Worthy.Bible » Parallel » 1 Kings » Chapter 8 » Verse 1-66

1 Kings 8:1-66 King James Version (KJV)

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 cherubim.

7 For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim 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 neighbor, 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 caterpillar; 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 brazen 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 Kings 8:1-66 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Then Solomon H8010 assembled H6950 the elders H2205 of Israel, H3478 and all the heads H7218 of the tribes, H4294 the chief H5387 of the fathers H1 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 unto king H4428 Solomon H8010 in Jerusalem, H3389 that they might bring up H5927 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 of the LORD H3068 out of the city H5892 of David, H1732 which is Zion. H6726

2 And all the men H376 of Israel H3478 assembled H6950 themselves unto king H4428 Solomon H8010 at the feast H2282 in the month H3391 Ethanim, H388 which is the seventh H7637 month. H2320

3 And all the elders H2205 of Israel H3478 came, H935 and the priests H3548 took up H5375 the ark. H727

4 And they brought up H5927 the ark H727 of the LORD, H3068 and the tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 and all the holy H6944 vessels H3627 that were in the tabernacle, H168 even those did the priests H3548 and the Levites H3881 bring up. H5927

5 And king H4428 Solomon, H8010 and all the congregation H5712 of Israel, H3478 that were assembled H3259 unto him, were with him before H6440 the ark, H727 sacrificing H2076 sheep H6629 and oxen, H1241 that could not be told H5608 nor numbered H4487 for multitude. H7230

6 And the priests H3548 brought in H935 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 of the LORD H3068 unto his place, H4725 into the oracle H1687 of the house, H1004 to the most H6944 holy H6944 place, even under the wings H3671 of the cherubims. H3742

7 For the cherubims H3742 spread forth H6566 their two wings H3671 over the place H4725 of the ark, H727 and the cherubims H3742 covered H5526 the ark H727 and the staves H905 thereof above. H4605

8 And they drew out H748 the staves, H905 that the ends H7218 of the staves H905 were seen out H7200 in the holy H6944 place before H6440 the oracle, H1687 and they were not seen H7200 without: H2351 and there they are unto this day. H3117

9 There was nothing in the ark H727 save H7535 the two H8147 tables H3871 of stone, H68 which Moses H4872 put H3240 there at Horeb, H2722 when the LORD H3068 made H3772 a covenant with the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 when they came out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714

10 And it came to pass, when the priests H3548 were come out H3318 of the holy H6944 place, that the cloud H6051 filled H4390 the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068

11 So that the priests H3548 could H3201 not stand H5975 to minister H8334 because H6440 of the cloud: H6051 for the glory H3519 of the LORD H3068 had filled H4390 the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068

12 Then spake H559 Solomon, H8010 The LORD H3068 said H559 that he would dwell H7931 in the thick darkness. H6205

13 I have surely H1129 built H1129 thee an house H1004 to dwell in, H2073 a settled place H4349 for thee to abide in H3427 for ever. H5769

14 And the king H4428 turned H5437 his face H6440 about, H5437 and blessed H1288 all the congregation H6951 of Israel: H3478 (and all the congregation H6951 of Israel H3478 stood;) H5975

15 And he said, H559 Blessed H1288 be the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel, H3478 which spake H1696 with his mouth H6310 unto David H1732 my father, H1 and hath with his hand H3027 fulfilled H4390 it, saying, H559

16 Since the day H3117 that I brought forth H3318 my people H5971 Israel H3478 out of Egypt, H4714 I chose H977 no city H5892 out of all the tribes H7626 of Israel H3478 to build H1129 an house, H1004 that my name H8034 might be therein; but I chose H977 David H1732 to be over my people H5971 Israel. H3478

17 And it was in the heart H3824 of David H1732 my father H1 to build H1129 an house H1004 for the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel. H3478

18 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto David H1732 my father, H1 Whereas H3282 H834 it was in thine heart H3824 to build H1129 an house H1004 unto my name, H8034 thou didst well H2895 that it was in thine heart. H3824

19 Nevertheless H7535 thou shalt not build H1129 the house; H1004 but thy son H1121 that shall come forth out H3318 of thy loins, H2504 he shall build H1129 the house H1004 unto my name. H8034

20 And the LORD H3068 hath performed H6965 his word H1697 that he spake, H1696 and I am risen up H6965 in the room of David H1732 my father, H1 and sit H3427 on the throne H3678 of Israel, H3478 as the LORD H3068 promised, H1696 and have built H1129 an house H1004 for the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel. H3478

21 And I have set H7760 there a place H4725 for the ark, H727 wherein is the covenant H1285 of the LORD, H3068 which he made H3772 with our fathers, H1 when he brought them out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714

22 And Solomon H8010 stood H5975 before H6440 the altar H4196 of the LORD H3068 in the presence of H5048 all the congregation H6951 of Israel, H3478 and spread forth H6566 his hands H3709 toward heaven: H8064

23 And he said, H559 LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel, H3478 there is no God H430 like thee, in heaven H8064 above, H4605 or on earth H776 beneath, who keepest H8104 covenant H1285 and mercy H2617 with thy servants H5650 that walk H1980 before H6440 thee with all their heart: H3820

24 Who hast kept H8104 with thy servant H5650 David H1732 my father H1 that thou promisedst H1696 him: thou spakest H1696 also with thy mouth, H6310 and hast fulfilled H4390 it with thine hand, H3027 as it is this day. H3117

25 Therefore now, LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel, H3478 keep H8104 with thy servant H5650 David H1732 my father H1 that thou promisedst H1696 him, saying, H559 There shall not fail H3772 thee a man H376 in my sight H6440 to sit H3427 on the throne H3678 of Israel; H3478 so H7535 that thy children H1121 take heed H8104 to their way, H1870 that they walk H3212 before H6440 me as thou hast walked H1980 before H6440 me.

