God’s Promise and Warning

9 ^(A)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and ^(B)the king’s house, and ^(C)all ^[a]that Solomon desired to do, ² that ^(D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ And the Lord said to him, “^(E)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, ^(F)by putting My name there forever, and ^(G)My eyes and My heart will be there ^[b]always. ⁴ As for you, ^(H)if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, ⁵ then ^(I)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I ^[c]promised to your father David, saying, ‘^[d]You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “^(J)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, ^7 (K)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and ^(L)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will ^[e]expel from My sight. So ^(M)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. ⁸ And this house will become ^(N)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and ^[f]hiss and say, ‘^(O)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ ⁹ And they will say, ‘^(P)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they ^[g]adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”