1 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem all the elders of Israel, all the leaders of the tribes, and the leaders of the clans. He wanted them to join in bringing Yahweh’s Sacred Chest from Zion Hill to the temple, where it was in the part of the city called ‘The City of David’. 2 So all the Israeli leaders came to King Solomon during the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters, in October.

3 When they had all arrived, the priests lifted up the Sacred Chest 4 and brought it to the temple. The descendants of Levi who assisted the priests helped them to carry to the temple the Sacred Tent and all the sacred things that had been in the tent. 5 Then King Solomon and many of the Israeli people who had gathered in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Chest sacrificed a huge amount of sheep and oxen. No one was able to count the sacrifices because there were so many.

6 The the priests then brought the Sacred Chest into the Very Holy Place in the temple, and they placed it under the wings of the statues of the winged creatures. 7 The wings of those statues spread out over the Sacred Chest and over the poles by which it was carried. 8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen by people who were standing at the entrance to the Most Holy Place, but they could not be seen by people standing outside the temple. Those poles are still there. 9 The only things that were in the Sacred Chest were the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Sinai Mountain, where Yahweh made an agreement with the people after they left Egypt.

10 When the priests came out of the temple, suddenly it was filled with a cloud. 11 It was the glory/radiance of Yahweh that filled the temple, with the result that the priests were not able to continue their work.