Study Desk

^(a)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ^(b)the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(c)to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from ^(d)the city of David, which is Zion.

All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at ^(e)the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^(f)the priests took up the ark.

They brought up the ark of the Lord and ^(g)the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up.

And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, ^(h)were with him before the ark, sacrificing ^[a]so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.

Then ⁽ⁱ⁾the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^(j)to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, ^(k)under the wings of the cherubim.

For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above.

But ^(l)the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day.

^(m)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where ⁽ⁿ⁾the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, ^(o)the cloud filled the house of the Lord ,

so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord .

^(p)Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that ^(q)He would dwell in the thick cloud.

"^(r)I have surely built You a lofty house, ^(s)A place for Your dwelling forever."

Then the king ^[b]faced about and ^(t)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

He said, "^(u)Blessed be the Lord , the God of Israel, ^(v)who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hand, saying,

‘^(w)Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that ^(x)My name might be there, but ^(y)I chose David to be over My people Israel.'

^(z)Now it was ^[c]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was ^[d]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ^[e]in your heart.

^(aa)Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who ^[f]will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.'

Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for ^(ab)I have risen in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord ^[g]promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

There I have set a place for the ark, ^(ac)in which is the covenant of the Lord , which He made with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt."