For He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
The temple, the
Lord
's temple, was filled with a cloud.
14
And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the
Lord
filled God's temple.
2 Chronicles
Solomon's Dedication of the Temple
6
Then Solomon said:
The
Lord
said He would dwell in thick darkness,
2
but I have built an exalted temple for You,
a place for Your residence forever.
3
Then the king turned and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing.
4
He said:
May the
Lord
God of Israel be praised!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and He has fulfilled the promise
by His power.
He said,
5
“Since the day I brought My people Israel
out of the land of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that My name would be there,
and I have not chosen a man
to be ruler over My people Israel.
6
But I have chosen Jerusalem
so that My name will be there,
and I have chosen David
to be over My people Israel.”
7
Now it was in the heart of my father David
to build a temple for the name of
•Yahweh
, the God of Israel.
8
However, Yahweh said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.
9
Yet, you are not the one to build the temple,
but your son, your own offspring,
will build the temple for My name.”
10
So Yahweh has fulfilled what He promised.
I have taken the place of my father David
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised.
I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
11
I have put the ark there,
where Yahweh's covenant is
that He made with the Israelites.
Solomon's Prayer
12
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the
Lord
in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands.
13
For Solomon had made a bronze platform 7
1
/
2
feet long, 7
1
/
2
feet wide, and 4
1
/
2
feet high and put it in the court. He stood on it, knelt down in front of the entire congregation of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven.
14
He said:
Lord
God of Israel,
there is no God like You
in heaven or on earth,
keeping His gracious covenant
with Your servants who walk before You
with their whole heart.
15
You have kept what You promised
to Your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him,
and You fulfilled Your promise by Your power,
as it is today.
16
Therefore,
Lord
God of Israel,
keep what You promised
to Your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before Me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons guard their way to walk in My Law
as you have walked before Me.”
17
Now,
Lord
God of Israel, please confirm
what You promised to Your servant David.
18
But will God indeed live on earth with man?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You,
much less this temple I have built.
19
Listen to Your servant's prayer and his petition,
Lord
my God,
so that You may hear the cry and the prayer
that Your servant prays before You,
20
so that Your eyes watch over this temple
day and night,
toward the place where You said
You would put Your name;
and so that You may hear the prayer
Your servant prays toward this place.
21
Hear the petitions of Your servant
and Your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.
May You hear in Your dwelling place in heaven.
May You hear and forgive.
22
If a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath
and he comes to take an oath
before Your altar in this temple,
23
may You hear in heaven and act.
May You judge Your servants,
condemning the wicked man by bringing
what he has done on his own head
and providing justice for the righteous
by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
24
If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against You,
and they return to You and praise Your name,
and they pray and plead for mercy
before You in this temple,
25
may You hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of Your people Israel.
May You restore them to the land
You gave them and their ancestors.
26
When the skies are shut and there is no rain
because they have sinned against You,
and they pray toward this place
and praise Your name,
and they turn from their sins
because You are afflicting them,
27
may You hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of Your servants
and Your people Israel,
so that You may teach them the good way
they should walk in.
May You send rain on Your land
that You gave Your people for an inheritance.
28
When there is famine on the earth,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight, mildew, locust, or grasshopper,
when their enemies besiege them
in the region of their fortified cities,
when there is any plague or illness,
29
whatever prayer or petition
anyone from your people Israel might have —
each man knowing his own affliction and suffering,
and spreading out his hands toward this temple —
30
may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,
and may You forgive and repay the man
according to all his ways, since You know his heart,
for You alone know the human heart,
31
so that they may
•fear
You
and walk in Your ways
all the days they live on the land
You gave our ancestors.
32
Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of Your great name
and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm:
when he comes and prays toward this temple,
33
may You hear in heaven in Your dwelling place,
and do all the foreigner asks You.
Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name,
to fear You as Your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
is called by Your name.
34
When Your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever You send them,
and they pray to You
in the direction of this city You have chosen
and the temple that I have built for Your name,
35
may You hear their prayer and petition in heaven
and uphold their cause.
36
When they sin against You —
for there is no one who does not sin —
and You are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them
to a distant or nearby country,
37
and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition You in their captors' land,
saying: “We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
38
and when they return to You with their whole mind and heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that You gave their ancestors,
and the city You have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for Your name,
39
may You hear their prayer and petitions in heaven,
Your dwelling place,
and uphold their cause.
May You forgive Your people
who sinned against You.
40
Now, my God,
please let Your eyes be open
and Your ears attentive
to the prayer of this place.
41
Now therefore:
Arise,
Lord
God, come to Your resting place,
You and Your powerful ark.
May Your priests,
Lord
God, be clothed with salvation,
and may Your godly people rejoice in goodness.
42
Lord
God, do not reject Your anointed one;
remember the loyalty of Your servant David.
2 Chronicles
The Dedication Ceremonies
7
When Solomon finished praying, fire descended from heaven and consumed the
•burnt
offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the
Lord
filled the temple.
2
The priests were not able to enter the
Lord
's temple because the glory of the
Lord
filled the temple of the
Lord
.
3
All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the
Lord
came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised the
Lord
:
For He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.
4
The king and all the people were offering sacrifices in the
Lord
's presence.
5
King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. In this manner the king and all the people dedicated God's temple.
6
The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the
Lord
, which King David had made to praise the
Lord
— “for His faithful love endures forever” — when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.
7
Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not accommodate the burnt offering, the
•grain
offering, and the fat of the
•fellowship
offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the
Lord
's temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.
8
So Solomon and all Israel with him — a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath to the Brook of Egypt — observed the festival at that time for seven days.
9
On the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for the dedication of the altar lasted seven days and the festival seven days.
10
On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the
Lord
had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.
11
So Solomon finished the
Lord
's temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon's heart to do for the
Lord
's temple and for his own palace succeeded.
The
Lord
's Response
12
Then the
Lord
appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:
I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a temple of sacrifice.
13
If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on My people,
14
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
15
My eyes will now be open and My ears attentive to prayer from this place.
16
And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My name may be there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.