Solomon Blesses the Assembly^(A)

^54 (B)And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. ⁵⁵ Then he stood ^(C)and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord, who has given ^(D)rest^[a] to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. ^(E)There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. ^(F)May He not leave us nor forsake us, ⁵⁸ that He may ^(G)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 the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, ^60 (H)that all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(I)the Lord is God; there is no other. ⁶¹ Let your ^(J)heart therefore be ^[b]loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple^(K)

⁶² Then ^(L)the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁶³ And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ On ^(M)the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the ^(N)bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ At that time Solomon held ^(O)a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from ^(P)the entrance of Hamath to ^(Q)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, ^(R)seven days and seven more days—fourteen days. ^66 (S)On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they ^[c]blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon^(T)

9 And ^(U)it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord ^(V)and the king’s house, and ^(W)all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do,