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C hronicles – E Z R A – N E H E M I A H
59
And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. The
priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, “His faithful love endures forever!” They accompanied the singing
with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the
Lord. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all
Israel stood.
Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front
of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the
burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.
For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival
of Shelters. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-
hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. On the eighth
day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication
of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. Then
at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They were
all joyful and glad because the Lord had been so good to David and to
Solomon and to his people Israel.
So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace.
He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the
Temple and the palace. Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon
and said,
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place
for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no
rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send
plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins
and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to
every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set
it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever.
I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.
“As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did,
obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will
establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with
your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always
rule over Israel.’
“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the
decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship
other gods, then I will uproot the people from this land that I have
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