26 And now, O God H430 of Israel, H3478 let thy word, H1697 I pray thee, be verified, H539 which thou spakest H1696 unto thy servant H5650 David H1732 my father. H1

27 But will God H430 indeed H552 dwell H3427 on the earth? H776 behold, the heaven H8064 and heaven H8064 of heavens H8064 cannot contain H3557 thee; how much less H637 this house H1004 that I have builded? H1129

28 Yet have thou respect H6437 unto the prayer H8605 of thy servant, H5650 and to his supplication, H8467 O LORD H3068 my God, H430 to hearken H8085 unto the cry H7440 and to the prayer, H8605 which thy servant H5650 prayeth H6419 before H6440 thee to day: H3117

29 That thine eyes H5869 may be open H6605 toward this house H1004 night H3915 and day, H3117 even toward the place H4725 of which thou hast said, H559 My name H8034 shall be there: that thou mayest hearken H8085 unto the prayer H8605 which thy servant H5650 shall make H6419 toward this place. H4725

30 And hearken H8085 thou to the supplication H8467 of thy servant, H5650 and of thy people H5971 Israel, H3478 when they shall pray H6419 toward this place: H4725 and hear H8085 thou in heaven H8064 thy dwelling H3427 place: H4725 and when thou hearest, H8085 forgive. H5545

31 If any man H376 trespass H2398 against his neighbour, H7453 and an oath H423 be laid H5375 upon him to cause him to swear, H422 and the oath H423 come H935 before H6440 thine altar H4196 in this house: H1004

32 Then hear H8085 thou in heaven, H8064 and do, H6213 and judge H8199 thy servants, H5650 condemning H7561 the wicked, H7563 to bring H5414 his way H1870 upon his head; H7218 and justifying H6663 the righteous, H6662 to give H5414 him according to his righteousness. H6666

33 When thy people H5971 Israel H3478 be smitten down H5062 before H6440 the enemy, H341 because they have sinned H2398 against thee, and shall turn again H7725 to thee, and confess H3034 thy name, H8034 and pray, H6419 and make supplication H2603 unto thee in this house: H1004

34 Then hear H8085 thou in heaven, H8064 and forgive H5545 the sin H2403 of thy people H5971 Israel, H3478 and bring them again H7725 unto the land H127 which thou gavest H5414 unto their fathers. H1

35 When heaven H8064 is shut up, H6113 and there is no rain, H4306 because they have sinned H2398 against thee; if they pray H6419 toward this place, H4725 and confess H3034 thy name, H8034 and turn H7725 from their sin, H2403 when thou afflictest H6031 them:

36 Then hear H8085 thou in heaven, H8064 and forgive H5545 the sin H2403 of thy servants, H5650 and of thy people H5971 Israel, H3478 that thou teach H3384 them the good H2896 way H1870 wherein they should walk, H3212 and give H5414 rain H4306 upon thy land, H776 which thou hast given H5414 to thy people H5971 for an inheritance. H5159

37 If there be in the land H776 famine, H7458 if there be pestilence, H1698 blasting, H7711 mildew, H3420 locust, H697 or if there be caterpiller; H2625 if their enemy H341 besiege H6887 them in the land H776 of their cities; H8179 whatsoever plague, H5061 whatsoever sickness H4245 there be;

38 What prayer H8605 and supplication H8467 soever be made by any man, H120 or by all thy people H5971 Israel, H3478 which shall know H3045 every man H376 the plague H5061 of his own heart, H3824 and spread forth H6566 his hands H3709 toward this house: H1004

39 Then hear H8085 thou in heaven H8064 thy dwelling H3427 place, H4349 and forgive, H5545 and do, H6213 and give H5414 to every man H376 according to his ways, H1870 whose heart H3824 thou knowest; H3045 (for thou, even thou only, knowest H3045 the hearts H3824 of all the children H1121 of men;) H120

40 That they may fear H3372 thee all the days H3117 that they live H2416 in H6440 the land H127 which thou gavest H5414 unto our fathers. H1

41 Moreover concerning a stranger, H5237 that is not of thy people H5971 Israel, H3478 but cometh out H935 of a far H7350 country H776 for H4616 thy name's H8034 sake;

42 (For they shall hear H8085 of thy great H1419 name, H8034 and of thy strong H2389 hand, H3027 and of thy stretched out H5186 arm;) H2220 when he shall come H935 and pray H6419 toward this house; H1004

43 Hear H8085 thou in heaven H8064 thy dwelling H3427 place, H4349 and do H6213 according to all that the stranger H5237 calleth H7121 to thee for: that all people H5971 of the earth H776 may know H3045 thy name, H8034 to fear H3372 thee, as do thy people H5971 Israel; H3478 and that they may know H3045 that this house, H1004 which I have builded, H1129 is called H7121 by thy name. H8034

