1 Kings 8:1-21

Modern English Version

The Ark Brought to the Temple^(A)

8 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they could ensure that the ark of the covenant of the Lord would be brought out of the City of David in Zion. ² All the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

³ All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. ⁴ The priests and Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy implements that were in the tabernacle. ⁵ King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled before him stood together in front of the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be told or numbered.

⁶ The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and the poles from above. ⁸ The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen out in the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside, and they are there to this day. ⁹ There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel after they had come out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not continue to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

¹² Then Solomon spoke, saying, “The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. ¹³ I have surely built You a house to dwell in, a settled place for You to abide in forever.”

¹⁴ Then the king turned around and blessed all the congregation of Israel (and all the congregation of Israel stood), ¹⁵ and he said,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has with His hand fulfilled His word, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city from any tribe of Israel to build a house where My name might be praised, but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’

¹⁷ “My father David had it in mind to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁸ The Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you had good intentions. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who will come out of your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’

²⁰ “The Lord has fulfilled His word that He spoke, and I have been elevated to the position of my father David, to sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised, and have built a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ²¹ I have set a place there for the ark, which houses the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”