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The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh
8 (A)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all (B)the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, (C)to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from (D)the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at (E)the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 Then all the elders of Israel came, and (F)the priests carried the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of Yahweh and (G)the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who congregated to him being (H)with him before the ark, were sacrificing [a]so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then (I)the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh (J)to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, (K)under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above. 8 But (L)the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day. 9 (M)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where (N)Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place, (O)the cloud filled the house of Yahweh, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.
Solomon Blesses the People
12 (P)Then Solomon said,
“Yahweh has said that (Q)He would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.
13 (R)I have surely built You a lofty house,
(S)A place for Your dwelling forever.”
14 Then the king turned his face around and (T)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said, “(U)Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, (V)who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying, 16 ‘(W)Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that (X)My name might be there, but (Y)I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 17 (Z)And it was [b]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 18 But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was [c]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was [d]in your heart. 19 (AA)Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will (AB)come forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’ 20 And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and (AC)I have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh [e]promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have set a place for the ark, (AD)in which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer for Israel
22 Then (AE)Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and (AF)spread out his hands toward heaven. 23 And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, (AG)there is no god like You in heaven above or upon earth beneath, (AH)keeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart, 24 who have kept with Your [f]servant, my father David, that which You have [g]promised him; indeed, You have [h]promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand as it is this day. 25 So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your [i]servant David my father that which You have [j]promised him, saying, ‘(AI)You shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their way to walk as you have walked before Me.’ 26 So now, O God of Israel, let Your word truly [k]endure (AJ)which You have spoken to Your [l]servant, my father David.
27 “But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, (AK)heaven and the [m]highest heaven cannot [n]contain You; how much less this house which I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the (AL)prayer of Your slave and to his supplication, O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your slave prays before You today; 29 (AM)that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward (AN)the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place. 30 (AO)And listen to the supplication of Your slave and of Your people Israel, (AP)when they pray toward this place; listen in heaven Your dwelling place; listen and (AQ)forgive.
31 “(AR)If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, 32 then listen in heaven and act and judge Your slaves, (AS)condemning the wicked by [o]bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by [p]bringing him reward according to his righteousness.
33 “(AT)When Your people Israel are [q]defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, (AU)if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house, 34 then listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.
35 “(AV)When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them, 36 then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; (AW)indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And (AX)give rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.
37 “(AY)If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their [r]cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each of whom knows the [s]affliction of his own heart, and spreads his [t]hands toward this house; 39 then listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to each according to all his ways, (AZ)whose heart You know, for (BA)You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, 40 that they may [u]fear You all the days that they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers.
41 “Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name (BB)and Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house, 43 listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order (BC)that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to [v]fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.
44 “When Your people go out to battle against [w]their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and (BD)they pray to Yahweh [x]toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, 45 then listen in heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.
46 “When they sin against You (for (BE)there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that [y]they take them away captive (BF)to the land of the enemy, far off or near; 47 (BG)and if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and [z]return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘(BH)We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’; 48 (BI)and if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and (BJ)pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; 49 then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and (BK)give them over as objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 ((BL)for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, (BM)from the midst of the iron furnace), 52 (BN)that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your slave and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, (BO)as You spoke by the hand of Moses Your [aa]servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.”
Solomon Blesses Yahweh
54 (BP)Now it happened that when Solomon had [ab]finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to Yahweh, (BQ)he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his [ac]hands spread toward heaven. 55 And he stood and (BR)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
56 “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, (BS)according to all that He [ad]promised; (BT)not one promise has [ae]failed of all His good [af]promises, which He [ag]promised by the hand of Moses His [ah]servant. 57 May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; (BU)may He not forsake us or abandon us, 58 that (BV)He may 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 Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that He may do justice for His slave and justice for His people Israel, [ai]as each day requires, 60 so (BW)that all the peoples of the earth may know that (BX)Yahweh is God; there is no one else. 61 (BY)Let your heart therefore be [aj]wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”
The Offering for the House of Yahweh
62 (BZ)Now the king and all Israel with him were (CA)offering sacrifices before Yahweh. 63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. (CB)So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh. 64 On the same day the king set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he [ak]offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings; for (CC)the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 So (CD)Solomon celebrated the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly (CE)from [al]Lebo-hamath (CF)to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His [am]servant and to Israel His people.
51 “You men—(A)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 (B)And which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (C)the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers (D)you have now become; 53 you who received the Law as (E)ordained by angels, and yet did not observe it.”
Stephen Is Stoned to Death
54 Now when they heard this, they became (F)furious in their hearts, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being (G)full of the Holy Spirit, he (H)gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (I)at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the (J)heavens opened up and (K)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed at him with one accord. 58 And when they had (L)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and (M)the witnesses (N)laid aside their garments at the feet of (O)a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (P)was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then (Q)falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (R)do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he [a](S)fell asleep.
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 (T)Now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great persecution [b]began against (U)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all (V)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and (W)Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But (X)Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and (Y)dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 Therefore, those (Z)who had been scattered went about, (AA)proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 (AB)Now Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching [c]Christ to them. 6 And the crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the [d]signs which he was doing. 7 For in the case of many who had (AC)unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been (AD)paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was (AE)great joy in that city.
9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing (AF)magic in the city and astounding the people of Samaria, (AG)claiming to be someone great; 10 and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “(AH)This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” 11 And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astounded them with his (AI)magic arts. 12 But when they believed Philip (AJ)proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being (AK)baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed (AL)signs and (AM)great miracles taking place, he was constantly astounded.
Yahweh Has Cut the Cords of the Wicked
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[a]Many times they have [b](A)assailed me from my (B)youth up,”
(C)Let Israel now say,
2 “[c]Many times they have [d]assailed me from my youth up;
Yet they have (D)not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 Yahweh (E)is righteous;
He has cut up the (F)cords of the wicked.
5 Let all who (G)hate Zion
Be (H)put to shame and turned backward;
6 Let them be like (I)grass upon the rooftops,
Which dries up before it [e]grows up;
7 With which the reaper does not fill his [f]hand,
Nor the binder of sheaves the (J)fold of his garment;
8 And those who pass by will not say,
“The (K)blessing of Yahweh be upon you;
We bless you in the name of Yahweh.”
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