1 Kings 8

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 At the order of Solomon, the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes, the princes in the ancestral houses of the Israelites, came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from the city of David (which is Zion).	1 Then all those greater by birth of Israel, with the leaders of the tribes and the rulers of the families of the sons of Israel, gathered together before king Solomon at Jerusalem, so that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, from the city of David, that is, from Zion.
2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).	2 And all of Israel assembled before king Solomon, on the solemn day in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark;	3 And all the elders of Israel arrived, and the priests took up the ark.
4 they carried the ark of the LORD and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. (The priests and Levites carried them.)	4 And they carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the Sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle; and the priests and the Levites carried these.
5 King Solomon and the entire community of Israel present for the occasion sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen too many to number or count.	5 Then king Solomon, and the entire multitude of Israel, who had assembled before him, advanced with him before the ark. And they immolated sheep and oxen, which could not be numbered or estimated.
6 The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple.	6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the oracle of the temple, in the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.
7 The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the ark and its poles from above.	7 For indeed, the cherubim extended their wings over the place of the ark, and they protected the ark and its bars from above.
8 The poles were so long that their ends could be seen from that part of the holy place adjoining the sanctuary; however, they could not be seen beyond. (They have remained there to this day.)	8 And since the bars projected outward, their ends were visible from without, in the Sanctuary before the oracle; but they were not visible farther outward. And they have been in that place even to the present day.
9 There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites at their departure from the land of Egypt.	9 Now inside the ark, there was nothing other than the two tablets of stone, which Moses had placed in it at Horeb, when the Lord formed a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they departed from the land of Egypt.
10 When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD	10 Then it happened that, when the priests had exited from the Sanctuary, a cloud filled the house of the Lord.
11 so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the LORD'S glory had filled the temple of the LORD.	11 And the priests were unable to stand and minister, because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud;	12 Then Solomon said: “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a cloud.
13 I have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you may abide forever."	13 Building, I have built a house as your dwelling place, your most firm throne forever.”
14 The king turned and greeted the whole community of Israel as they stood.	14 And the king turned his face, and he blessed the entire assembly of Israel. For the entire assembly of Israel was standing.
15 He said to them: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own mouth made a promise to my father David and by his hand has brought it to fulfillment. It was he who said,	15 And Solomon said: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to my father David, and who, with his own hands, has perfected it, saying:
16 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city out of any tribe of Israel for the building of a temple to my honor; but I choose David to rule my people Israel.'	16 ‘From the day when I led my people Israel away from Egypt, I did not choose any city out of all the tribes of Israel, so that a house would be built, and so that my name might be there. Instead, I chose David to be over my people Israel.’
17 When my father David wished to build a temple to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel,	17 And my father David wanted to build a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
18 the LORD said to him, 'In wishing to build a temple to my honor, you do well.	18 But the Lord said to my father David: ‘Since you have planned in your heart to build a house to my name, you have done well by considering this plan in your mind.
19 It will not be you, however, who will build the temple; but the son who will spring from you, he shall build the temple to my honor.'	19 Yet truly, you shall not build a house for me. Instead, your son, who shall go forth from your loins, he himself shall build a house to my name.’
20 And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise that he made: I have succeeded my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD foretold, and I have built this temple to honor the LORD, the God of Israel.	20 The Lord has confirmed his word which he spoke. And so I stand in place of my father David, and I sit upon the throne of Israel, just as the Lord said. And I have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
21 I have provided in it a place for the ark in which is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt."	21 And there I have appointed a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he struck with our fathers, when they went forth from the land of Egypt.”
22 Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of the whole community of Israel, and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,	22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and he extended his hands toward heaven.
23 he said, "LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep your covenant of kindness with your servants who are faithful to you with their whole heart.	23 And he said: “Lord God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above, nor on the earth below. You preserve covenant and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart.
24 You have kept the promise you made to my father David, your servant. You who spoke that promise, have this day, by your own power, brought it to fulfillment.	24 You have fulfilled, for your servant David, my father, that which you said to him. With your mouth, you spoke; and with your hands, you completed; just this day proves.
25 Now, therefore, LORD, God of Israel, keep the further promise you made to my father David, your servant, saying, 'You shall always have someone from your line to sit before me on the throne of Israel, provided only that your descendants look to their conduct so that they live in my presence, as you have lived in my presence.'	25 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill, for your servant David, my father, that which you spoke to him, saying, ‘There shall not be taken away from you a man before me, who may sit upon the throne of Israel, if only your sons will guard their way, so that they walk before me, just as you have walked in my sight.’
