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Everybody stood up during the ceremony. The priests were in their assigned places, blowing their trumpets. And the Levites faced them, playing the musical instruments that David had made for them to use when they praised the Lord for his never-ending love.

On that same day, Solomon dedicated the courtyard in front of the temple and got it ready to be used for worship. The bronze altar he had made was too small, so he used the courtyard to offer sacrifices to please the Lord[a] and grain sacrifices, and also to send up in smoke the fat from the other offerings.

For 7 days, Solomon and the crowd celebrated the Festival of Shelters, and people came from as far away as the Egyptian Gorge in the south and Lebo-Hamath in the north.

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Footnotes

  1. 7.7 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 1.6.

The priests took their positions, as did the Levites(A) with the Lord’s musical instruments,(B) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat(C) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

So Solomon observed the festival(D) at that time for seven days, and all Israel(E) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(F) to the Wadi of Egypt.(G)

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