 40:20 ; Deut 4:13 ; 10:2 , 5

 

X == Ex 40:34-35 ; 2nd Chr 5:13 ; 7:2

 

 

 

 

XII == 2nd Chr 6:1 , 6 ; Ps 18:11 ; 97:2

XIII == 2nd Sam 7:13 ; Ps 132:14

 

XIV == 2nd Sam 6:18

 

 

XV == 2nd Sam 7:5 , 25 ; Luke 1:68

 

 

XVI == Deut 12:11 ; 1st Sam 16:1 ; 2nd Sam 7:6 , 8 ; 1st Kings 8:29 ; 1st Chr 6:5-7

 

XVII == 2nd Sam 7:2 ; 1st Chr 17:1

XVIII == 2nd Chr 6:8-9

 

 

XIX == 2nd Sam 7:5 , 12-13 ; 1st Kings 5:3 , 5

 

XX == 1st Chr 28:5-6

 

 

 

 

XXI == Deut 31:26 ; 1st Kings 8:9

 

 

XXII == Ex 9:33 ; 2nd Chr 6:12-21 ; Ezra 9:5 ; Isa 1:15

 

XXIII == Gen 17:1 ; Deut 7:9

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXV == 2nd Sam 7:12 , 16 ; 1st Kings 2:4

 

 

 

 

 

XXVI == 2nd Sam 7:25

 

 

XXVII == 2nd chr 2:6 ; Isa 66:1 ; Jer 23:24

 

 

 

 

 

XXIX == Deut 12:11 ; Dan 6:10

 

 

 

 

XXX == 2nd Chr 20:9 ; Neh 1:6

 

 

 

XXXI == Ex 22:11 ; Lev 5:1

 

 

XXXII == Deut 25:1

 

 

 

XXXIII ; Lev 26:17 , 39-40 :Deut 28:25 ; Neh 1:9

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXV == Lev 26:19 ; Deut 28:23

 

 

XXXVI == 1st Sam 12:23 ; Ps 25:4 ; 27:11 ; 94:12 ; 143:8

 

 

 

XXXVII == Lev 26:16 , 25-26 ; Deut 28:21-22 , 27 , 38 , 42 , 52 ; 2nd Chr 20:9

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXIX == 1st Sam 16:7 ; 1st Chr 28:9 ; Ps 11:4 ; Jer 17:10 ; Acts 1:24XL == Ps 130:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XLII == Deut 3:24

 

 

XLIII == 1st Sam 17:46 ; 2nd Kings 19:19 ; Ps 67:2 ; 102:15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XLVI == Lev 26:34 , 44 ; Deut 28:36 , 64 ; 2nd Chr 6:36 ; Prov 20:9 ; Eccl 7:20 ; James 3:2 ; 1st John 1:8 , 10

 

XLVII == Lev 26:40 ; Neh 1:6 ; Ps 106:6 ; Can 9:5

 

 

 

XLVIII == Jer 29:12-14 ; Dan 6:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L == Ezra 7:6 ; Ps 106:46

 

 

 

 

XI == Deut 4:20 ; 9:29 ; Neh 1:10 ; Jer 11:4

 

 

 

 

 

LIII == Ex 19:5 ; Deut 9:26 , 29 ; 14:2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LV == 2nd Sam 6:18

LVI == Deut 12:10 ; Josh 21:45 ; 23:14

 

 

 

Deut 31:6 ; Josh 1:5

 

LVIII == Ps 119:36

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LX == Deut 4:35 , 39 ; Josh 4:24 ; 1st Sam 17:46 ; 2nd Kings 19:19

LXI == 1st Kings 11:4 ; 15:3 , 14 ; 2nd Kings 20:3

 

 

LXII == 2nd Chr 7:4-5

 

 

 

 

 

 

LXIV == 2nd Chr 4:1 ; 7:7

 

 

 

 

 

LXV == Gen 15:18 ; Lev 23:34 ; Num 34:5 , 8 ; Josh 13:5 ; Judg 3:3 ; 2nd Kings 14:25 ; 2nd Chr 7:8

 

LXVI == 2nd Chr 7:9-10

 

 

 

 

1 At the order of Solomon, the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes, the princes in the ancestral houses of the Israelites, came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from the city of David (which is Zion).

