¹ And Solomon gathered the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

² And all the men of Israel were gathered to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

³ And all the elders of Israel came in, and the priests took up the ark.

⁴ And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels which were in the tabernacle; even those the priests and the Levites brought up.

⁵ And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled to him, were with him before the ark sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

⁶ And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD into its place, into the holy place of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubs.

⁷ For the cherubs spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark. And the cherubs covered the ark and the staves of it above.

⁸ And they drew out the staves, so that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place, in front of the Holy of Holies. And they were not seen outside. And there they are until today.

⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And it happened when the priests had come out of the Holy of Holies, the cloud filled the house of the LORD.

¹¹ And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

¹² And Solomon said, The LORD said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.

¹³ I have surely built a house of loftiness for You, a settled place for You to abide in forever.

¹⁴ And the king turned his face around and blessed all the congregation of Israel. And all the congregation of Israel stood.

¹⁵ And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to David my father, and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying,

¹⁶ From the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I did not choose any city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, so that My name might be in it. But I chose David to be over My people Israel.

¹⁷ And it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁸ And the LORD said to my father David, Because it was in your heart to build a house to My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

¹⁹ Only, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall come out of your loins, he shall build the house to My name.

²⁰ And the LORD has performed His word which He spoke, and I have risen up instead of my father David. And I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. And I have built a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

²¹ And I have set there 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.

²² And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens.

²³ And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like You, in Heaven above or on earth beneath, who keeps covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their heart,

²⁴ who have kept with Your servant David my father what You promised him. You also spoke with Your mouth, and have fulfilled with Your hand, as it is today.

²⁵ And now, LORD God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, what You promised him, saying, There shall not be cut off from you a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel-- if your sons take heed to their way so that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.

²⁶ And now, O God of Israel, I pray You, let Your word be proved to be true, the word which You spoke to Your servant David my father.

²⁷ But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold! The heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house which I have built?

²⁸ Yet, O, LORD my God, You have turned toward the prayer of Your servant and to his request, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;

²⁹ for Your eyes to be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My name shall be there; to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

³⁰ And You shall listen to the cry of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear in Heaven Your dwelling-place, and when You hear, forgive!

³¹ If any man sins against his neighbor, and if an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and if the oath comes before Your altar in this house,

³² then hear in Heaven, and do, and judge Your servants, to declare the wicked to be wicked, to bring his way on his head, and to declare the righteous to be righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

³³ When Your people Israel are crushed before the enemy because they have sinned against You, and shall turn again to You and confess Your name, and pray, and cry to You in this house,

³⁴ then hear in Heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them again into the land which You gave to their fathers.

³⁵ When the heavens are restrained, and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, if they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

³⁶ then hear in Heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, and of Your people Israel, for You shall teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

³⁷ If there is famine in the land, if there is plague, blasting, mildew, locusts; if there are stripping locusts; if their enemy encircles them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness,