2 Chronicles 6:12-7:10
New International Version
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(A)(B)
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform,(C) five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,[a] and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down(D) before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:
“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you(E) in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love(F) with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised(G) and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
16 “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(H) 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 according to my law,(I) as you have done.’ 17 And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.
18 “But will God really dwell(J) on earth with humans? The heavens,(K) even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes(L) be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name(M) there. May you hear(N) the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications 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.(O)
22 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath(P) and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning(Q) the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.
24 “When your people Israel have been defeated(R) by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.
26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain(S) 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, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive(T) 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.
28 “When famine(U) or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive,(V) and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart),(W) 31 so that they will fear you(X) and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.
32 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come(Y) from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand(Z) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner(AA) 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.
34 “When your people go to war against their enemies,(AB) wherever you send them, and when they pray(AC) to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
36 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin(AD)—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive(AE) to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart(AF) in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive(AG) your people, who have sinned against you.
40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive(AH) to the prayers offered in this place.
41 “Now arise,(AI) Lord God, and come to your resting place,(AJ)
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests,(AK) Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.(AL)
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.(AM)
Remember the great love(AN) promised to David your servant.”
The Dedication of the Temple(AO)
7 When Solomon finished praying, fire(AP) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled(AQ) the temple.(AR) 2 The priests could not enter(AS) the temple of the Lord because the glory(AT) of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”(AU)
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites(AV) with the Lord’s musical instruments,(AW) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat(AX) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival(AY) at that time for seven days, and all Israel(AZ) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(BA) to the Wadi of Egypt.(BB) 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated(BC) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival(BD) for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 6:13 That is, about 7 1/2 feet long and wide and 4 1/2 feet high or about 2.3 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
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