2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).

3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark;

4 they carried the ark of the LORD and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. (The priests and Levites carried them.)

5 King Solomon and the entire community of Israel present for the occasion sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen too many to number or count.

6 The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple.

7 The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the ark and its poles from above.

8 The poles were so long that their ends could be seen from that part of the holy place adjoining the sanctuary; however, they could not be seen beyond. (They have remained there to this day.)

9 There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites at their departure from the land of Egypt.

10 When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD

11 so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the LORD'S glory had filled the temple of the LORD.

12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud;

13 I have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you may abide forever."

14 The king turned and greeted the whole community of Israel as they stood.

15 He said to them: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own mouth made a promise to my father David and by his hand has brought it to fulfillment. It was he who said,

16 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city out of any tribe of Israel for the building of a temple to my honor; but I choose David to rule my people Israel.'

17 When my father David wished to build a temple to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel,

18 the LORD said to him, 'In wishing to build a temple to my honor, you do well.

19 It will not be you, however, who will build the temple; but the son who will spring from you, he shall build the temple to my honor.'

20 And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise that he made: I have succeeded my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD foretold, and I have built this temple to honor the LORD, the God of Israel.

21 I have provided in it a place for the ark in which is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt."

22 Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of the whole community of Israel, and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,

23 he said, "LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep your covenant of kindness with your servants who are faithful to you with their whole heart.

24 You have kept the promise you made to my father David, your servant. You who spoke that promise, have this day, by your own power, brought it to fulfillment.

25 Now, therefore, LORD, God of Israel, keep the further promise you made to my father David, your servant, saying, 'You shall always have someone from your line to sit before me on the throne of Israel, provided only that your descendants look to their conduct so that they live in my presence, as you have lived in my presence.'

26 Now, LORD, God of Israel, may this promise which you made to my father David, your servant, be confirmed.

27 "Can it indeed be that God dwells among men on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!

28 Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day.

29 May your eyes watch night and day over this temple, the place where you have decreed you shall be honored; may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.

30 Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel which they offer in this place. Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.

31 "If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath sanctioned by a curse, when he comes and takes the oath before your altar in this temple,

32 listen in heaven; take action and pass judgment on your servants. Condemn the wicked and punish him for his conduct, but acquit the just and establish his innocence.

33 "If your people Israel sin against you and are defeated by an enemy, and if then they return to you, praise your name, pray to you, and entreat you in this temple,

34 listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave their fathers.

35 "If the sky is closed, so that there is no rain, because they have sinned against you and you afflict them, and if then they repent of their sin, and pray, and praise your name in this place,

36 listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servant and of your people Israel, teaching them the right way to live and sending rain upon this land of yours which you have given to your people as their heritage.

37 "If there is famine in the land or pestilence; or if blight comes, or mildew, or a locust swarm, or devouring insects; if an enemy of your people besieges them in one of their cities; whatever plague or sickness there may be,

38 if then any one (of your entire people Israel) has remorse of conscience and offers some prayer or petition, stretching out his hands toward this temple,

39 listen from your heavenly dwelling place and forgive. You who alone know the hearts of all men, render to each one of them according to his conduct; knowing their hearts, so treat them

40 that they may fear you as long as they live on the land you gave our fathers.

41 "To the foreigner, likewise, who is not of your people Israel, but comes from a distant land to honor you

42 (since men will learn of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple,

43 listen from your heavenly dwelling. Do all that the foreigner asks of you, that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, may fear you as do your people Israel, and may acknowledge that this temple which I have built is dedicated to your honor.

44 "Whatever the direction in which you may send your people forth to war against their enemies, if they pray to you, O LORD, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built in your honor,

45 listen in heaven to their prayer and petition, and defend their cause.

46 "When they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin), and in your anger against them you deliver them to the enemy, so that their captors deport them to a hostile land, far or near,

47 may they repent in the land of their captivity and be converted. If then they entreat you in the land of their captors and say, 'We have sinned and done wrong; we have been wicked';

48 if with their whole heart and soul they turn back to you in the land of the enemies who took them captive, pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built in your honor,

49 listen from your heavenly dwelling.

50 Forgive your people their sins and all the offenses they have committed against you, and grant them mercy before their captors, so that these will be merciful to them.

51 For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of an iron furnace.

52 "Thus may your eyes be open to the petition of your servant and to the petition of your people Israel. Hear them whenever they call upon you,

53 because you have set them apart among all the peoples of the earth for your inheritance, as you declared through your servant Moses when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD."

54 When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer of petition to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands outstretched toward heaven.

55 He stood and blessed the whole community of Israel, saying in a loud voice:

56 "Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not a single word has gone unfulfilled of the entire generous promise he made through his servant Moses.

57 May the LORD, our God, be with us as he was with our fathers and may he not forsake us nor cast us off.

58 May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may follow him in everything and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances which he enjoined on our fathers.

59 May this prayer I have offered to the LORD, our God, be present to him day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and of his people Israel as each day requires,

60 that all the peoples of the earth may know the LORD is God and there is no other.

61 You must be wholly devoted to the LORD, our God, observing his statutes and keeping his commandments, as on this day."

62 The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.

63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. Thus the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD.

64 On that day the king consecrated the middle of the court facing the temple of the LORD; he offered there the holocausts, the cereal offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to hold these offerings.

65 On this occasion Solomon and all the Israelites, who had assembled in large numbers from Labo of Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt, celebrated the festival before the LORD, our God, for seven days.

66 On the eighth day he dismissed the people, who bade the king farewell and went to their homes, rejoicing and happy over all the blessings the LORD had given to his servant David and to his people Israel.

v 1,2. Eleven months after the temple was finished, all clean up was done, the dedicated things put in storage, and all was in readiness to bring up the ark and dedicate the temple. Solomon assembled all the leaders of Israel to have part in the dedication, but he timed it in the seventh month, so that all Israel could come a week before the time of Feast of Tabernacles.

 

v 3-7. The ark had been in the part of Jerusalem known as Zion, the city of David, but now it is moved to the main part of Jerusalem. It is carried by the priests, and the  Levites moved the tent and all holy items that had been in the tent, probably storing them. It was the priests’ job to carry the ark, but on this special occasion, the priests carry it as they did when they marched around Jericho. Apparently Solomon and a multitude of people went on ahead and began sacrificing animals without numbering or counting the cost. This is not the same sacrifice as in 8: 62-64. The priests carried it into the Most Holy place and placed it under the over spreading wings of the cherubim  which were of olive wood overlaid with gold.

v 8. They didn’t draw the staves clear out, that would be contrary to Ex. 25:15. They drew them far enough that they would not interfere with the cherubim and could be seen at the door of the holy place, but could not be seen beyond that.

v 9-11. With the passage of years and local captivity, the manna, Aaron’s rod had been removed, and if the book of the Law written by Moses was ever placed in it instead of beside it, Deut. 31:26, it had been removed too, so only the two tables of stone with the ten commandments remained. As soon as the priests went out, the glory of the Lord came in, a cloud as in the wilderness. In Ex. 16:33,34 the ark wasn’t yet built and the pot of manna was to be put before the two stones of testimony. In Ex. 25:16 the command was given to put the testimony into the ark. In Num. 17:4, the rods were to be placed before the testimony, and v 10, Aaron’s was to be returned and kept there. It would seem, according to Heb. 9:4, that sometime, either before or after Solomon, the rod and the manna were in it for a while.
Note. 1 Ki. 7:51-8:11 is similar to 2 Chr. 5:1-14, but 2 Chr. 11-14 adds that all 24 divisions of priests and Levites were present for the occasion instead of serving in the usual courses. Asaph, Heman and Jeduthin with all their musicians were clothed in white linen and had their cymbals psaltries and harps, and with them 120 priests east of the altar blowing trumpets. All were in unison and then praised the Lord saying, “For He is good, for His mercy endureth forever.” Then the cloud filled the temple. 

v 12-21. Solomon wants the Lord’s presence, as indicated by the dark cloud, to remain with them forever. When Solomon turned to the congregation, they arose in respect. He blessed the people and blessed God for putting it in David’s heart to build the temple. The Lord said David’s son would do it, and it has now been done, not for himself, but for the name of God, that is, where His presence would dwell. 
Verses 22-53 are like 2 Cor. 6:12-42, but it may be worded more beautifully there.

v 22-24. Solomon stood on a platform seven and one half feet square and four and one half feet high, spread his hands and kneeled on his knees to pray, 2 Chr. 6:12,13. He began with worship and praise for God keeping His promises, then made petitions: 

v 25-30. [1] God’s presence and protection. To continue the promises to David and hear him and the people when they pray toward the temple, but recognizing it  or even heaven, could not contain God, though heaven is His dwelling place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 31,32. [2] Forgiveness of trespasses between Israelite, Judging them rightly.
v 33,34. [3] Forgiveness of sins which caused defeat in battle.

 

 

 

 

 

v 35.36. [4] Forgiveness of sins whitch brought on  drouth.

 

 

 

v 37-40 [5] Forgiveness of sins causing other calamities, famine, plague, blight, mildew, locusts, grasshoppers, enemies siege, diseases. Purpose, to fear God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 41-43. [6] Mercy on God fearing foreigners. So all on the earth would fear God.

 

 

 

 

 

v 44,45  [7] Victory in battle.

 

 

v 46-49  [8] Compassion from enemies while in captivity, if pray toward Jerusalem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 50-53  [9] Summary, God’s attention to every prayer because they are chosen to be His inheritance as told to Moses (and His mercies to David, 2 Chr. 6:42).

 

 

 

 

 

v 54-61. When Solomon arose from his knees he pronounced a benediction on the people, praising God for keeping his promises to Moses. He made three requests to God:  V 57, That God would be with us; V 58, God would incline them to obey Him;  V 59, That all his requests might be near the heart of God continually, and by this     all people might know God. In view of those things, they should obey God.
At this point that 2 Chr. 7:1-3 takes place .  As soon as Solomon ended his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, showing God’s acceptance. A cloud had filled the house, 8:10 and 2 Chr. 5:13, now  the cloud and the glory of the Lord filled the house again, and again the priests could not enter. The people were in awe and repeated the words of the musicians and Levites in 5:13.

 

 

 

v 62-66. This is not the same sacrifice as in 8:5.  The altar was not large enough to handle the vast offering, so the king hallowed the middle of the court, and more were offered right on top of the pavement stones. The normal week of Feast of Tabernacles was extended to two weeks to celebrate the permanent home of the ark. People had come from one extreme of the country to the other, and leave with joy.
2 Chr.  7:6-11. Adds, during this great sacrifice, the Levites played, the priests sounded the trumpets, and the people stood. After the 14 days of celebration, the next day was a solemn assembly usually coming after the 8th day. Ordinarily the feast began on the 15th and they would be sent home the 23rd, so they had begun the celebration early, on the 8th of the month.
Solomon had spared no cost or effort in building the temple. Our bodies are the temple of the Lord and we should glorify God by our bodies, 1 Cor. 6:19,20.
Some comparisons between the temple and tabernacle
1 Chr. 28:19  with   Ex. 25:40              God gave the pattern
1 Chr. 29:9    with   Ex. 25:2                 People agreed with willing hearts
2 Chr. 3:5-8   with   Ex. 26:33              Old, linen veil - New. gold overlay
2 Chr. 4:1       with   Ex. 27:1                Old altar, 5x5x3 cubits - New, 20x20x10
2 Chr. 4:2-6   with   Ex. 30:18-21         Old, a laver - New, a “sea” and 10 lavers
2 Chr. 4:19    with    Ex. 37:10,25,26   New, more but similar vessels