The Dedication Ceremonies

7 When Solomon finished praying,^(A) fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices,^(B) and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² The priests were not able to enter the Lord’s temple because the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. ³ All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the Lord came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised the Lord:

⁴ The king and all the people were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence.^{(D) 5} King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. In this manner the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple. ⁶ The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord—“for His faithful love endures forever”—when he offered praise with them.^(E) Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing. ⁷ Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made^(F) could not accommodate the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard^(G) that was in front of the Lord’s temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.^(H)

⁸ So Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath^[a] to the Brook of Egypt—observed the festival at that time for seven days. ⁹ On the eighth day^[b] they held a sacred assembly,^(I) for the dedication of the altar lasted seven days and the festival seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

¹¹ So Solomon finished the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon’s heart to do for the Lord’s temple and for his own palace succeeded.^(J)

The Lord’s Response

¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:

Solomon’s Later Building Projects

8 At the end of 20 years^(U) during which Solomon had built the Lord’s temple and his own palace— ² Solomon had rebuilt the cities Hiram^[c] gave him and settled Israelites there— ³ Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and seized it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵ He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon^(V)—fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars^(W)— ⁶ Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

⁷ As for all the peoples who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel^(X)— ⁸ their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.^{(Y) 9} But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. ¹⁰ These were King Solomon’s deputies: 250 who ruled over the people.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her,^(Z) for he said, “My wife must not live in the house^[d] of David king of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy.”

Public Worship Established at the Temple

¹² At that time^(AA) Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico.^{(AB) 13} He followed the daily requirement^(AC) for offerings according to the commandment of Moses^(AD) for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths.^{(AE) 14} According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service,^(AF) of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement,^(AG) and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each gate,^(AH) for this had been the command of David, the man of God.^{(AI) 15} They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.^{(AJ) 16} All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.

Solomon’s Fleet

¹⁷ At that time^(AK) Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth^(AL) on the seashore in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ So Hiram^[e] sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, took from there 17 tons^[f] of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.^(AM)