44 If thy people H5971 go out H3318 to battle H4421 against their enemy, H341 whithersoever H1870 thou shalt send H7971 them, and shall pray H6419 unto the LORD H3068 toward H1870 the city H5892 which thou hast chosen, H977 and toward the house H1004 that I have built H1129 for thy name: H8034

45 Then hear H8085 thou in heaven H8064 their prayer H8605 and their supplication, H8467 and maintain H6213 their cause. H4941

46 If they sin H2398 against thee, (for there is no man H120 that sinneth H2398 not,) and thou be angry H599 with them, and deliver H5414 them to the enemy, H341 so that they carry them away H7617 captives H7617 unto H6440 the land H776 of the enemy, H341 far H7350 or near; H7138

47 Yet if they shall bethink H7725 themselves in the land H776 whither they were carried captives, H7617 and repent, H7725 H3820 and make supplication H2603 unto thee in the land H776 of them that carried them captives, H7617 saying, H559 We have sinned, H2398 and have done perversely, H5753 we have committed wickedness; H7561

48 And so return H7725 unto thee with all their heart, H3824 and with all their soul, H5315 in the land H776 of their enemies, H341 which led them away captive, H7617 and pray H6419 unto thee toward H1870 their land, H776 which thou gavest H5414 unto their fathers, H1 the city H5892 which thou hast chosen, H977 and the house H1004 which I have built H1129 for thy name: H8034

49 Then hear H8085 thou their prayer H8605 and their supplication H8467 in heaven H8064 thy dwelling H3427 place, H4349 and maintain H6213 their cause, H4941

50 And forgive H5545 thy people H5971 that have sinned H2398 against thee, and all their transgressions H6588 wherein they have transgressed H6586 against thee, and give H5414 them compassion H7356 before H6440 them who carried them captive, H7617 that they may have compassion H7355 on them:

51 For they be thy people, H5971 and thine inheritance, H5159 which thou broughtest forth H3318 out of Egypt, H4714 from the midst H8432 of the furnace H3564 of iron: H1270

52 That thine eyes H5869 may be open H6605 unto the supplication H8467 of thy servant, H5650 and unto the supplication H8467 of thy people H5971 Israel, H3478 to hearken H8085 unto them in all that they call H7121 for unto thee.

53 For thou didst separate H914 them from among all the people H5971 of the earth, H776 to be thine inheritance, H5159 as thou spakest H1696 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 thy servant, H5650 when thou broughtest H3318 our fathers H1 out of Egypt, H4714 O Lord H136 GOD. H3069

54 And it was so, that when Solomon H8010 had made an end H3615 of praying H6419 all this prayer H8605 and supplication H8467 unto the LORD, H3068 he arose H6965 from before H6440 the altar H4196 of the LORD, H3068 from kneeling H3766 on his knees H1290 with his hands H3709 spread up H6566 to heaven. H8064

55 And he stood, H5975 and blessed H1288 all the congregation H6951 of Israel H3478 with a loud H1419 voice, H6963 saying, H559

56 Blessed H1288 be the LORD, H3068 that hath given H5414 rest H4496 unto his people H5971 Israel, H3478 according to all that he promised: H1696 there hath not failed H5307 one H259 word H1697 of all his good H2896 promise, H1697 which he promised H1696 by the hand H3027 of Moses H4872 his servant. H5650

57 The LORD H3068 our God H430 be with us, as he was with our fathers: H1 let him not leave H5800 us, nor forsake H5203 us:

58 That he may incline H5186 our hearts H3824 unto him, to walk H3212 in all his ways, H1870 and to keep H8104 his commandments, H4687 and his statutes, H2706 and his judgments, H4941 which he commanded H6680 our fathers. H1

59 And let these my words, H1697 wherewith I have made supplication H2603 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 be nigh H7138 unto the LORD H3068 our God H430 day H3119 and night, H3915 that he maintain H6213 the cause H4941 of his servant, H5650 and the cause H4941 of his people H5971 Israel H3478 at all times, H3117 H3117 as the matter H1697 shall require:

60 That all the people H5971 of the earth H776 may know H3045 that the LORD H3068 is God, H430 and that there is none else.

61 Let your heart H3824 therefore be perfect H8003 with the LORD H3068 our God, H430 to walk H3212 in his statutes, H2706 and to keep H8104 his commandments, H4687 as at this day. H3117

62 And the king, H4428 and all Israel H3478 with him, offered H2076 sacrifice H2077 before H6440 the LORD. H3068

63 And Solomon H8010 offered H2076 a sacrifice H2077 of peace offerings, H8002 which he offered H2076 unto the LORD, H3068 two H8147 and twenty H6242 thousand H505 oxen, H1241 and an hundred H3967 and twenty H6242 thousand H505 sheep. H6629 So the king H4428 and all the children H1121 of Israel H3478 dedicated H2596 the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068

64 The same day H3117 did the king H4428 hallow H6942 the middle H8432 of the court H2691 that was before H6440 the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 for there he offered H6213 burnt offerings, H5930 and meat offerings, H4503 and the fat H2459 of the peace offerings: H8002 because the brasen H5178 altar H4196 that was before H6440 the LORD H3068 was too little H6996 to receive H3557 the burnt offerings, H5930 and meat offerings, H4503 and the fat H2459 of the peace offerings. H8002

65 And at that time H6256 Solomon H8010 held H6213 a feast, H2282 and all Israel H3478 with him, a great H1419 congregation, H6951 from the entering H935 in of Hamath H2574 unto the river H5158 of Egypt, H4714 before H6440 the LORD H3068 our God, H430 seven H7651 days H3117 and seven H7651 days, H3117 even fourteen H702 H6240 days. H3117

66 On the eighth H8066 day H3117 he sent H7971 the people H5971 away: H7971 and they blessed H1288 the king, H4428 and went H3212 unto their tents H168 joyful H8056 and glad H2896 of heart H3820 for all the goodness H2896 that the LORD H3068 had done H6213 for David H1732 his servant, H5650 and for Israel H3478 his people. H5971


1 Kings 8:1-66 American Standard (ASV)

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' `houses' of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah 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 Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; even these 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 counted nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.

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

8 And the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle; but 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 Jehovah 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 Jehovah,

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah.

12 Then spake Solomon, Jehovah hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee a house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.

15 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth unto David thy 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 a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

18 But Jehovah said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thy 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 for my name.

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

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

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;

23 and he said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and lovingkindness with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart;

24 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day.

25 Now therefore, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 Now therefore, 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 in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the 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 Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day;

29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray 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: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come `and' swear 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 own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they 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 dost afflict them:

36 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send 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, if there be blasting `or' mildew, locust `or' caterpillar; 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, who 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 render unto every man according to all 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 the foreigner, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake;

42 (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thine outstretched 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 foreigner calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by my name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto Jehovah toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which 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 captive unto the land of the enemy, far off or near;

47 yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;

48 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them 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 who have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them;

51 (for they are 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 whensoever they cry unto thee.

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

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

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

56 Blessed be Jehovah, 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 Moses his servant.

57 Jehovah 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 ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh unto Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require;

60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah, he is God; there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with Jehovah 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 Jehovah.

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

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too little to receive the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt, before Jehovah 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 Jehovah had showed unto David his servant, and to Israel his people.


1 Kings 8:1-66 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Then doth Solomon assemble the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, princes of the fathers of the sons of Israel, unto king Solomon, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the city of David -- it `is' Zion;

2 and all the men of Israel are assembled unto king Solomon, in the month of Ethanim, in the festival -- `is' the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel come in, and the priests lift up the ark,

4 and bring up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that `are' in the tent, yea, the priests and the Levites bring them up.

5 And king Solomon and all the company of Israel who are met unto him `are' with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that are not counted nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests bring in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, unto the oracle of the house, unto the holy of holies, unto the place of the wings of the cherubs;

7 for the cherubs are spreading forth two wings unto the place of the ark, and the cherubs cover over the ark, and over its staves from above;

8 and they lengthen the staves, and the heads of the staves are seen from the holy `place' on the front of the oracle, and are not seen without, and they are there unto this day.

9 There is nothing in the ark, only the two tables of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, when Jehovah covenanted with the sons of Israel in their going out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the holy `place', that the cloud hath filled the house of Jehovah,

11 and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

12 Then said Solomon, `Jehovah hath said to dwell in thick darkness;

13 I have surely built a house of habitation for Thee; a fixed place for Thine abiding to the ages.'

14 And the king turneth round his face, and blesseth the whole assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel is standing.

15 And he saith, `Blessed `is' Jehovah, God of Israel, who spake by His mouth with David my father, and by His hand hath fulfilled `it', saying,

16 From the day that I brought out My people, even Israel, from Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house for My name being there; and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

17 `And it is with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel,

18 and Jehovah saith unto David my father, Because that it hath been with thy heart to build a house for My name, thou hast done well that it hath been with thy heart;

19 only, thou dost not build the house, but thy son who is coming out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

20 `And Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake, and I am risen up instead of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah spake, and build the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel,

21 and set there a place for the ark, where `is' the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers in His bringing them out from the land of Egypt.'

22 And Solomon standeth before the altar of Jehovah, over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth his hands towards the heavens,

23 and saith, `Jehovah, God of Israel, there is not a God like Thee, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants, those walking before Thee with all their heart,

24 who hast kept for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest to him; yea, Thou speakest with Thy mouth, and with Thy hand hast fulfilled `it', as `at' this day.

25 `And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou spakest to him, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from before Me, sitting on the throne of Israel -- only, if thy sons watch their way, to walk before Me as thou hast walked before Me.

26 `And now, O God of Israel, let it be established, I pray Thee, Thy word which Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, David my father.

27 But, is it true? -- God dwelleth on the earth! lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens do not contain Thee, how much less this house which I have builded!

28 `Then thou hast turned unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer which Thy servant is praying before Thee to-day,

29 for Thine eyes being open towards this house night and day, towards the place of which Thou hast said, My Name is there; to hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant prayeth towards this place.

30 `Then Thou hast hearkened unto the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they pray towards this place; yea, Thou dost hearken in the place of Thy dwelling, in the heavens -- and Thou hast hearkened, and hast forgiven,

31 that which a man sinneth against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up upon him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house,

32 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to declare wicked the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 `In Thy people Israel being smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back unto Thee, and have confessed Thy name, and prayed, and made supplication unto Thee in this house,

34 then thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and brought them back unto the ground that Thou gavest to their fathers.

