1 Kings, 8

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.

1. Then Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, as well as the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from 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.

2. All the Israelites assembled near King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.

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

3. When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests carried the ark of Yahweh

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.

4. and brought it up together with the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the tent. After the priests and Levites had brought them 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.

5. King Solomon with the entire congregation of Israel that had assembled before him and were with him before the Ark, sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could neither be counted nor numbered.

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 cherubims.

6. Then the priests laid the ark of the covenant of Yahweh in its place in the inner sanctuary of the House - the Most Holy Place - underneath the wings of the cherubim.

7. For the cherubims spread forth [their] two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

7. The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, providing a covering above the ark and its poles.

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.

8. The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary but not from the outside; and they remain there to 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.

9. There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh made a covenant with the Israelites 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,

10. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, such a cloud filled Yahweh's House

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.

11. that the priests could not continue to minister. Indeed, the glory of Yahweh filled his House.

12. Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

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

13. I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

13. So the House I have built you will be your House, a place for you to dwell in forever."

14. And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

14. The king turned and blessed the entire assembly of Israel, as they 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,

15. saying, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled by his hand what he promised personally to David my father when he said,

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.

16. 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city in all the tribes of Israel in which to build a resting place for my Name, but now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, as I chose David to be the king of 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.

17. Now David my father wanted to build a House for the Name of Yahweh, the 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.

18. but Yahweh told David my father, 'You meant well to build a House for my Name.

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.

19. Nevertheless, not you but your son who shall be born to you shall build this House for 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.

20. Yahweh has fulfilled his promise, for I have succeeded David my father and am sitting on the throne of Israel; and, as Yahweh promised, I have built this House for the Name of Yahweh, the 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.

21. There I have provided a place for the ark with the covenant which Yahweh 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:

22. Then Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. He raised his hands towards 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:

23. and said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no God like you either in heaven or on earth! You keep your covenant and show loving- kindness to your servants who walk before you wholeheartedly.

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.

24. You have foretold this day to your servant David, my father, and this day you have fulfilled your promise.

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.

25. Now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, keep this other promise you made to David when you said, 'You shall always have someone from your family on the throne of Israel, provided that your sons are careful to serve me as you have done.'

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

26. Now, therefore, O God of Israel, confirm the promise you have given to 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?

27. But will God really live among men on earth? If neither heavens nor the highest heavens can contain you, how much less can this House which I have built!

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:

28. Yet, listen to the prayer and supplication of your servant, O Yahweh my God; hearken to the cries and pleas which your servant directs to you this 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.

29. Watch over this House of which you have said, 'My name shall rest there.' Hear the prayer of your servant in 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.

30. Listen to the supplication of your servant and your people Israel when they pray in this direction; listen from your dwelling place in Heaven and, on listening, forgive.

31. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:

31. When people charged with a crime against their neighbor come and take their oath before your altar in this temple,

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.

32. then hear from Heaven and do justice. Condemn the guilty and let his evildoing fall upon him, but vindicate the righteous and reward 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:

33. When your people Israel are defeated by the enemy for having sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and acknowledge their sins, praying and making supplications to you 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.

34. then listen from heaven and forgive your people Israel. Bring them back to the land which you gave to 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:

35. When the heavens are shut and no rain falls because they have sinned against you, and they pray in this place, acknowledging and repenting of their sin because you have afflicted 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.

36. then listen from Heaven and forgive your servants, your people Israel, and teach them the way to live; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

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

37. If there is famine in the land, or pestilence such as blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy attacks them in any of their cities; if they suffer from any plague or sickness;

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:

38. whatever be the prayer or supplication of anyone showing repentance and raising his hands in the direction of 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;)

39. then listen from Heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive. Do to each, whose heart you know, according to his conduct (for you alone know the hearts of all)

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

40. so that they may fear you as long as they live in the land which you gave 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;

41. Likewise, when a foreigner who is not from your people Israel, comes from a far country because of your Name

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;

42. (for they shall hear of your great Name, your mighty hand and outstretched arm), and prays in 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.

43. listen from the heavens, your dwelling place, and do for the foreigner whatever he asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your Name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and may know that your name rests on this House which I have built.

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:

44. If your people go to war wherever you send them, and they pray to Yahweh in the direction of the city which you have chosen and the House which I have built for your Name,

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

45. then from Heaven listen to their prayers and supplications and defend 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;

46. If they sin against you (and there is no one who does not sin), and, in your anger, you deliver them to an enemy who takes them captive into enemy territory, whether near or far off;

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;

47. and if, in the land where they have been carried captive, they sincerely repent and plead with you and say, 'We have sinned and have acted wrongly and wickedly';

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:

48. if they do repent with sincerity while in the land of their captors and pray to you, turning towards the 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 thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

49. then listen from heaven, your dwelling place, their prayer and supplication and defend 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:

50. Forgive your people who have sinned against you; forgive all their offenses, and make their captors 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:

51. (For they are your people - your heritage which you brought out of Egypt from the heart of the iron furnace).

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.

52. Open your eyes to the pleadings of your servant and to those of your people Israel, and listen to them whenever they call on you.

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.

53. For you took them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Yahweh 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.

54. When Solomon finished offering all this prayer and entreaty to Yahweh, he rose from before the altar of Yahweh where he had knelt with hands raised towards heaven and,

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

55. standing, blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice,

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.

56. "Blessed be Yahweh who has given rest to his people Israel as he promised; for not one of his promises, given to Moses his servant, has been broken.

57. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

57. May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he not leave or 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.

58. may he incline our hearts towards him and make us walk in all his ways keeping his commands, his statutes and regulations 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:

59. Let my prayer to Yahweh be with our God day and night. May he defend my cause and the cause of his people Israel in their daily life;

60. That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD [is] God, [and that there is] none else.

60. in this way all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh is God and there is no other.

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.

61. As for you, let your heart be wholly true to Yahweh our God, following his laws and keeping his commands as at this time."

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

62. Then the king and all the Israelites with him offered sacrifices before Yahweh.

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.

63. Solomon offered twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep as peace offerings to Yahweh. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated Yahweh's House.

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 brasen altar that [was] before the LORD [was] too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

64. That same day, the king consecrated the middle of the court in front of Yah-weh's House, for it was there that he offered the burnt offerings, the cereal offerings and the fat of the peace offerings since the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to receive the burnt offering, the cereal offering 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.

65. So at this time Solomon, together with a large assembly of Israelites that gathered from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, celebrated the festival before Yahweh for seven 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.

66. On the eighth day, Solomon dismissed the people. After bidding farewell to the king, they went home rejoicing and happy because of all the kindness that Yahweh had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel.