Study Desk

And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.

And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were gathered together to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

"And listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive!

"When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your favor in this house,

"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; indeed, teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

(for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house,

hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and act in accordance with all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

"When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,

"When they sin against You (for there is no person who does not sin) and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, distant or near;

if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and implore Your favor in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly';

if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name;

and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their wrongdoings which they have committed against You, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, so that they will have compassion on them

(for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace),

so that Your eyes may be open to the pleading of Your servant and to the pleading of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.

On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David His servant, and to Israel His people.

"And they will say, 'Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the LORD has brought all this adversity on them.'"

So Hiram left Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him.

And he said, "What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?" So they have been called the land of Cabul to this day.

But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.