1 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David.2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up,5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.6 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles.8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.15 Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said,16 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.'17 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.18 But the LORD said to my father David, 'You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name.19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood —he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.'20 "The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt."22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven23 and said: "LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below —you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it —as it is today.25 "Now LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.'26 And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.27 "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!28 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.31 "When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple,32 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.33 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.35 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them,36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.37 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come,38 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel —being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple —39 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart),40 so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.41 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name —42 for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm —when they come and pray toward this temple,43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.44 "When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,45 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.46 "When they sin against you —for there is no one who does not sin —and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near;47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly';48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name;49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;51 for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.52 "May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign LORD, brought our ancestors out of Egypt."54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.55 He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:56 "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.57 May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us.58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors.59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need,60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.61 And may your hearts be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD.64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the LORD was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.65 So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him —a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all.66 On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

1 Tunc congregati sunt omnes majores natu Israël cum principibus tribuum, et duces familiarum filiorum Israël, ad regem Salomonem in Jerusalem, ut deferrent arcam fœderis Domini de civitate David, id est, de Sion. 2 Convenitque ad regem Salomonem universus Israël in mense Ethanim, in solemni die : ipse est mensis septimus. 3 Veneruntque cuncti senes de Israël, et tulerunt arcam sacerdotes, 4 et portaverunt arcam Domini, et tabernaculum fœderis, et omnia vasa sanctuarii quæ erant in tabernaculo : et ferebant ea sacerdotes et Levitæ. 5 Rex autem Salomon, et omnis multitudo Israël quæ convenerat ad eum, gradiebatur cum illo ante arcam, et immolabant oves et boves absque æstimatione et numero. 6 Et intulerunt sacerdotes arcam fœderis Domini in locum suum, in oraculum templi, in Sanctum sanctorum, subter alas cherubim. 7 Siquidem cherubim expandebant alas super locum arcæ, et protegebant arcam, et vectes ejus desuper. 8 Cumque eminerent vectes, et apparerent summitates eorum foris sanctuarium ante oraculum, non apparebant ultra extrinsecus, qui et fuerunt ibi usque in præsentem diem. 9 In arca autem non erat aliud nisi duæ tabulæ lapideæ quas posuerat in ea Moyses in Horeb, quando pepigit Dominus fœdus cum filiis Israël, cum egrederentur de terra Ægypti. 10 Factum est autem cum exissent sacerdotes de sanctuario, nebula implevit domum Domini, 11 et non poterant sacerdotes stare et ministrare propter nebulam : impleverat enim gloria Domini domum Domini. 12 Tunc ait Salomon : Dominus dixit ut habitaret in nebula. 13 Ædificans ædificavi domum in habitaculum tuum : firmissimum solium tuum in sempiternum. 14 Convertitque rex faciem suam, et benedixit omni ecclesiæ Israël : omnia enim ecclesia Israël stabat. 15 Et ait Salomon : Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, qui locutus est ore suo ad David patrem meum, et in manibus ejus perfecit, dicens : 16 A die qua eduxi populum meum Israël de Ægypto, non elegi civitatem de universis tribubus Israël, ut ædificaretur domus, et esset nomen meum ibi : sed elegi David ut esset super populum meum Israël. 17 Voluitque David pater meus ædificare domum nomini Domini Dei Israël : 18 et ait Dominus ad David patrem meum : Quod cogitasti in corde tuo ædificare domum nomini meo, bene fecisti, hoc ipsum mente tractans. 19 Verumtamen tu non ædificabis mihi domum, sed filius tuus, qui egredietur de renibus tuis, ipse ædificabit domum nomini meo. 20 Confirmavit Dominus sermonem suum quem locutus est : stetique pro David patre meo, et sedi super thronum Israël, sicut locutus est Dominus : et ædificavi domum nomini Domini Dei Israël. 21 Et constitui ibi locum arcæ in qua fœdus Domini est, quod percussit cum patribus nostris quando egressi sunt de terra Ægypti.22 Stetit autem Salomon ante altare Domini in conspectu ecclesiæ Israël, et expandit manus suas in cælum, 23 et ait : Domine Deus Israël, non est similis tui deus in cælo desuper, et super terram deorsum : qui custodis pactum et misericordiam servis tuis qui ambulant coram te in toto corde suo. 24 Qui custodisti servo tuo David patri meo quæ locutus es ei : ore locutus es, et manibus perfecisti, ut hæc dies probat. 25 Nunc igitur Domine Deus Israël, conserva famulo tuo David patri meo quæ locutus es ei, dicens : Non auferetur de te vir coram me, qui sedeat super thronum Israël : ita tamen si custodierint filii tui viam suam, ut ambulent coram me sicut tu ambulasti in conspectu meo. 26 Et nunc Domine Deus Israël, firmentur verba tua quæ locutus es servo tuo David patri meo. 27 Ergone putandum est quod vere Deus habitet super terram ? si enim cælum, et cæli cælorum, te capere non possunt, quanto magis domus hæc, quam ædificavi ? 28 Sed respice ad orationem servi tui, et ad preces ejus, Domine Deus meus : audi hymnum et orationem quam servus tuus orat coram te hodie : 29 ut sint oculi tui aperti super domum hanc nocte ac die : super domum, de qua dixisti : Erit nomen meum ibi : ut exaudias orationem quam orat in loco isto ad te servus tuus : 30 ut exaudias deprecationem servi tui et populi tui Israël, quodcumque oraverint in loco isto, et exaudies in loco habitaculi tui in cælo : et cum exaudieris, propitius eris.31 Si peccaverit homo in proximum suum, et habuerit aliquod juramentum quo teneatur astrictus, et venerit propter juramentum coram altari tuo in domum tuam, 32 tu exaudies in cælo : et facies, et judicabis servos tuos, condemnans impium, et reddens viam suam super caput ejus, justificansque justum, et retribuens ei secundum justitiam suam. 33 Si fugerit populus tuus Israël inimicos suos (quia peccaturus est tibi), et agentes pœnitentiam, et confitentes nomini tuo, venerint, et oraverint, et deprecati te fuerint in domo hac : 34 exaudi in cælo, et dimitte peccatum populi tui Israël, et reduces eos in terram quam dedisti patribus eorum. 35 Si clausum fuerit cælum, et non pluerit propter peccata eorum, et orantes in loco isto, pœnitentiam egerint nomini tuo, et a peccatis suis conversi fuerint propter afflictionem suam : 36 exaudi eos in cælo, et dimitte peccata servorum tuorum, et populi tui Israël : et ostende eis viam bonam per quam ambulent, et da pluviam super terram tuam, quam dedisti populo tuo in possessionem. 