st Kings _Chapter 8

At that time, Solomon gathered the elders of Israel, the leaders of their tribes, and the heads of their families to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord from the city of David, which is Zion.

In the month of Eternam, which is the seventh month, before the festival, all the Israelites gathered to King Solomon.

When the elders of Israel arrived, the priests lifted up the ark of the covenant,

The priests and Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, and brought up all the holy vessels of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of the congregation.

King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had gathered with him offered sacrifices of cattle and sheep in front of the ark, which were countless.

The priest carried the ark of the Lord into the inner temple, which is the most holy place, and placed it under the wings of the two cherubim.

The cherubim spread their wings over the ark, covering it and the poles that carried it.

This pole is very long, and the head of the pole can be seen in the sanctuary in front of the inner temple, but cannot be seen outside the temple, and it is still there to this day.

There were only two stone tablets in the ark, which Moses placed on Mount Horeb when the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they left Egypt. There is nothing else besides that.

When the priests came out of the sanctuary, a cloud filled the temple of the Lord.

Even the priests cannot stand and serve, because the glory of the Lord has filled the temple.

At that time Solomon said, The Lord has said, He will dwell in the darkness.

I have built a temple for your dwelling, for your eternal dwelling.

The king turned his face to bless the Israelite assembly, and all the Israelite assembly stood up.

Solomon said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel. Because he himself fulfilled the promise he made to my father David with his own hands.

He said, Since I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city among the tribes of Israel to build a house for my name’s dwelling, but I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.

Solomon said, My father David intended to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your intention to build a temple for my name is very good.’.

But you shall not build a temple, but your son shall build a temple for my name.

Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise, to make me sit on the throne of Israel in the place of my father David, and to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

I also prepared a place for the Ark among them. There is a covenant of the Lord in the ark, which he made with our ancestors when he led them out of the land of Egypt.

Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the Israelite assembly and raised his hand to heaven, saying,

O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god in heaven or on earth like you. You keep the covenant and show mercy to the servant who walks wholeheartedly before you.

The promise I made to your servant my father David has now been fulfilled. You promised with your own mouth and achieved with your own hands, just like today.

O Lord, the God of Israel, as you promised your servant David my father, ‘If your descendants take care of their own ways and walk before me as you have done, they will continue to sit on the throne of Israel.’. Now please fulfill this statement.

O God of Israel, please fulfill the promise you made to your servant my father David.

Does Shenguo really live on the ground? See, the heavens and the heavens are not yet enough for you to dwell in, let alone this temple that I have built?

May the Lord my God look down on my servant’s prayer and supplication, and hear his prayer and cry before you today.

May you take care of this temple day and night, the dwelling place that you promised to establish as your name. Please listen to the servant’s prayer to this place.

When your servant and your people Israel pray to this place, hear and forgive in your dwelling place in heaven.

If a man offends his neighbor and someone makes him swear, he will come to this temple and swear before your altar,

Listen in heaven, judge your servant, condemn the wicked, and bring retribution upon his head according to his deeds. Define a person with reason and reward them according to their righteousness.

If your people Israel sin against you and are defeated before their enemies, and turn back to you, acknowledge your name, and pray and pray in this temple,

Listen in heaven and forgive the sins of your people Israel, so that they may return to the land you gave to their ancestors.

Your people have offended you, and you have punished them, blocking the sky and preventing it from raining. If they pray to this place, acknowledge your name, and depart from their sins,

Listen in heaven, forgive the sins of your servant the people of Israel, teach them the right way to do, and let rain fall on your land, which you have given your people as an inheritance.

If there is famine, plague, drought, mildew, locusts, grasshoppers, or enemies besieging cities in the country, no matter what disaster or disease they encounter,

Your people Israel, whether they are all or one person, are conscious of their sins and have raised their hands to this temple, regardless of what they pray or pray for,

May your dwelling place in heaven hear forgiveness. You know the hearts of men, and treat them according to their ways (only you know the hearts of men),

Let them fear you for a lifetime on the land you have given to our ancestors.

As for the Gentiles who do not belong to your people Israel, who came from afar for your name,

They heard people speak of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm, and prayed to this temple,

Listen to your dwelling place in heaven and do as the foreigners pray, so that all the people of the world may know your name and fear you like your people Israel. And let them know that the temple I have built is called under your name.

If your people are sent by you to fight against their enemies wherever they go, and pray to the city chosen by the Lord and the temple I have built for your name,

Listen to their prayers and prayers in heaven, so that they may triumph.

If your people offend you (there is no one in the world who does not sin), and you are angry with them, you will hand them over to your enemies and take them captive to their land, far or near,

If they recall their sins in the land of captivity, turn their hearts and plead with you, saying, We have sinned, we have rebelled, we have done evil.

If they submit wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly to you in the land they have taken captive, and pray to their own land, which is the land you have given to their ancestors, the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built for your name,

May your dwelling place in heaven hear their prayers and pleadings, and seek justice for them.

Forgive the people who have offended you, forgive all their sins, so that they may find mercy before those who have taken them captive.

Because they are your people and your inheritance, which you brought out of Egypt from the iron furnace.

May your eyes be on your servants and hear the prayers of your people Israel, and may you hear them whenever they pray to you.

O Lord GOD, you have set them apart from all the people on earth as your inheritance, as you promised through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.

Solomon knelt down before the altar of the Lord, raised his hand to heaven, and after praying and praying before the Lord, he stood up,

Standing and loudly blessing the entire Israelite assembly, saying,

Praise be to the Lord. Because he gave peace to his people the Israelites according to all his promises, and every word he promised to bless through his servant Moses did not fail.

May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our ancestors, not leaving us or abandoning us,

Let our hearts turn to him, walk in his ways, and keep the commandments, laws, and ordinances that he commanded our ancestors.

These words that I pray before the Lord, may the Lord our God remember day and night, and every day avenge his servant and his people Israel,

To make all the people of the earth aware that the Lord alone is God, and there is no other God.

Therefore, be faithful to the Lord our God, walk in his laws, and keep his commandments, until the end is as it is today.

The king and all the people of Israel sacrificed together before the Lord.

Solomon offered a peace offering to the Lord, with 22000 oxen and 120000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel made offerings to the temple of the Lord.

On that day, because the bronze altar in front of the Lord’s temple was too small to accommodate the fat of burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings, the king consecrated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple and offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there.

At that time, Solomon and all Israel, including all the Israelites from the mouth of Hamath to the Little River of Egypt, gathered together and held a feast before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days, a total of fourteen days.

On the eighth day, the king dispersed the people. They all bless the king. And when they saw all the kindness that the Lord had bestowed upon his servant David and his people Israel, they all rejoiced in their hearts and went to their homes.