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2 CHR ONICL ES 6
page 387
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the lampstands and their lamps of solid
gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy
Place as prescribed;
the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—
all of the purest gold;
the lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and
incense burners—all of solid gold;
the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy
Place and the main room of the Temple,
overlaid with gold.
5
So Solomon finished all his work on the
Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all
the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the
silver, the gold, and the various articles—and
he stored them in the treasuries of the Temple
of God.
The Ark Brought to the Temple
2 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes—the
leaders of the ancestral families of Israel. They
were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to
the Temple from its location in the City of David,
also known as Zion. 3 So all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the annual Festival
of Shelters, which is held in early autumn.*
4 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the
Levites picked up the Ark. 5 The priests and Levites brought up the Ark along with the special
tent* and all the sacred items that had been in
it. 6 There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the
entire community of Israel sacrificed so many
sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep
count!
7 Then the priests carried the Ark of the
Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of
the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it
beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming
a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles.
9 These poles were so long that their ends could
be seen from the Holy Place,* which is in front
of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. 10 Nothing
was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that
Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai,* where
the Lord made a covenant with the people of
Israel when they left Egypt.
11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the
priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that
day. 12 And the Levites who were musicians—
Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons
5:3 Hebrew at the festival that is in the seventh month. The
Festival of Shelters began on the fifteenth day of the seventh
month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day occurred
in late September, October, or early November. 5:5 Hebrew
the Tent of Meeting; i.e., the tent mentioned in 2 Sam 6:17 and
1 Chr 16:1. 5:9 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek
version (see also 1 Kgs 8:8); Masoretic Text reads from the Ark.
5:10 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai. 6:13 Hebrew
5 cubits [2.3 meters] long, 5 cubits wide, and 3 cubits
[1.4 meters] high.
and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes
and stood at the east side of the altar playing
cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by
120 priests who were playing trumpets. 13 The
trumpeters and singers performed together in
unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord.
Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and
other instruments, they raised their voices and
praised the Lord with these words:
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”
At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple
of the Lord. 14 The priests could not continue
their service because of the cloud, for the glorious
presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.
Solomon Praises the LORD
Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have
said that you would live in a thick cloud of
darkness. 2 Now I have built a glorious Temple
for you, a place where you can live forever!”
3 Then the king turned around to the entire
community of Israel standing before him and
gave this blessing: 4 “Praise the Lord, the God
of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to
my father, David. For he told my father, 5 ‘From
the day I brought my people out of the land of
Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of
the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple
should be built to honor my name. Nor have I
chosen a king to lead my people Israel. 6 But
now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for
my name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”
7 Then Solomon said, “My father, David,
wanted to build this Temple to honor the name
of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord
told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to
honor my name. Your intention is good, 9 but
you are not the one to do it. One of your own
sons will build the Temple to honor me.’
10 “And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my
father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this
Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God
of Israel. 11 There I have placed the Ark, which
contains the covenant that the Lord made with
the people of Israel.”
6
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the
Lord in front of the entire community of Israel,
and he lifted his hands in prayer. 13 Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 71⁄2 feet long,
71⁄2 feet wide, and 41⁄2 feet high* and had placed
it at the center of the Temple’s outer courtyard.
He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in
front of the entire community of Israel and lifted
his hands toward heaven. 14 He prayed,