37 Fames si oborta fuerit in terra, aut pestilentia, aut corruptus aër, aut ærugo, aut locusta, vel rubigo, et afflixerit eum inimicus ejus portas obsidens : omnis plaga, universa infirmitas, 38 cuncta devotatio, et imprecatio quæ acciderit omni homini de populo tuo Israël : si quis cognoverit plagam cordis sui, et expanderit manus suas in domo hac, 39 tu exaudies in cælo in loco habitationis tuæ, et repropitiaberis, et facies ut des unicuique secundum omnes vias suas, sicut videris cor ejus (quia tu nosti solus cor omnium filiorum hominum), 40 ut timeant te cunctis diebus quibus vivunt super faciem terræ quam dedisti patribus nostris.41 Insuper et alienigena, qui non est de populo tuo Israël, cum venerit de terra longinqua propter nomen tuum (audietur enim nomen tuum magnum, et manus tua fortis, et brachium tuum 42 extentum ubique), cum venerit ergo, et oraverit in hoc loco, 43 tu exaudies in cælo, in firmamento habitaculi tui, et facies omnia pro quibus invocaverit te alienigena : ut discant universi populi terrarum nomen tuum timere, sicut populus tuus Israël, et probent quia nomen tuum invocatum est super domum hanc quam ædificavi. 44 Si egressus fuerit populus tuus ad bellum contra inimicos suos per viam, quocumque miseris eos, orabunt te contra viam civitatis quam elegisti, et contra domum quam ædificavi nomini tuo, 45 et exaudies in cælo orationes eorum et preces eorum, et facies judicium eorum.46 Quod si peccaverint tibi (non est enim homo qui non peccet) et iratus tradideris eos inimicis suis, et captivi ducti fuerint in terram inimicorum longe vel prope, 47 et egerint pœnitentiam in corde suo in loco captivitatis, et conversi deprecati te fuerint in captivitate sua, dicentes : Peccavimus : inique egimus, impie gessimus : 48 et reversi fuerint ad te in universo corde suo et tota anima sua in terra inimicorum suorum, ad quam captivi ducti fuerint : et oraverint te contra viam terræ suæ, quam dedisti patribus eorum, et civitatis quam elegisti, et templi quod ædificavi nomini tuo : 49 exaudies in cælo, in firmamento solii tui, orationes eorum et preces eorum, et facies judicium eorum : 50 et propitiaberis populo tuo qui peccavit tibi, et omnibus iniquitatibus eorum quibus prævaricati sunt in te : et dabis misericordiam coram eis qui eos captivos habuerint, ut misereantur eis. 51 Populus enim tuus est, et hæreditas tua, quos eduxisti de terra Ægypti, de medio fornacis ferreæ. 52 Ut sint oculi tui aperti ad deprecationem servi tui, et populi tui Israël, et exaudias eos in universis pro quibus invocaverint te. 53 Tu enim separasti eos tibi in hæreditatem de universis populis terræ, sicut locutus es per Moysen servum tuum quando eduxisti patres nostros de Ægypto, Domine Deus.54 Factum est autem, cum complesset Salomon orans Dominum omnem orationem et deprecationem hanc, surrexit de conspectu altaris Domini : utrumque enim genu in terram fixerat, et manus expanderat in cælum. 55 Stetit ergo, et benedixit omni ecclesiæ Israël voce magna, dicens : 56 Benedictus Dominus, qui dedit requiem populo suo Israël, juxta omnia quæ locutus est : non cecidit ne unus quidem sermo ex omnibus bonis quæ locutus est per Moysen servum suum. 57 Sit Dominus Deus noster nobiscum, sicut fuit cum patribus nostris, non derelinquens nos, neque projiciens. 58 Sed inclinet corda nostra ad se, ut ambulemus in universis viis ejus, et custodiamus mandata ejus, et cæremonias ejus, et judicia quæcumque mandavit patribus nostris. 59 Et sint sermones mei isti, quibus deprecatus sum coram Domino, appropinquantes Domino Deo nostro die ac nocte, ut faciat judicium servo suo, et populo suo Israël per singulos dies : 60 ut sciant omnes populi terræ quia Dominus ipse est Deus, et non est ultra absque eo. 61 Sit quoque cor nostrum perfectum cum Domino Deo nostro, ut ambulemus in decretis ejus, et custodiamus mandata ejus, sicut et hodie.62 Igitur rex, et omnis Israël cum eo, immolabant victimas coram Domino. 63 Mactavitque Salomon hostias pacificas, quas immolavit Domino, boum viginti duo millia, et ovium centum viginti millia : et dedicaverunt templum Domini rex et filii Israël. 64 In die illa sanctificavit rex medium atrii quod erat ante domum Domini : fecit quippe holocaustum ibi, et sacrificium, et adipem pacificorum : quoniam altare æreum quod erat coram Domino, minus erat, et capere non poterat holocaustum, et sacrificium, et adipem pacificorum. 65 Fecit ergo Salomon in tempore illo festivitatem celebrem, et omnis Israël cum eo, multitudo magna ab introitu Emath usque ad rivum Ægypti, coram Domino Deo nostro, septem diebus et septem diebus, id est, quatuordecim diebus. 66 Et in die octava dimisit populos : qui benedicentes regi, profecti sunt in tabernacula sua lætantes, et alacri corde super omnibus bonis quæ fecerat Dominus David servo suo, et Israël populo suo.