2 Chronicles 7

New International Version

The Dedication of the Temple^(A)

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire^(B) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled^(C) the temple.^(D) ²The priests could not enter^(E) the temple of the Lord because the glory^(F) of the Lord filled it. ³When 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.”^(G)

⁴Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁵And 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. ⁶The priests took their positions, as did the Levites^(H) with the Lord’s musical instruments,^(I) 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.

⁷Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat^(J) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

⁸So Solomon observed the festival^(K) at that time for seven days, and all Israel^(L) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath^(M) to the Wadi of Egypt.^(N) ⁹On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated^(O) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival^(P) for seven days more. ¹⁰On 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.

The Lord Appears to Solomon^(Q)

¹¹When Solomon had finished^(R) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹²the Lord appeared^(S) to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen^(T) this place for myself^(U) as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,^(V) or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name,^(W) will humble^(X) themselves and pray and seek my face^(Y) and turn^(Z) from their wicked ways, then I will hear^(AA) from heaven, and I will forgive^(AB) their sin and will heal^(AC) their land. ¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.^(AD) ¹⁶I have chosen^(AE) and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

¹⁷“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully^(AF) as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees^(AG) and laws, ¹⁸I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted^(AH) with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor^(AI) to rule over Israel.’^(AJ)

¹⁹“But if you^[a] turn away^(AK) and forsake^(AL) the decrees and commands I have given you^[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰then I will uproot^(AM) Israel from my land,^(AN) which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule^(AO) among all peoples. ²¹This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^[c] who pass by will be appalled^(AP) and say,^(AQ) ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²²People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them^(AR)—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all

Habakkuk 2

New International Version

2 I will stand at my watch^(A)
and station myself on the ramparts;^(B)
I will look to see what he will say^(C) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.^[a]^(D)

The Lord’s Answer

²Then the Lord replied:

“Write^(E) down the revelation
    and make it plain on tablets
    so that a herald^[b] may run with it.
³For the revelation awaits an appointed time;^(F)
    it speaks of the end^(G)
    and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait^(H) for it;
    it^[c] will certainly come
    and will not delay.^(I)

⁴“See, the enemy is puffed up;
    his desires are not upright—
    but the righteous person^(J) will live by his faithfulness^[d]^(K)—
⁵indeed, wine^(L) betrays him;
    he is arrogant^(M) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
    and like death is never satisfied,^(N)
he gathers to himself all the nations
    and takes captive^(O) all the peoples.

⁶“Will not all of them taunt^(P) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
    and makes himself wealthy by extortion!^(Q)
    How long must this go on?’
⁷Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
    Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
    Then you will become their prey.^(R)
⁸Because you have plundered many nations,
    the peoples who are left will plunder you.^(S)
For you have shed human blood;^(T)
    you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.^(U)

⁹“Woe to him who builds^(V) his house by unjust gain,^(W)
    setting his nest^(X) on high
    to escape the clutches of ruin!
¹⁰You have plotted the ruin^(Y) of many peoples,
    shaming^(Z) your own house and forfeiting your life.
¹¹The stones^(AA) of the wall will cry out,
    and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

¹²“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed^(AB)
    and establishes a town by injustice!
¹³Has not the Lord Almighty determined
    that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire,^(AC)
    that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?^(AD)
¹⁴For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory^(AE) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.^(AF)

¹⁵“Woe to him who gives drink^(AG) to his neighbors,
    pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
    so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
¹⁶You will be filled with shame^(AH) instead of glory.^(AI)
    Now it is your turn! Drink^(AJ) and let your nakedness be exposed^[e]!^(AK)
The cup^(AL) from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
    and disgrace will cover your glory.
¹⁷The violence^(AM) you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
    and your destruction of animals will terrify you.^(AN)
For you have shed human blood;^(AO)
    you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

¹⁸“Of what value^(AP) is an idol^(AQ) carved by a craftsman?
    Or an image^(AR) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
    he makes idols that cannot speak.^(AS)
¹⁹Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’
    Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’^(AT)
Can it give guidance?
    It is covered with gold and silver;^(AU)
    there is no breath in it.”^(AV)

²⁰The Lord is in his holy temple;^(AW)
let all the earth be silent^(AX) before him.

Footnotes

Habakkuk 2:1 Or and what to answer when I am rebuked
Habakkuk 2:2 Or so that whoever reads it
Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he
Habakkuk 2:4 Or faith
Habakkuk 2:16 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) and stagger