35 `In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name, and from their sin turn back, for Thou dost afflict them,

36 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, for Thou directest them the good way in which they go, and hast given rain on Thy land which Thou hast given to Thy people for inheritance.

37 `Famine -- when it is in the land; pestilence -- when it is; blasting, mildew, locust; caterpillar -- when it is; when its enemy hath distressed it in the land `in' its gates, any plague, any sickness, --

38 any prayer, any supplication that `is' of any man of all Thy people Israel, who know each the plague of his own heart, and hath spread his hands towards this house,

39 then Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast done, and hast given to each according to all his ways, whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known -- Thyself alone -- the heart of all the sons of man),

40 so that they fear Thee all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

41 `And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and hath come from a land afar off for Thy name's sake --

42 (for they hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and of Thy stretched-out arm) -- and he hath come in and prayed towards this house,

43 Thou dost hear in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee like Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name hath been called on this house which I have builded.

44 `When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Jehovah the way of the city which thou hast fixed on, and of the house which I have builded for Thy name;

45 then Thou hast heard in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause.

46 `When they sin against Thee (for there is not a man who sinneth not), and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity unto the land of the enemy far off or near;

47 and they have turned `it' back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee, in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely -- we have done wickedly;

48 yea, they have turned back unto Thee, with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed unto Thee the way of their land, which Thou gavest to their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have builded for Thy name:

49 `Then Thou hast heard in the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause,

50 and hast forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee, even all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee, and hast given them mercies before their captors, and they have had mercy `on' them --

51 (for Thy people and Thy inheritance `are' they, whom Thou didst bring out of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron) --

52 for Thine eyes being open unto the supplication of Thy servant, and unto the supplication of Thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all they call unto Thee for;

53 for Thou hast separated them to Thyself for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, as Thou didst speak by the hand of Moses Thy servant, in Thy bringing out our fathers from Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.'

54 And it cometh to pass, at Solomon's finishing to pray unto Jehovah all this prayer and supplication, he hath risen from before the altar of Jehovah, from bending on his knees, and his hands spread out to the heavens,

55 and he standeth and blesseth all the assembly of Israel `with' a loud voice, saying,

56 `Blessed `is' Jehovah who hath given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He hath spoken; there hath not fallen one word of all His good word, which He spake by the hand of Moses his servant.

57 `Jehovah our God is with us as He hath been with our fathers; He doth not forsake us nor leave us;

58 to incline our heart unto Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers;

59 and these my words with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, are near unto Jehovah our God by day and by night, to maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, the matter of a day in its day;

60 for all the peoples of the earth knowing that Jehovah, He `is' God; there is none else;

61 and your heart hath been perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commands, as `at' this day.'

62 And the king and all Israel with him are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah;

63 and Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he hath sacrificed to Jehovah, oxen, twenty and two thousand, and sheep, a hundred and twenty thousand; and the king and all the sons of Israel dedicate the house of Jehovah.

64 On that day hath the king sanctified the middle of the court that `is' before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings; for the altar of brass that `is' before Jehovah `is' too little to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 And Solomon maketh, at that time, the festival -- and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt -- before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days; fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he hath sent the people away, and they bless the king, and go to their tents, rejoicing and glad of heart for all the good that Jehovah hath done to David His servant, and to Israel His people.


1 Kings 8:1-66 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that 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 Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent: the priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel that were assembled to him, [who were] with him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim;

7 for the cherubim stretched forth [their] wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves above.

8 And the staves were long, so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle, but they were not seen without. And there they are to this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when Jehovah 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 Jehovah,

11 and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah.

12 Then said Solomon: Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have indeed built a house of habitation for thee, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and the whole congregation of Israel stood.

15 And he said: Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke 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 a house in, that my name might be there; but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

18 But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy 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 Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

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

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens.

23 And he said, Jehovah, God of Israel! there is no God like thee, in the heavens above, or on the 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 which thou didst promise him; thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [it] with thy hand, as at this day.

25 And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

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

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

28 Yet have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, Jehovah, my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day;

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

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

31 If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

32 then hear thou in the heavens, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel are put to the worse 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 the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land that thou gavest unto their fathers.

35 When the heavens are 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, because thou hast afflicted them;

36 then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest 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 famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight, mildew, locust, caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague, whatever sickness there be:

38 what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house;

39 then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men),

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

41 And as to the stranger also, who 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 mighty hand, and of thy stretched-out arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house,

43 hear thou in the heavens thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, [and] that they may fear thee as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to Jehovah toward the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;

45 then hear thou in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right.

46 If they have sinned against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto the enemy's land, far or near;

47 and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done iniquity, we have dealt perversely;

48 and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;

49 then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right;

50 and forgive thy people their sin against thee, and all their transgressions whereby they have transgressed against thee, and give them to find compassion with those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron) --

52 thine eyes being 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 hast separated them from among all peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spokest through Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth to the heavens,

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

56 Blessed be Jehovah, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promises which he spoke through Moses his servant!

