1 Raja-raja 8:4-21

8:4 The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, ¹  and all the holy items in the tent. ²  8:5 Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. ³ 

8:6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its assigned ⁴  place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubs. 8:7 The cherubs’ wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubs overshadowed the ark and its poles. ⁵  8:8 The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. ⁶  They have remained there to this very day. 8:9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. ⁷  It was there that ⁸  the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 8:10 Once the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple. 8:11 The priests could not carry out their duties ⁹  because of the cloud; the Lord’s glory filled his temple. ¹⁰ 

8:12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. 8:13 O Lord, ¹¹  truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently.” 8:14 Then the king turned around ¹²  and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. ¹³  8:15 He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled ¹⁴  what he promised ¹⁵  my father David. 8:16 He told David, ¹⁶  ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. ¹⁷  But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’ 8:17 Now my father David had a strong desire ¹⁸  to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁹  8:18 The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. ²⁰  8:19 But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.’ ²¹  8:20 The Lord has kept the promise he made. ²²  I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor ²³  of the Lord God of Israel 8:21 and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors ²⁴  when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

[8:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[8:4]  sn The tent of meeting. See Exod 33:7-11.

[8:4]  ² tn Heb “and they carried the ark of the Lord…. The priests and the Levites carried them.”

[8:5]  ³ tn Heb “And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, those who had been gathered to him, [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle which could not be counted or numbered because of the abundance.”

[8:6]  ⁴ tn The word “assigned” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:7]  ⁵ sn And its poles. These poles were used to carry the ark. See Exod 25:13-15.

[8:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “they could not be seen outside.”

[8:9]  ⁷ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai.

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “in Horeb where.”

[8:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “were not able to stand to serve.”

[8:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the house of the Lord.”

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn The words “O Lord” do not appear in the original text, but they are supplied for clarification; Solomon addresses the Lord in prayer at this point.

[8:14]  ¹² tn Heb “turned his face.”

[8:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”

[8:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his hand.”

[8:15]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text reads, “by his mouth.”

[8:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “saying.”

[8:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to build a house for my name to be there.”

[8:16]  sn To build a temple in which to live (Heb “to build a house for my name to be there”). In the OT, the word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.

[8:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and it was with the heart of David my father.”

[8:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.” The word “name” in the OT sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.

[8:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart.”

[8:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name.”

[8:20]  ²² tn Heb “his word that he spoke.”

[8:20]  ²³ tn Heb “name.”

[8:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 34, 40, 48, 53, 57, 58).