1 Kings 8:44-66 ▼

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

45 then listen in heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.

46 “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;

47 and if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’;

48 and 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;

49 then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them,

50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and give them over as objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them

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

52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your slave and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.

53 For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke by the hand of Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.”

54 Now it happened that when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to Yahweh, he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven.

55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

56 “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one promise has failed of all His good promises, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant.

57 May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not forsake us or abandon us,

58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.

59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that He may do justice for His slave and justice for His people Israel, as each day requires,

60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh is God; there is no one else.

61 Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

62 Now the king and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices before Yahweh.

63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh.

64 On the same day the king set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon celebrated the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from Lebo-hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.