1Then spake Solomon , Jehovah hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness . 2But I have built thee a house of habitation , and a place for thee to dwell in for ever . 3And the king turned his face , and blessed all the assembly of Israel : and all the assembly of Israel stood . 4And he said , Blessed be Jehovah , the God of Israel , who spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it , saying , 5Since 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 : 6but I have chosen Jerusalem , that my name might be there , and have chosen David to be over my people Israel . 7Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah , the God of Israel . 8But Jehovah said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name , thou didst well that it was in thy heart : 9nevertheless thou shalt not build the house ; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins , he shall build the house for my name . 10And Jehovah hath performed his word that he spake ; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel , as Jehovah promised , and have built the house for the name of Jehovah , the God of Israel . 11And there have I set the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah , which he made with the children of Israel .
Solomon's Prayer for the People
12And he stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of all the assembly of Israel , and spread forth his hands 13( for Solomon had made a brazen scaffold , 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 kneeled down upon his knees before all the assembly of Israel , and spread forth his hands toward heaven ); 14and he said, O Jehovah , the God of Israel , there is no God like thee , in heaven , or on earth ; who keepest covenant and lovingkindness with thy servants , that walk before thee with all their heart ; 15who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him : yea, thou spakest with thy mouth , and hast fulfilled it with thy hand , as it is this day . 16Now therefore , O Jehovah , the 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 children take heed to their way , to walk in my law as thou hast walked before me . 17Now therefore , O Jehovah , the God of Israel , let thy word be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David . 18But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth ? behold , heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have builded ! 19Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant , and to his supplication , O Jehovah my God , to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee ; 20that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night , even toward the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there ; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place . 21And hearken thou to the supplications of thy servant , and of thy people Israel , when they shall pray toward this place : yea, hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven ; and when thou hearest , forgive .
God's Response to Solomon's Prayer
22If a man sin against his neighbor , and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear , and he come and swear before thine altar in this house ; 23then hear thou from heaven , and do , and judge thy servants , requiting the wicked , to bring his way upon his own head ; and justifying the righteous , to give him according to his righteousness . 24And if thy people Israel be smitten down 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 ; 25then hear thou from heaven , and forgive the sin of thy people Israel , and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. 26When 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 , when thou dost afflict them : 27then hear thou in heaven , and forgive the sin of thy servants , and of thy people Israel , when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk ; and send rain upon thy land , which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance . 28If there be in the land famine , if there be pestilence , if there be blasting or mildew , locust or caterpillar ; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities ; whatsoever plague or whatsoever sickness there be ; 29what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man , or by all thy people Israel , who shall know every man his own plague and his own sorrow , and shall spread forth his hands toward this house : 30then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive , and render unto every man according to all his ways , whose heart thou knowest ( for thou , even thou only , knowest the hearts of the children of men ); 31that they may fear thee , to walk in thy ways , so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
The Importance of the Temple
32Moreover concerning the foreigner , that is not of thy people Israel , when he shall come from a far country for thy great name ’s sake , and thy mighty hand , and thine outstretched arm ; when they shall come and pray toward this house : 33then hear thou from heaven , even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calleth to thee for ; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name , and fear thee , as doth thy people Israel , and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name . 34If thy people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them , and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name ; 35then hear thou from heaven their prayer and their supplication , and maintain their cause . 36If 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 captive unto a land far off or near ; 37yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive , and turn again , and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity , saying, We have sinned , we have done perversely , and have dealt wickedly ; 38if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity , whither they have carried them captive , and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name : 39then hear thou from heaven , even from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications , and maintain their cause , and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee . 40Now , O my God, let , I beseech thee , thine eyes be open , and let thine ears be attent , unto the prayer that is made in this place . 41Now therefore arise , O Jehovah God , into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength : let thy priests , O Jehovah God , be clothed with salvation , and let thy saints rejoice in goodness . 42O Jehovah God , turn not away the face of thine anointed : remember thy lovingkindnesses to David thy servant .