1 *Kings 8

₁King Solomon called all the leaders_of_Israel, all the leaders of the tribes and clans, to come to him in Jerusalem. He wanted to bring the covenant box from Jerusalem, from the City of David. ₂They all came together for the feast in the month of Ethanim, the 7th month. ₃All the leaders_of_Israel were there and the priests carried the covenant box. ₄The priests and Levites brought the covenant box and the tent of the Lord and all the holy tools and things in the temple. ₅King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israelites were standing before the covenant box and they sacrificed so many sheep and goats and cattle that no one could count them and say how many there were. ₆The priests took the covenant box of the Lord to its place in the most_holy room of the temple. They put it in the most_holy room under the wings of the cherub-angels ₇because the wings of the cherub-angels were over the covenant box. The cherub-angels covered the covenant box and the carrying poles. ₈The people could see the ends of the carrying poles of the covenant box if they stood in front of the holy place, but they could not see them from outside the holy place. The carrying poles are still there. ₉In the covenant box were only the 2 flat stones that Moses put in it at Mount Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. ₁₀When the priests came out of the temple, there was a cloud in the temple and the cloud covered everything. ₁₁The cloud was so thick that the priests could not see to do their work. The Lord who is King was there.

₁₂Then Solomon prayed and he said: ‘Lord, You said You want to live in a dark cloud. ₁₃Now I have built a temple for You, a house where You can always live.’

₁₄Then the king looked at all the people of the congregation_of_Israel and he greeted them ₁₅and said: ‘I praise the Lord, the God of Israel. He made a promise to my father David and He did what He had promised. He said: ₁₆“From the time I saved my people, the Israelites, and brought them out of Egypt until now, I did not choose a town or a city from all the cities of the tribes_of_Israel, a city where you could build a temple where I would appear to you. But I chose David to rule over my people, the Israelites.”

₁₇My father David decided to build a temple to serve the Lord, the God of Israel, ₁₈but the Lord said to my father David: “It is good that you want to build a temple for Me, ₁₉but you will not build the temple. Your son will build a temple to honour Me.”

₂₀And the Lord did what He promised. I became king after my father David, I am sitting on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Lord God of Israel to honour Him. ₂₁I have built a place for the covenant box of the Lord. Inside the box is the covenant that the Lord made with our forefathers when He saved them from Egypt.’

₂₂Then Solomon went to the altar of the Lord and he stood there in front of all the people of the congregation_of_Israel. He held up his hands ₂₃and he said: ‘Lord, God of Israel in heaven above and here on earth below, there is no other God like You. You keep on helping your servants who live as You want with all their hearts as You promised in your covenant. ₂₄You did what You told your servant, my father David. You promised it and You have done it. Today it is as You promised. ₂₅And now, Lord, God of Israel, please do for your servant David, my father, what You promised. You told him: “One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel, but then they must always do what is right. They must live as I want, as you also have lived.” ₂₆And now, O God of Israel, please let your words become true, that You said to your servant, my father David.

₂₇But God does not_really live on earth. The highest heaven is not big enough for You to live in, and this temple that I have built is so small. ₂₈But Lord, my God, please listen when I pray and beg. Listen to what I ask of You when I, your servant, pray to You today. ₂₉Please always look after this temple and take care of it. This is where You said You want to be. Please listen to the prayer of your servant when he looks at this place and prays to You. ₃₀Please listen when your servant and your people of Israel pray and beg You while they look at this temple and pray. And when You listen to our prayer where You live in heaven, please forgive our sins.

₃₁When someone has done wrong to another person and he stands before the altar in this temple and says he is innocent, ₃₂please listen in heaven and judge between them and punish the guilty person for what he has done and let the innocent person go free.

₃₃The people of Israel may lose a war_against their enemies because they have sinned_against You. If they change their lives and they do what You want and they worship your name and pray to You in this temple and they beg You to forgive them, ₃₄then please listen to them in heaven and forgive the sins of your people of Israel and let them come back into this land that You gave to their forefathers.

₃₅Maybe You will close the sky so that it will not rain because your people have sinned_against You. If they look at this temple and pray, and worship your name, and they change their lives and they do what You want and they ask You to listen to their prayer, ₃₆then please listen to them in heaven and forgive the sins of your servants and your people of Israel. Please help them and send rain on the land that You gave your people. That will teach them to live in the right way.

₃₇Maybe there will be a famine in the land, or all the people may get a disease and die, or all the wheat and plants in the field may start to dry out and die, or lots of locusts may come to eat their food, or enemies may come to attack the towns or some other bad things may happen. ₃₈Then please listen when your people of Israel pray to You and beg that You listen to them. Please listen to each person who holds out his hands to this temple and tells what has happened to him. ₃₉Please listen to him where You live in heaven and forgive his sins and help him. Give to everyone what he must get because only You know what is really inside every man's heart. ₄₀Then they will always listen to You while they live in this land that You gave to their forefathers.

₄₁But please also listen to someone who is not one of your people of Israel, who has come from a land far away because someone told him about your name. ₄₂If he has heard of your great name and of the great things that You have done and he comes and looks at this temple and prays, ₄₃then please listen to him where You live in heaven and do what he asks You in his prayer so that every nation on earth may know your name, and listen to You, like your people of Israel do. Do this so they will know that this temple that I have built belongs to You.

₄₄Maybe your people will go to war_against enemies because You said they must do it. If they look at this city that You have chosen and at this temple that I have built for You, and if they pray to You and beg, ₄₅then please listen to their prayers in heaven and help them defeat their enemies.

₄₆All people sin, and your people also sin_against You, and then You become angry and You give them to their enemies so that the enemies can catch them and take them away to their land, far or near. ₄₇But maybe your people will change their lives in that faraway land where they are prisoners and they will come to You again and pray in that land and say: “We have sinned, we have done wrong, and we are guilty.” ₄₈If they come to You with their whole hearts and lives in the land of their enemies where they are prisoners and if they look towards this land that You gave to their fathers, and towards this city that You have chosen and they look towards this temple that I have built for You, and if they pray to You, ₄₉please listen to them where You live in heaven. Please listen to their prayers and do not continue to punish them. ₅₀Please forgive your people who have sinned_against You. Please forgive them when they rebel_against You, and make the people who caught them feel sorry for them, ₅₁because they are your people. You brought them out of Egypt, the place that was like a hot oven for them.

₅₂Please listen to my prayers and the prayers of your people of Israel. Please listen to every prayer that we pray to You, and please do what we ask You, ₅₃because, Lord, You who are Lord, You have chosen us to be your people, and You did not choose one of the other nations in the world. It happened as You told us when you sent your servant Moses, and when You saved our forefathers from Egypt.’

₅₄Solomon knelt before the altar and he held his hands up towards heaven when he prayed to the Lord and begged Him.

When Solomon had finished praying to the Lord, he stood up ₅₅and he talked to all the people in the congregation_of_Israel and he blessed them. He talked loudly and said:

₅₆‘I praise the Lord. He promised to give his people of Israel peace and a land to live in, and He did it. He promised his servant Moses to be good to us, and it happened. ₅₇I pray that the Lord our God will be with us as He has been with our forefathers. I pray that He will never go away from us and that He will not forget us. ₅₈I pray that He will work in our hearts so that we will always love and serve Him and we will live as He wants and we will obey all the laws that He gave our forefathers. ₅₉I pray that the Lord our God will think of everything I have said, every day and night, and I pray that He will remember what I prayed and begged of Him. I pray that He will help the king and his people of Israel every day so that they will do what they have to do. ₆₀Then all the nations on the earth will know that the Lord is God and there is no other God. ₆₁You must live as the Lord our God told us in his laws, and you must serve Him with all your hearts, as you do today.’

₆₂The king and all the people of Israel sacrificed_offerings to the Lord. ₆₃Solomon sacrificed a peace-offering. It was 22 000 cattle and 120 000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the Israelites consecrated the temple to the Lord. ₆₄The king consecrated the courtyard of the temple on that day and he sacrificed burnt-offerings and grain-offerings and he burnt the fat of the peace-offering there. He did this because the bronze_altar in front of the temple was too small for all the burnt-offerings.

₆₅Solomon and all the people of Israel then celebrated a feast for the Lord their God. There were many people who came together, all the people from the town of Lebo-Hamath to the Egypt stream. They celebrated for 7 days and then they celebrated for another 7 days, so it was 14 days in all. ₆₆The day after that, Solomon sent the people away. The king said goodbye to them and they all went home. They were very happy because of all the good things that God had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.