57 Jehovah our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not forsake us nor cast us off:

58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh to Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the right of his servant, and the right of his people Israel, as the matter of each day shall require;

60 that all peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah is God, that there is none else;

61 and that your heart may be perfect with Jehovah 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 sacrifices before Jehovah.

63 And Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to Jehovah, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah.

64 The same day the king hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too small to receive the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 And at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days, fourteen days.

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


1 Kings 8:1-66 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' [houses] of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 All the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

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

4 They brought up the ark of Yahweh, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; even these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

5 King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

6 The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.

7 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the poles of it above.

8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the oracle; but they were not seen outside: and there they are to this day.

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

10 It came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Yahweh,

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

12 Then spoke Solomon, Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.

14 The king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: and all the assembly of Israel stood.

15 He said, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David your father, and has 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 a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

18 But Yahweh said to David my father, Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart:

19 nevertheless you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come forth out of your loins, he shall build the house for my name.

20 Yahweh has established his word that he spoke; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

21 There have I set a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of Yahweh, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;

23 and he said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart;

24 who have kept with your servant David my father that which you did promise him: yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.

25 Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.

26 Now therefore, God of Israel, Please let your word be verified, which you spoke to your servant David my father.

27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can't contain you; how much less this house that I have built!

28 Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you this day;

29 that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, My name shall be there; to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.

30 Listen you to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling-place; and when you hear, forgive.

31 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid on him to cause him to swear, and he come [and] swear before your altar in this house;

32 then hear you in heaven, and do, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When your people Israel are struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you; if they turn again to you, and confess your name, and pray and make supplication to you in this house:

34 then hear you in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to their fathers.

35 When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you do afflict them:

36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.

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

38 whatever prayer and supplication be made by any man, [or] by all your people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

39 then hear in heaven, your dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men;)

40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

41 Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for your name's sake

42 (for they shall hear of your great name, and of your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house;

43 hear in heaven, your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as does your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by my name.

44 If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to Yahweh toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name;

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

46 If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn't sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;

47 yet if they shall repent themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;

48 if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name:

49 then hear you their prayer and their supplication in heaven, your dwelling-place, and maintain their cause;

50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions in which they have transgressed against you; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

51 (for they are your people, and your inheritance, which you brought forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron);

52 that your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant, and to the supplication of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they cry to you.

53 For you did separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your inheritance, as you spoke by Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord Yahweh.

54 It was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to Yahweh, he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.

55 He stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56 Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant.

57 Yahweh 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 to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

59 Let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require;

60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh, he is God; there is none else.

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

62 The king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before Yahweh.

63 Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, two and twenty thousand oxen, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh.

64 The same day did the king make the middle of the court holy that was before the house of Yahweh; for there he offered the burnt offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Yahweh was too little to receive the burnt offering, and the meal-offering, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh 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 to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David his servant, and to Israel his people.


1 Kings 8:1-66 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, the seventh month.

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

4 They took up the ark of the Lord, and the Tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels which were in the Tent; all these the priests and the Levites took up.

5 And King Solomon and all the men of Israel who had come together there, were with him before the ark, making offerings of sheep and oxen more than might be numbered.

6 And the priests took the ark of the agreement of the Lord and put it in its place in the inner room of the house, in the most holy place, under the wings of the winged ones.

7 For their wings were outstretched over the place where the ark was, covering the ark and its rods.

8 The rods were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place, in front of the inmost room; but they were not seen from outside: and there they are to this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark but the two flat stones which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made an agreement with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 Now when the priests had come out of the holy place, the house of the Lord was full of the cloud,

11 So that the priests were not able to keep their places to do their work because of the cloud, for the house of the Lord was full of the glory of the Lord.

12 Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men;

13 So I have made for you a living-place, a house in which you may be for ever present.

14 Then, turning his face about, the king gave a blessing to all the men of Israel; and they were all on their feet together.

15 And he said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who himself gave his word to David my father, and with his strong hand has made his word come true, saying,

16 From the day when I took my people Israel out of Egypt, no town in all the tribes of Israel has been marked out by me for the building of a house for the resting-place of my name; but I made selection of David to be king over my people Israel.

17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

18 But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name;

19 But you yourself will not be the builder of my house; but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.

20 And the Lord has made his word come true; for I have taken my father David's place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel, as the Lord gave his word; and I have made a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

21 In it I have made a place for the ark, in which is the agreement which the Lord made with our fathers, when he took them out of the land of Egypt.

22 Then Solomon took his place before the altar of the Lord, all the men of Israel being present, and stretching out his hands to heaven,

23 Said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on the earth; keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts.

24 And you have kept the word which you gave to your servant David, my father; with your mouth you said it and with your hand you have made it come true this day.

25 So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, let your word to your servant David, my father, come true, when you said, You will never be without a man to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel before me, if only your children give attention to their ways, walking before me as you have done.

26 So now, O God of Israel, it is my prayer that you will make your word come true which you said to your servant David, my father.

27 But is it truly possible that God may be housed on earth? see, heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be your resting-place; how much less this house which I have made!

28 Still, let your heart be turned to the prayer of your servant, O Lord God, and to his prayer for grace; give ear to the cry and the prayer which your servant sends up to you this day;

29 That your eyes may be open to this house night and day, to this place of which you have said, My name will be there; hearing the prayer which your servant may make, turning to this place.