26 Now, LORD, God of Israel, may this promise which you made to my father David, your servant, be confirmed.	26 And now, O Lord God of Israel, establish your words, which you spoke to your servant David, my father.
27 "Can it indeed be that God dwells among men on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!	27 Is it, then, to be understood that truly God would dwell upon the earth? For if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, are not able to contain you, how much less this house, which I have built?
28 Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day.	28 Yet look with favor upon the prayer of your servant and upon his petitions, O Lord, my God. Listen to the hymn and the prayer, which your servant prays before you this day,
29 May your eyes watch night and day over this temple, the place where you have decreed you shall be honored; may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.	29 so that your eyes may be open over this house, night and day, over the house about which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ so that you may heed the prayer that your servant is praying in this place to you.
30 Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel which they offer in this place. Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.	30 So may you heed the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel, whatever they will pray for in this place, and so may you heed them in your dwelling place in heaven. And when you heed, you will be gracious.
31 "If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath sanctioned by a curse, when he comes and takes the oath before your altar in this temple,	31 But if any man sins against his neighbor, and he has any kind of an oath by which he is bound, and he arrives because of the oath, before your altar in your house,
32 listen in heaven; take action and pass judgment on your servants. Condemn the wicked and punish him for his conduct, but acquit the just and establish his innocence.	32 you will hear in heaven, and you will act and judge your servants, condemning the impious, and repaying his own way upon his own head, but justifying the just, and rewarding him in accord with his justice.
33 "If your people Israel sin against you and are defeated by an enemy, and if then they return to you, praise your name, pray to you, and entreat you in this temple,	33 And if your people Israel will have fled from their enemies, because they have sinned against you, and doing penance and confessing to your name, shall arrive and pray and petition you in this house,
34 listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave their fathers.	34 listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and lead them back to the land, which you gave to their fathers.
35 "If the sky is closed, so that there is no rain, because they have sinned against you and you afflict them, and if then they repent of their sin, and pray, and praise your name in this place,	35 And if the heavens have closed, so that there is no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to your name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions,
36 listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servant and of your people Israel, teaching them the right way to live and sending rain upon this land of yours which you have given to your people as their heritage.	36 hear them from heaven, and forgive the sins of your servants and of your people Israel. And reveal to them the good way, along which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as a possession.
37 "If there is famine in the land or pestilence; or if blight comes, or mildew, or a locust swarm, or devouring insects; if an enemy of your people besieges them in one of their cities; whatever plague or sickness there may be,	37 Then, if famine rises over the land, or pestilence, or corrupt air, or blight, or locust, or mildew, or if their enemy afflicts them, besieging the gates, or any harm or infirmity,
38 if then any one (of your entire people Israel) has remorse of conscience and offers some prayer or petition, stretching out his hands toward this temple,	38 or whatever curse or divine intervention may happen to any man among your people Israel, if anyone understands, having been wounded in his heart, and if he will have extended his hands in this house,
39 listen from your heavenly dwelling place and forgive. You who alone know the hearts of all men, render to each one of them according to his conduct; knowing their hearts, so treat them	39 you will hear in heaven, in your dwelling place, and you will forgive. And you will act so that you give to each one in accord with his own ways, just as you see in his heart, for you alone know the heart of all the sons of men.
40 that they may fear you as long as they live on the land you gave our fathers.	40 So may they fear you, all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which you have given to our fathers.
41 "To the foreigner, likewise, who is not of your people Israel, but comes from a distant land to honor you	41 Moreover, the foreigner too, who is not of your people Israel, when he will have arrived from a distant land because of your name, for they shall hear about your great name, and your strong hand,
42 (since men will learn of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple,	42 and your outstretched arm everywhere: so when he arrives and prays in this place,
43 listen from your heavenly dwelling. Do all that the foreigner asks of you, that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, may fear you as do your people Israel, and may acknowledge that this temple which I have built is dedicated to your honor.	43 you will listen in heaven, in the firmament of your dwelling place. And you will do all the things, for which that foreigner will have called upon you. So may all the peoples of the earth learn to fear your name, just as your people Israel do. And so may they show that your name has been invoked over this house, which I have built.
44 "Whatever the direction in which you may send your people forth to war against their enemies, if they pray to you, O LORD, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built in your honor,	44 And if your people have gone out to war against their enemies, along whatever way you will send them, they shall pray to you in the direction of the city, which you have chosen, and toward the house, which I have built to your name.
45 listen in heaven to their prayer and petition, and defend their cause.	45 And you will hear in heaven their prayers and their petitions. And you will accomplish judgment for them.
