The Dedication of the Temple

61 Then said Solomon: Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 2 But I have built a house of habitation for thee, even a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. 3 And the king turned his face and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and the whole congregation of Israel stood. 4 And he said: Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it, saying, 5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel: 6 but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel. 7 And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. 8 But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart; 9 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. 10 And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. 11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with the children of Israel.

12 And he stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands. 13 For Solomon had made a platform of bronze, five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and upon it he stood, and he kneeled down on his knees before the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens, 14 and said, Jehovah, God of Israel! there is no God like thee, in the heavens or on the earth, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart; 15 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him; thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [it] with thy hand as at this day. 16 And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. 17 And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, let thy word be verified which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. 18 But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! 19 Yet have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, Jehovah, my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee; 20 that thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place in which thou hast said thou wouldest put thy name: to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. 21 And hearken unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou from thy dwelling-place, from the heavens, and when thou hearest, forgive. 22 If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; 23 then hear thou from the heavens, and do, and judge thy servants, requiting the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness. 24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication before thee in this house; 25 then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land that thou gavest to them and to their fathers. 26 When the heavens are 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, because thou hast afflicted them; 27 then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 28 If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague or whatever sickness there be: 29 what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man his own plague, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house; 30 then hear thou from the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of the children of men), 31 that they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, all the days that they live upon the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. 32 And as to the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand and thy stretched-out arm; when they shall come and pray toward this house, 33 then hear thou from the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, and may fear thee as do thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. 34 If thy people go out to battle against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name; 35 then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right. 36 If they have sinned against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto a land far off or near; 37 and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done iniquity and have dealt perversely; 38 and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name; 39 then hear thou from the heavens, from the settled place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their right, and forgive thy people their sin against thee. 40 Now, my God, I beseech thee, let thine eyes be open and let thine ears be attentive unto the prayer [that is made] in this place. 41 And now, arise, Jehovah Elohim, into thy resting-place, thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, Jehovah Elohim, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in [thy] goodness. 42 Jehovah Elohim, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember mercies to David thy servant.

71 And when Solomon had ended praying, the fire came down from the heavens and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. 2 And the priests could not enter into the house of Jehovah, because the glory of Jehovah filled Jehovah's house. 3 And all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of Jehovah upon the house, and bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshipped and thanked Jehovah: For he is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever. 4 And the king and all the people offered sacrifices before Jehovah. 5 And king Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 And the priests stood in their charges, and the Levites with Jehovah's instruments of music, which David the king had made to praise Jehovah, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, when David praised by their means; and the priests sounded the trumpets opposite to them, and all Israel stood. 7 And Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt-offerings and the oblations and the fat. 8 And at that time Solomon held the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10 And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Jehovah had done to David and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

The LORD's Covenant with Solomon

11 And Solomon completed the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he did prosperously.

12 Then Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen for myself this place for a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up the heavens that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 and my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attentive to the prayer [made] in this place; 16 for I have now chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. 17 And [as for] thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; 18 then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to rule over Israel. 19 But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them; 20 then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passes by it; so that he shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house? 22 And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.

Praise for the LORD's Everlasting Mercy

1361 Give ye thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: 2 Give thanks unto the God of gods, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 3 Give thanks unto the Lord of lords, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever. 4 To him who alone doeth great wonders, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: 5 To him that by understanding made the heavens, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 7 To him that made great lights, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 8 The sun for rule over the day, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 9 The moon and stars for rule over the night, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever:

10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 11 And brought out Israel from among them, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 12 With a powerful hand and with a stretched-out arm, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 13 To him that divided the Red sea into parts, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 15 And overturned Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 16 To him that led his people through the wilderness, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 17 To him that smote great kings, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 18 And slew famous kings, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 19 Sihon king of the Amorites, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 20 And Og king of Bashan, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 21 And gave their land for an inheritance, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, 22 An inheritance unto Israel his servant, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever:

23 Who hath remembered us in our low estate, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 24 And hath delivered us from our oppressors, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever: 25 Who giveth food to all flesh, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever. 26 Give ye thanks unto the God of the heavens; for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.