The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Geneva Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 8 -

(2 Chronicles 5:1–14)

Then King Salomon assembled the Elders of Israel, euen all the heads of the tribes, the chiefe fathers of the children of Israel vnto him in Ierusalem, for to bring vp the Arke of the couenant of the Lord from the citie of Dauid, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled vnto King Salomon at the feast in the moneth of Ethanim, which is the seuenth moneth.

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

They bare the Arke of the Lord, and they bare the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle: those did the Priestes and Leuites bring vp.

And King Salomon and all the Congregation of Israel, that were assembled vnto him, were with him before the Arke, offering sheepe and beeues, which could not be tolde, nor nombred for multitude.

So the Priestes brought the Arke of the couenant of the Lord vnto his place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, euen vnder the wings of the Cherubims.

For ye Cherubims stretched out their wings ouer the place of the Arke, and the Cherubims couered the Arke, and the barres thereof aboue.

And they drewe out the barres, that the endes of the barres might appeare out of the Sanctuarie before the oracle, but they were not seene without: and there they are vnto this day.

Nothing was in the Arke saue the two tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a couenant with the children of Israel, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

And when the Priestes were come out of the Sanctuarie, the cloude filled the house of the Lord,

So that the Priestes could not stande to minister, because of the cloude: for the glorie of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon Blesses the LORD

(2 Chronicles 6:1–11)

Then spake Salomon, The Lord said, that he woulde dwell in the darke cloude.

I haue built thee an house to dwell in, an habitation for thee to abide in for euer.

And the King turned his face, and blessed all the Congregation of Israel: for all the Congregation of Israel stoode there.

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

Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no citie of all the tribes of Israel, to builde an house that my name might be there: but I haue chosen Dauid to be ouer my people Israel.

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

And the Lord said vnto Dauid my father, Where as it was in thine heart to build an house vnto my Name, thou diddest well, that thou wast so minded:

Neuerthelesse thou shalt not builde the house, but thy sonne that shall come out of thy loynes, he shall builde the house vnto my Name.

And the Lord hath made good his worde that he spake: and I am risen vp in the roume of Dauid my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and haue built the house for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.

And I haue prepared therein a place for the Arke, wherein is the couenant of the Lord which he made with our fathers, whe he brought them out of the lande of Egypt.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

(2 Chronicles 6:12–42)

Then Salomon stoode before the altar of the Lord in the sight of all the Congregation of Israel, and stretched out his handes towarde heauen,

And sayd, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heauen aboue, or in the earth beneath, thou that keepest couenant and mercie with thy seruants that walke before thee with all their heart,

Thou that hast kept with thy seruant Dauid my father, that thou hast promised him: for thou spakest with thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with thine hande, as appeareth this day.

Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keepe with thy seruant Dauid my father that thou hast promised him, saying, Thou shalt not want a man in my sight to sit vpon ye throne of Israel: so that thy childre take heed to their way, that they walke before me; as thou hast walked in my sight

And nowe, O God of Israel, I pray thee, let thy worde be verified, which thou spakest vnto thy seruant Dauid my father.

Is it true in deede that God will dwell on the earth? beholde, the heauens, and the heauens of heauens are not able to conteine thee: howe much more vnable is this house that I haue built?

But haue thou respect vnto the prayer of thy seruant, and to his supplication, O Lord, my God, to heare the cry and prayer which thy seruant prayeth before thee this day:

That thine eyes may be open toward this house, night and day, euen towarde the place whereof thou hast said, My Name shalbe there: that thou mayest hearken vnto the prayer which thy seruant prayeth in this place.

Heare thou therefore the supplication of thy seruant, and of thy people Israel, which pray in this place, and heare thou in the place of thine habitation, euen in heauen, and when thou hearest, haue mercie.

When a man shall trespasse against his neighbour, and he lay vpon him an othe to cause him to sweare, and the swearer shall come before thine altar in this house,

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

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

Then heare thou in heauen, and be mercifull vnto the sinne of thy people Israel, and bring them againe vnto the lande, which thou gauest vnto their fathers.

When heauen shalbe shut vp, and there shalbe no raine because they haue sinned against thee, and shall pray in this place, and confesse thy Name, and turne from their sinne, when thou doest afflict them,

Then heare thou in heauen, and pardon the sinne of thy seruants and of thy people Israel (when thou hast taught the the good way wherein they may walke) and giue raine vpon the land that thou hast giuen to thy people to inherite.

When there shalbe famine in the land, when there shalbe pestilence, when there shall be blasting, mildewe, grashopper or caterpiller, when their enemie shall besiege them in the cities of their lande, or any plague, or any sickenesse,

Then what prayer, and supplication so euer shalbe made of any man or of all thy people Israel, when euery one shall knowe the plague in his owne heart, and stretch foorth his handes in this house,

Heare thou then in heauen, in thy dwelling place, and be mercifull, and doe, and giue euery man according to all his wayes, as thou knowest his heart, (for thou only knowest the heartes of all the children of men)

That they may feare thee as long as they liue in ye lad, which thou gauest vnto our fathers.