30 Give ear to the prayers of your servant, and the prayers of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place; give ear in heaven your living-place, and hearing, have mercy.

31 If a man does wrong to his neighbour, and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:

32 Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving your decision against the wrongdoer, so that punishment for his sins may come on his head; and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.

33 When your people Israel are overcome in war, because of their sin against you; if they are turned to you again, honouring your name, making prayers to you and requesting your grace in this house:

34 Then give ear in heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again into the land which you gave to their fathers.

35 When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you; if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:

36 Then give ear in heaven, so that the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, may have forgiveness, when you make clear to them the good way in which they are to go; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people for their heritage.

37 If there is no food in the land, or if there is disease, or if the fruits of the earth are damaged through heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers; whatever trouble, whatever disease there may be:

38 Whatever prayer or request for your grace is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, whatever his trouble may be, whose hands are stretched out to this house:

39 Give ear in heaven your living-place, acting in mercy; and give to every man whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of all the children of men:

40 So that they may give you worship all the days of their life in the land which you gave to our fathers.

41 And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel; when he comes from a far country because of the glory of your name:

42 (For they will have news of your great name and your strong hand and your out-stretched arm;) when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:

43 Give ear in heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have put up is truly named by your name.

44 If your people go out to war against their attackers, by whatever way you may send them, if they make their prayer to the Lord, turning their faces to this town of yours and to this house which I have made for your name:

45 Give ear in heaven to their prayer and their cry for grace, and see right done to them.

46 If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin,) and you are angry with them and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away as prisoners into a strange land, far off or near;

47 And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, and are turned again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil;

48 And with all their heart and soul are turned again to you, in the land of those who took them prisoners, and make their prayer to you, turning their eyes to this land which you gave to their fathers, and to the town which you took for yourself, and the house which I made for your name:

49 Then give ear to their prayer and to their cry in heaven your living-place, and see right done to them;

50 Answering with forgiveness the people who have done wrong against you, and overlooking the evil which they have done against you; let those who made them prisoners be moved with pity for them, and have pity on them;

51 For they are your people and your heritage, which you took out of Egypt, out of the iron fireplace;

52 Let your eyes be open to your servant's prayer for grace and to the prayer of your people Israel, hearing them when their cry comes to you.

53 For you made them separate from all the peoples of the earth, to be your heritage, as you said by Moses your servant, when you took our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

54 Then Solomon, after making all these prayers and requests for grace to the Lord, got up from his knees before the altar of the Lord, where his hands had been stretched out in prayer to heaven;

55 And, getting on his feet, he gave a blessing to all the men of Israel, saying with a loud voice,

56 Praise be to the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, as he gave them his word to do; every word of all his oath, which he gave by the hand of Moses his servant, has come true.

57 Now may the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; let him never go away from us or give us up;

58 Turning our hearts to himself, guiding us to go in all his ways, to keep his orders and his laws and his decisions, which he gave to our fathers.

59 And may these my words, the words of my prayer to the Lord, be before the Lord our God day and night, so that he may see right done to his servant and to his people Israel, day by day as we have need.

60 So that all the peoples of the earth may see that the Lord is God, and there is no other.

61 Then let your hearts be without sin before the Lord our God, walking in his laws and keeping his orders as at this day.

62 Now the king, and all Israel with him, were making offerings before the Lord.

63 And Solomon gave to the Lord for peace-offerings, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel kept the feast of the opening of the Lord's house.

64 The same day the king made holy the middle of the open square in front of the house of the Lord, offering there the burned offering and the meal offering and the fat of the peace-offerings; for there was not room on the brass altar of the Lord for the burned offerings and the meal offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 So Solomon and all Israel with him, a very great meeting, (for the people had come together from the way into Hamath to the river of Egypt,) kept the feast at that time before the Lord our God, for two weeks, even fourteen days.

66 And on the eighth day he sent the people away, and, blessing the king, they went to their tents full of joy and glad in their hearts, because of all the good which the Lord had done to David his servant and to Israel his people.

Commentary on 1 Kings 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 8

1Ki 8:1-12. The Dedication of the Temple.

2-6. at the feast in the month Ethanim—The public and formal inauguration of this national place of worship did not take place till eleven months after the completion of the edifice. The delay, most probably, originated in Solomon's wish to choose the most fitting opportunity when there should be a general rendezvous of the people in Jerusalem (1Ki 8:2); and that was not till the next year. That was a jubilee year, and he resolved on commencing the solemn ceremonial a few days before the feast of tabernacles, which was the most appropriate of all seasons. That annual festival had been instituted in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths during their stay in the wilderness, as well as of the tabernacle, which was then erected, in which God promised to meet and dwell with His people, sanctifying it with His glory. As the tabernacle was to be superseded by the temple, there was admirable propriety in choosing the feast of tabernacles as the period for dedicating the new place of worship, and praying that the same distinguished privileges might be continued to it in the manifestation of the divine presence and glory. At the time appointed for the inauguration, the king issued orders for all the heads and representatives of the nation to repair to Jerusalem and take part in the august procession [1Ki 8:1]. The lead was taken by the king and elders of the people, whose march must have been slow, as priests were stationed to offer an immense number of sacrifices at various points in the line of road through which the procession was to go. Then came the priests bearing the ark and the tabernacle—the old Mosaic tabernacle which was brought from Gibeon. Lastly, the Levites followed, carrying the vessels and ornaments belonging to the old, for lodgment in the new, house of the Lord. There was a slight deviation in this procedure from the order of march established in the wilderness (Nu 3:31; 4:15); but the spirit of the arrangement was duly observed. The ark was deposited in the oracle; that is, the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim—not the Mosaic cherubim, which were firmly attached to the ark (Ex 37:7, 8), but those made by Solomon, which were far larger and more expanded.

