1 Kings 8:1-21

Revised Geneva Translation

8 Then King Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes (the chief fathers of the children of Israel) to him in Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion.

² And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast, in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

³ And all the elders of Israel came. And the priests took the Ark.

⁴ They bore the Ark of the LORD. And they bore the Tabernacle of the Congregation and all the holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle, those the priests and Levites brought up.

⁵ And King Solomon, and all the Congregation of Israel who were assembled to him, were with him before the Ark, offering sheep and oxen (which were too numerous to count or assess).

⁶ So, the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD to its place, into the Oracle of the House, into the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the Cherubim.

⁷ For the Cherubim stretched out their wings over the place of the Ark. And the Cherubim covered the Ark and its poles above.

⁸ And they drew out the poles, so that the ends of the poles might appear out of the Sanctuary, before the Oracle. But they were not seen outside. And they are there to this day.

⁹ Nothing was in the Ark except the two Tables of stone which Moses had put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a Covenant with the children of Israel, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And when the priests had come out of the Sanctuary, the cloud filled the House of the LORD,

¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the Glory of the LORD had filled the House of the LORD.

¹² Then Solomon spoke, “The LORD said that He would dwell in the dark cloud.

¹³ “I have built You a House to dwell in, a habitation for You to abide in forever.”

¹⁴ And the king turned his face and blessed all the Congregation of Israel. For all the Congregation of Israel stood.

¹⁵ And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, Who spoke with His Mouth to David, my father, and has, with His Hand, fulfilled it, saying,

¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city of all the tribes of Israel to build a House, so that My Name might be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people, Israel.’

¹⁷ “And it was in the heart of David, my father, to build a House to the Name of the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁸ “And the LORD said to David, my father, ‘Insomuch as it was in your heart to build a House to My Name, you did well that you were so minded.

¹⁹ ‘Nevertheless, you shall not build the House. But your son, who shall come out of your loins, he shall build the House to My Name.’

²⁰ “And the LORD has made good His Word that He spoke. And I have risen up in the room of David, my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the House for the Name of the LORD God of Israel.

²¹ “And I have prepared a place for the Ark in it, in which is the Covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”