Moreouer as touching the stranger that is not of thy people Israel, who shall come out of a farre countrey for thy Names sake,

(When they shall heare of thy great name, and of thy mightie hande, and of thy stretched out arme) and shall come and pray in this house,

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

When thy people shall go out to battell against their enemie by the way that thou shalt sende them, and shall pray vnto the Lord towarde the way of the citie which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I haue built for thy Name,

Heare thou then in heauen their prayer and their supplication, and iudge their cause.

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

Yet if they turne againe vnto their heart in the lande (to the which they be caryed away captiues) and returne and pray vnto thee in the lande of them that caryed them away captiues, saying, We haue sinned, we haue transgressed, and done wickedly,

If they turne againe vnto thee with all their heart, and with all their soule in the lande of their enemies, which led them away captiues, and pray vnto thee toward the way of their land, which thou gauest vnto their fathers, and toward the citie which thou hast chosen, and the house, which I haue built for thy Name,

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

And be mercifull vnto thy people that haue sinned against thee, and vnto all their iniquities (wherein they haue transgressed against thee) and cause that they, which led them away captiues, may haue pitie and compassion on them:

For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out of Egypt from the middes of the yron fornace.

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

For thou diddest separate them to thee from among all people of the earth for an inheritance, as thou saidest by the hand of Moses thy seruant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

Solomon’s Benediction

And when Salomon had made an ende of praying all this prayer and supplication vnto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees, and stretching of his handes to heauen,

And stoode and blessed all the Congregation of Israel with a loud voyce, saying,

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

The Lord our God be with vs, as he was with our fathers, that he forsake vs not, neither leaue vs,

That he may bow our heartes vnto him, that we may walke in all his waies, and keepe his commandements, and his statutes, and his lawes, which he commanded our fathers.

And these my wordes, which I haue prayed before the Lord, be neere vnto the Lord our God day and night, that he defende the cause of his seruant, and the cause of his people Israel alway as the matter requireth,

That all the people of ye earth may knowe, that the Lord is God, and none other.

Let your heart therefore be perfit with the Lord our God to walke in his statutes, and to keepe his commandements, as this day.

Sacrifices of Dedication

(2 Chronicles 7:4–10)

Then the King and all Israel with him offred sacrifice before the Lord.

And Salomon offered a sacrifice of peace offrings which he offered vnto the Lord, to wit, two and twentie thousande beeues, and an hundreth and twentie thousande sheepe: so the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

The same day did the King halowe the middle of the court, that was before the house of the Lord: for there he made burnt offerings, and the meate offrings, and the fat of the peace offeringes, because the brasen altar that was before the Lord, was too litle to receiue the burnt offerings, and the meate offerings, and the fat of the peace offrings.

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

And the eight day he sent the people away: and they thanked the King and went vnto their tentes ioyous and with glad heart, because of al the goodnesse that the Lord had done for Dauid his seruant, and for Israel his people.

(2 Chronicles 5:1–14)

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel with all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant out of David’s city, which is Zion.

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

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

They brought up the LORD’s ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. The priests and the Levites brought these up.

King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

The priests brought in the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the cherubim’s wings.

For the cherubim spread their wings out over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.

The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen outside. They are there to this day.

There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets 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.

It came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the LORD’s house,

so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the LORD’s glory filled the LORD’s house.

Solomon Blesses the LORD

(2 Chronicles 6:1–11)

Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

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

The king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel stood.

He said, “Blessed is the LORD, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David your father, and has with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

‘Since the day that I brought 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.’

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

But the LORD 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.

Nevertheless, you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.’

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

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

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

(2 Chronicles 6:12–42)

Solomon stood before the LORD’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;

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

who has kept with your servant David my father that which you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is today.

Now therefore, may LORD, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, ‘There shall not fail from 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.’

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

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!

Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant and for his supplication, LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you today;

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 prays toward this place.

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

“If a man sins against his neighbor, and an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and he comes and swears before your altar in this house,

then hear in heaven, and act, 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.

“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,

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

“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 afflict them,

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.

“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight, mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is,

whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread out his hands toward this house,

then hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give 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);

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

“Moreover, concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he comes out of a far country for your name’s sake

(for they shall hear of your great name and of your mighty hand and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house,

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 do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.

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

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

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;

yet if they repent 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,’

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,

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

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

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

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.

For you separated 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 GOD.”

Solomon’s Benediction

It was so, that when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the LORD’s altar, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven.

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

“Blessed be the LORD, 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.

May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us or forsake us,

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

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

that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD himself is God. There is no one else.

“Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as it is today.”

Sacrifices of Dedication

(2 Chronicles 7:4–10)

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

Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty two thousand head of cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the LORD’s house.

The same day the king made the middle of the court holy that was before the LORD’s house; for there he offered the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

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 the LORD our God, seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days.

On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad in their hearts for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David his servant, and to Israel his people.