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2 Chronicles 7-8
GOD’S WORD Translation
2 Chronicles 7-8
GOD’S WORD Translation
Solomon Offers Sacrifices(A)
7 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices, and the Lord’s glory filled the temple. 2 The priests couldn’t go into the Lord’s temple because the Lord’s glory had filled the Lord’s temple. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord’s glory on the temple, they knelt down with their faces on the pavement. They worshiped and praised the Lord, ⌞by saying,⌟ “He is good; his mercy endures forever.”
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices to the Lord. So the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple.
6 The priests were standing at their posts. So were the Levites who had the Lord’s musical instruments which King David made for praising the Lord with “his mercy endures forever” and which he used to offer praise. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing trumpets while all Israel was standing ⌞there⌟.
7 Solomon designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat because the bronze altar that he had made and that was in front of the Lord was not able to hold all of them.
8 At that time Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival ⌞of Booths⌟. A very large crowd had come from ⌞the territory between⌟ the border of Hamath and the River of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day there was an assembly. They had observed the dedication of the altar for seven days and celebrated the festival for ⌞another⌟ seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon dismissed the people to their tents. They rejoiced with cheerful hearts for all the blessings the Lord had given David, Solomon, and his people Israel.
The Lord Answers Solomon’s Prayer(B)
11 Solomon finished the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and completed everything he had in mind for the Lord’s temple and his own palace. 12 Then the Lord appeared to him at night. He said to Solomon,
“I have heard your prayer
and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 I may shut the sky so that there is no rain,
or command grasshoppers to devour the countryside,
or send an epidemic among my people.
14 However, if my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves,
pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways,
then I will hear ⌞their prayer⌟ from heaven, forgive their sins,
and heal their country.
15 My eyes will be open,
and my ears will pay attention to those prayers at this place.
16 I have chosen and declared this temple holy
so that my name may be placed there forever.
My eyes and my heart will always be there.
17 “If you will be faithful to me as your father David was,
do everything I command,
and obey my laws and rules,
18 then I will establish your royal dynasty
as I said in a promise to your father David,
‘You will never fail to have an heir ruling Israel.’
19 But if you and your descendants turn away from me
and abandon my commands and laws that I gave you,
and follow and serve other gods and worship them,
20 then I will uproot Israel from the land I gave them.
I will reject this temple that I declared holy for my name.
I will make it an example
and an object of ridicule for all the people of the world.
21 Everyone passing by this impressive temple will be appalled.
They will ask,
‘Why did the Lord do these things to this land and this temple?’
22 They will answer ⌞themselves⌟,
‘They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors,
who brought them out of Egypt.
They adopted other gods, worshiped, and served them.
That is why he brought this disaster on them.’ ”
Solomon Completes His Construction(C)
8 It took Solomon 20 years to build the Lord’s house and his own house. 2 He rebuilt the cities Huram gave him, and he had Israelites live in them.
3 Then Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and conquered it. 4 He rebuilt Tadmor in the desert and built all the storage cities in Hamath. 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon into cities fortified with walls, double-door gates, and bars. 6 ⌞He also rebuilt⌟ Baalath and all the storage cities that he owned. He built all the cities for his chariots, all the cities for his war horses, and whatever ⌞else⌟ he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or the entire territory that he governed.
7 The Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had been left ⌞in the land⌟ because the Israelites had not been able to destroy them.[a] They were not Israelites, 8 but they had descendants who were still in the land. Solomon drafted them for slave labor. (They are still ⌞slaves⌟ today.) 9 But Solomon didn’t make any of the Israelites slaves for his projects. Instead, they were the soldiers, officers, generals, and commanders of his chariot and cavalry units.
10 These were the officers in charge of King Solomon’s projects: 250 foremen for the people who did the work.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to a palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife will not live in the palace of King David of Israel because these places where the Lord’s ark has come are holy.”
12 Then Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar that he built in front of the entrance hall. 13 He sacrificed every day, on weekly days of rest—holy days, on the New Moon Festivals, and on the three annual festivals (the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths) as Moses had commanded. 14 As Solomon’s father David had directed, he set up the divisions of priests for their service and the ⌞divisions of⌟ Levites for their appointed places. ⌞The Levites⌟ were to lead in praising ⌞the Lord⌟ and to serve beside the priests by doing whatever needed to be done each day. Solomon also set up divisions of doorkeepers at every gate because this is what David, the man of God, had commanded. 15 No one neglected the king’s orders to the priests or the Levites in any matter, including the ⌞temple’s⌟ finances. 16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was completed. The Lord’s temple was ⌞now⌟ finished.
17 Then Solomon went to the coast near Ezion Geber and Elath in Edom. 18 Huram sent his own servants and his experienced sailors with ships to Solomon. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, got 33,750 pounds of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 8:7 “because the Israelites….” This clause has been moved from verse 8 (in Hebrew) to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.
2 Chronicles 7-8
New International Version
2 Chronicles 7-8
New International Version
The Dedication of the Temple(A)
7 When Solomon finished praying, fire(B) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled(C) the temple.(D) 2 The priests could not enter(E) the temple of the Lord because the glory(F) of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”(G)
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites(H) with the Lord’s musical instruments,(I) 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.
7 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(J) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival(K) at that time for seven days, and all Israel(L) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(M) to the Wadi of Egypt.(N) 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated(O) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival(P) for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
The Lord Appears to Solomon(Q)
11 When Solomon had finished(R) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared(S) to him at night and said:
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen(T) this place for myself(U) as a temple for sacrifices.
13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,(V) or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name,(W) will humble(X) themselves and pray and seek my face(Y) and turn(Z) from their wicked ways, then I will hear(AA) from heaven, and I will forgive(AB) their sin and will heal(AC) their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.(AD) 16 I have chosen(AE) and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully(AF) as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees(AG) and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted(AH) with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor(AI) to rule over Israel.’(AJ)
19 “But if you[a] turn away(AK) and forsake(AL) the decrees and commands I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot(AM) Israel from my land,(AN) which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule(AO) among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled(AP) and say,(AQ) ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them(AR)—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”
Solomon’s Other Activities(AS)
8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(AT) 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[d] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(AU) 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(AV) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath(AW) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[e]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AX) (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted(AY) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter(AZ) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12 On the altar(BA) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement(BB) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(BC) the New Moons(BD) and the three(BE) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(BF) the Festival of Weeks(BG) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(BH) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(BI) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(BJ) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(BK) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(BL) had ordered.(BM) 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.
16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[f] of gold,(BN) which they delivered to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
- 2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all
- 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
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