2 ChroniclesChapter 6

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¹Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would live in the thick cloud. ²But I have built you a grand house. It is a place for you to live forever." ³The whole assembly of Israel was standing there. The king turned around and blessed them all. ⁴He said, "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel! With his own hand he has done what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. He said, ⁵'Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to build a house for my Name to be there. And I have not chosen anyone to rule over my people Israel. ⁶But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there. And I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.' ⁷My father David wanted in his heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁸But the LORD said to my father David, 'You wanted in your heart to build a house for my Name. You did well to want this. ⁹But you are not the one to build it. Your son, your own child, will build the house for my Name.' ¹⁰Now the LORD has kept the promise he made. I have taken the place of my father David. I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised. And I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹¹I have put the ark there. Inside it is the covenant the LORD made with the people of Israel." ¹²Then Solomon stood in front of the LORD's altar before the whole assembly of Israel. He spread out his hands. ¹³Solomon had made a bronze platform 7 1/2 feet long, 7 1/2 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet high. He had put it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it and then knelt down in front of the whole assembly of Israel. He spread out his hands toward heavena ¹⁴and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth. You keep your covenant of faithful love with your servants who follow you with all their hearts. ¹⁵You have kept your promise to your servant, my father David. What you said with your mouth, you have done with your hand today. ¹⁶So now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep your promise to your servant, my father David. You told him, 'You will always have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants watch how they live and follow my law, as you have lived before me.' ¹⁷Now, O LORD, God of Israel, please make your promise to your servant David come true. ¹⁸But will God really live with people on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot hold you. How much less can this temple I have built! ¹⁹Yet please listen to your servant's prayer and his plea, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer your servant is praying to you. ²⁰May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night. This is the place where you said you would put your Name. May they be open so that you may hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. ²¹Hear the requests of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, the place where you live. And when you hear, forgive. ²²Suppose a man sins against his neighbor and has to make a promise under oath. He comes and takes the oath in front of your altar in this temple. ²³Then hear from heaven and act. Judge your servants. Punish the guilty man by bringing on his own head what he has done. Declare that the one who did right is innocent. Reward him for the right things he has done. ²⁴Suppose your people Israel are beaten by an enemy because they sinned against you. Then they come back to you and honor your name. They pray and beg you for help in this temple. ²⁵Then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel. Bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers. ²⁶Suppose the skies are shut and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you. Then they pray toward this place and honor your name. They turn from their sins because you have made them suffer. ²⁷Then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, so that you may teach them the good way they should live. And send rain on the land you gave your people as their inheritance. ²⁸Suppose there is famine or plague in the land, or crop disease or mold, or locusts or grasshoppers. Or suppose their enemies surround them and attack their cities. Whatever plague or sickness may come, ²⁹then listen to any prayer or plea your people Israel make. Each of them knows his own troubles and pain. Each one spreads out his hands toward this temple. ³⁰Hear them from heaven, the place where you live. Forgive, and repay each person for all that he does, since you know his heart. You alone know the hearts of people. ³¹Do this so that they will fear you and follow your ways all the days they live in the land you gave our fathers. ³²And what about the foreigner who is not one of your people Israel? He has come from a faraway land because of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm. When he comes and prays toward this temple, ³³then hear from heaven, the place where you live. Do all that the foreigner asks of you. Then all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, just like your people Israel do. And they will know that this house I have built is called by your Name. ³⁴Suppose your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them. And suppose they pray to you facing this city you have chosen and the house I have built for your Name. ³⁵Then hear their prayer and their plea from heaven, and stand up for their cause. ³⁶Suppose they sin against you, for there is no one who does not sin. And you become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy. The enemy takes them away as prisoners to a land far away or near. ³⁷Then suppose they come to their senses in the land where they were taken. They turn back to you and beg you in the land of their captors. They say, 'We have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly.' ³⁸And suppose they come back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them away. They pray facing the land you gave their fathers, the city you have chosen, and the house I have built for your Name. ³⁹Then hear from heaven, the place where you live. Hear their prayer and pleas, and stand up for their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. ⁴⁰Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears listen to the prayers prayed in this place. ⁴¹So now rise up, O LORD God, and come to your resting place. Come, you and the ark of your power. O LORD God, may your priests be dressed in salvation. May your faithful people be glad in what is good. ⁴²O LORD God, do not turn away from your anointed one. Remember your faithful love to your servant David."