2 *Chronicles 6

₁Then Solomon said: ‘Lord, You said You wanted to live in a place where no one could see You. ₂I have now built a temple for You to live in, a house where You can always live.’

₃All the Israelites were standing there and King Solomon turned to them and he blessed them. He greeted them ₄and said: ‘Praise the Lord, the God of Israel. With his mouth, He promised to be with my father David and He has done it. He said:

₅“I brought my people out of the land of Egypt and from that time I have not chosen any other town or city from any other tribes_of_Israel where I want you to build a temple for my name. I did not choose any other man to be king and to rule over my people of Israel. ₆But I have chosen Jerusalem so that you can worship my name there. And I have chosen David to rule over my people of Israel.”

₇My father David decided to build a temple to serve the Lord, the God of Israel, ₈but the Lord said to my father: “It is good that you are planning to build a temple for Me, ₉but you will not build the temple. Your son who will be born will build my temple.”

₁₀And the Lord did what He promised. I became king after my father David, I sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised and I have built the temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, to serve Him. ₁₁I have put the covenant box of the Lord in the temple. The covenant that God made with Israel is in that box.’

₁₂Then Solomon went to the altar of the Lord. He stood there in front of all the Israelites and he put out his hands. ₁₃Before that, Solomon had made a high bronze floor. It was 5 cubits long, 5 cubits wide and 3 cubits high. He had put it in the middle of the big courtyard outside the temple. He stood on the high floor and then he knelt down in front of all the people of the congregation_of_Israel. Then he put out his hands towards heaven ₁₄and he said: ‘Lord God of Israel, in heaven above and on earth below, there is no other God like You. You continue to love your people and do what You promised in your covenant to everyone who lives like You say with all his heart. ₁₅You did what You told my father David, your servant. You promised him what You would do, and You have done what You promised. ₁₆And now, Lord, God of Israel, please do as You promised my father David, your servant. You said to him: “One of your descendants will always be king and sit on the throne of Israel, but then they must do what is right and they must obey my laws. They must live as I want them to live, like you have lived.”

₁₇And now, God of Israel, please let your words become true, that You said to my father David, your servant.

₁₈But will God 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. ₁₉Lord my God, please listen when I pray and beg You. Please listen to what I am asking You when I, your servant, pray to You today. ₂₀Please always take care of this temple. This is where You said You want to be. Please listen to the prayers of your servants when they pray and look towards this temple. ₂₁Please listen when I, your servant, and your people of Israel pray and beg while we look at this temple. When You listen to our prayers from your home in heaven, please forgive our sins.

₂₂When someone says a person has sinned_against him and he asks You to punish that person, and the other person may be standing in front of the altar at this temple and says he is innocent, ₂₃please listen and judge between them. Please punish the person who is guilty and let the innocent person go free.

₂₄Your people of Israel may lose a war_against the enemy because they have sinned_against You. If your people change their lives and they do what You want and they praise your name and pray to You in this temple and beg You, ₂₅then please listen to them from heaven and forgive their sins. Please forgive them and let them come back to this land that You gave to their forefathers.

₂₆You may close heaven and it will not rain because your people have sinned_against You. If they look at this temple and pray and praise your name and they change their lives and do what You want and they ask You to listen to their prayer, ₂₇then please listen in heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people of Israel. Please help them and give rain to the land that You gave your people. Teach them the right way to live.

₂₈If there is a famine in the land, or a lot of people get sick and die, or there are diseases and the wheat in the fields does not grow, or a lot of locusts come and eat all the wheat, or enemies come and besiege the towns, or bad things happen, ₂₉please listen when someone prays or your people of Israel beg You. Please listen to each person who puts out his hands towards this temple and tells You that he is sorry. ₃₀Please listen to their prayers from your home in heaven, and forgive their sins and help them. Please give everyone what he needs, because only You know who a man really is and what is in his heart. ₃₁Then your people will always listen to You while they live in the land that You gave to their forefathers.

₃₂Please also listen to someone who is not one of your people of Israel, someone who comes from a land far away but who has heard people talking about your name. If he has heard about your great name and of the great things that You have done and he comes and looks at this temple and he prays, ₃₃then please listen to him, from heaven where You live, and do everything 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. Please do this so that they know that this house, this temple that I have built, belongs to You.

₃₄Your people may go to war_against enemies because You have said they must. If they see this city that You have chosen and this temple that I have built to serve You and if they pray and beg You, ₃₅please listen to their prayers from heaven and help them defeat their enemies.

₃₆There isn't a person who does not sin_against You. When your people sin, You will be angry with them, and You will let their enemies defeat them. Their enemies will take them away to their land to be prisoners. ₃₇But maybe your people will change their lives in that land where they are prisoners, and turn to You again, and pray to You in that land and say: “We have sinned. We have done things that are wrong, and we are guilty.”

₃₈If they do that and they turn 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 forefathers, and to this city that You have chosen, and to this temple that I have built to serve You, and if they pray to You, ₃₉please listen to them from your home in heaven. Please listen to their prayers and stop punishing them. Please forgive the people who have sinned_against You.

₄₀Now, my God, please take care of this temple and listen when someone in this temple prays to You.

₄₁And now, Lord God, please come to your home where You want to be.

Come with the covenant box that shows how strong You are.

We pray that your priests will continue to be faithful in telling us that You will save us, and that your people will always be thankful for the good things that You give them.

₄₂Lord God, please be good to your anointed king and remember that You loved my father, your servant David.’