8. they drew out the staves—a little way, so as to project (see on Ex 25:15; Nu 4:6); and they were left in that position. The object was, that these projecting staves might serve as a guide to the high priest, in conducting him to that place where, once a year, he went to officiate before the ark; otherwise he might miss his way in the dark, the ark being wholly overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim.

9. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone—Nothing else was ever in the ark, the articles mentioned (Heb 9:4) being not in, but by it, being laid in the most holy place before the testimony (Ex 16:33; Nu 17:10).

10, 11. the cloud filled the house of the Lord—The cloud was the visible symbol of the divine presence, and its occupation of the sanctuary was a testimony of God's gracious acceptance of the temple as of the tabernacle (Ex 40:34). The dazzling brightness, or rather, perhaps, the dense portentous darkness of the cloud, struck the minds of the priests, as it formerly had done Moses, which such astonishment and terror (Le 16:2-13; De 4:24; Ex 40:35) that they could not remain. Thus the temple became the place where the divine glory was revealed, and the king of Israel established his royal residence.

1Ki 8:12-21. Solomon's Blessing.

12. Then spake Solomon—For the reassurance of the priests and people, the king reminded them that the cloud, instead of being a sign ominous of evil, was a token of approval.

The Lord said—not in express terms, but by a continuous course of action (Ex 13:21; 24:16; Nu 9:15).

13. I have surely built thee an house—This is an apostrophe to God, as perceiving His approach by the cloud, and welcoming Him to enter as guest or inhabitant of the fixed and permanent dwelling-place, which, at His command, had been prepared for His reception.

14. the king turned his face about—From the temple, where he had been watching the movement of the mystic cloud, and while the people were standing, partly as the attitude of devotion, partly out of respect to royalty, the king gave a fervent expression of praise to God for the fulfilment of His promise (2Sa 7:6-16).

1Ki 8:22-61. His Prayer.

22. Solomon stood before the altar—This position was in the court of the people, on a brazen scaffold erected for the occasion (2Ch 6:13), fronting the altar of burnt offering, and surrounded by a mighty concourse of people. Assuming the attitude of a suppliant, kneeling (1Ki 8:54; compare 2Ch 6:24) and with uplifted hands, he performed the solemn act of consecration—an act remarkable, among other circumstances, for this, that it was done, not by the high priest or any member of the Aaronic family, but by the king in person, who might minister about, though not in, holy things. This sublime prayer [1Ki 8:22-35], which breathes sentiments of the loftiest piety blended with the deepest humility, naturally bore a reference to the national blessing and curse contained in the law—and the burden of it—after an ascription of praise to the Lord for the bestowment of the former, was an earnest supplication for deliverance from the latter. He specifies seven cases in which the merciful interposition of God would be required; and he earnestly bespeaks it on the condition of people praying towards that holy place. The blessing addressed to the people at the close is substantially a brief recapitulation of the preceding prayer [1Ki 8:56-61].

1Ki 8:62-64. His Sacrifice of Peace Offering.

62. the king, and all Israel … offered sacrifice before the Lord—This was a burnt offering with its accompaniments, and being the first laid on the altar of the temple, was, as in the analogous case of the tabernacle, consumed by miraculous fire from heaven (see 2Ch 7:1). On remarkable occasions, the heathens sacrificed hecatombs (a hundred animals), and even chiliombs (a thousand animals), but the public sacrifices offered by Solomon on this occasion surpassed all the other oblations on record, without taking into account those presented by private individuals, which, doubtless, amounted to a large additional number. The large proportion of the sacrifices were peace offerings, which afforded the people an opportunity of festive enjoyment.

63. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord—The dedication was not a ceremony ordained by the law, but it was done in accordance with the sentiments of reverence naturally associated with edifices appropriated to divine worship. [See on 2Ch 7:5.]

64. The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court—that is, the whole extent of the priests' court—the altar of burnt offerings, though large (2Ch 4:1), being totally inadequate for the vast number of sacrifices that distinguished this occasion. It was only a temporary erection to meet the demands of an extraordinary season, in aid of the established altar, and removed at the conclusion of the sacred festival. [See on 2Ch 7:7.]

1Ki 8:65. The People Joyful.

65. from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt—that is, from one extremity of the kingdom to the other. The people flocked from all quarters.

seven days and seven days, even fourteen days—The first seven were occupied with the dedication, and the other seven devoted to the feast of tabernacles (2Ch 7:9). The particular form of expression indicates that the fourteen days were not continuous. Some interval occurred in consequence of the great day of atonement falling on the tenth of the seventh month (1Ki 8:2), and the last day of the feast of tabernacles was on the twenty-third (2Ch 7:10), when the people returned to their homes with feelings of the greatest joy and gratitude "for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people."