46 "When they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin), and in your anger against them you deliver them to the enemy, so that their captors deport them to a hostile land, far or near,	46 But if they sin against you, for there is no man who does not sin, and you, being angry, deliver them to their enemies, and they will have been led away as captives to the land of their enemies, whether far or near,
47 may they repent in the land of their captivity and be converted. If then they entreat you in the land of their captors and say, 'We have sinned and done wrong; we have been wicked';	47 and if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and having been converted, make supplication to you in their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned; we acted unjustly; we committed impiety,’
48 if with their whole heart and soul they turn back to you in the land of the enemies who took them captive, pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built in your honor,	48 and they return to you with all their heart and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they have been led away as captives, and if they pray to you in the direction of their land, which you gave to their fathers, and of the city, which you have chosen, and of the temple, which I have built to your name:
49 listen from your heavenly dwelling.	49 you will hear in heaven, in the firmament of your throne, their prayers and their petitions. And you will accomplish their judgment.
50 Forgive your people their sins and all the offenses they have committed against you, and grant them mercy before their captors, so that these will be merciful to them.	50 And you will forgive your people, who have sinned against you, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against you. And you will grant to them mercy in the sight of those who have made them captives, so that they may take pity on them.
51 For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of an iron furnace.	51 For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you have led away from the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.
52 "Thus may your eyes be open to the petition of your servant and to the petition of your people Israel. Hear them whenever they call upon you,	52 So may your eyes be open to the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel. And so may you heed them in all the things about which they will call upon you.
53 because you have set them apart among all the peoples of the earth for your inheritance, as you declared through your servant Moses when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD."	53 For you have separated them to yourself as an inheritance, from among all the peoples of the earth, just as you spoke by Moses, your servant, when you led our fathers away from Egypt, O Lord God.”
54 When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer of petition to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands outstretched toward heaven.	54 And it happened that, when Solomon had completed praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he rose up from the sight of the altar of the Lord. For he had fixed both knees upon the ground, and he had extended his hands toward heaven.
55 He stood and blessed the whole community of Israel, saying in a loud voice:	55 Then he stood and blessed the entire assembly of Israel in a great voice, saying:
56 "Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not a single word has gone unfulfilled of the entire generous promise he made through his servant Moses.	56 “Blessed is the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, in accord with all that he said. Not even one word, out of all the good things that he spoke by his servant Moses, has fallen away.
57 May the LORD, our God, be with us as he was with our fathers and may he not forsake us nor cast us off.	57 May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers, not abandoning us, and not rejecting us.
58 May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may follow him in everything and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances which he enjoined on our fathers.	58 But may he incline our hearts to himself, so that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and whatever judgments he commanded to our fathers.
59 May this prayer I have offered to the LORD, our God, be present to him day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and of his people Israel as each day requires,	59 And may these my words, by which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God, day and night, so that he may accomplish judgment for his servant and for his people Israel, throughout each day.
60 that all the peoples of the earth may know the LORD is God and there is no other.	60 So may all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord himself is God, and there is no other beside him.
61 You must be wholly devoted to the LORD, our God, observing his statutes and keeping his commandments, as on this day."	61 Also, may our hearts be perfect with the Lord our God, so that we may walk in his decrees, and keep his commandments, as also on this day.”
62 The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.	62 Then the king, and all of Israel with him, immolated victims before the Lord.
63 Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. Thus the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD.	63 And Solomon slew sacrifices of peace offerings, which he immolated to the Lord: twenty-two thousand oxen, and twenty thousand one hundred sheep. And the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the temple of the Lord.
64 On that day the king consecrated the middle of the court facing the temple of the LORD; he offered there the holocausts, the cereal offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to hold these offerings.	64 On that day, the king sanctified the middle of the atrium, which was before the house of the Lord. For in that place, he offered holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of peace offerings. For the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, was too small and was not able to hold the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 On this occasion Solomon and all the Israelites, who had assembled in large numbers from Labo of Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt, celebrated the festival before the LORD, our God, for seven days.	65 Then Solomon made, at that time, a celebratory festival, and all of Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entrance of Hamath to the river of Egypt, in the sight of the Lord our God, for seven days plus seven days, that is, fourteen days.
66 On the eighth day he dismissed the people, who bade the king farewell and went to their homes, rejoicing and happy over all the blessings the LORD had given to his servant David and to his people Israel.	66 And on the eighth day, he dismissed the people. And blessing the king, they set out for their tents, rejoicing and cheerful in heart over all the good things that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.