1 Kings

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

1Then Solomon called the leaders of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem. He called the elders, the heads of the tribes, and the family leaders. They came to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD. The ark was a gold-covered box that held God's agreement with Israel. It was in the City of David, also called Zion.

2And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

2All the men of Israel came to King Solomon for the feast. This was in the month called Ethanim, the seventh month of the year.

3And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

3When all the elders of Israel had come, the priests picked up the ark. Priests were the men who served God at the worship place.

4And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

4They carried up the ark of the LORD. They also brought the special tent where people used to meet with God. They brought all the holy dishes and tools from that tent. The priests and the Levites carried them. Levites were men from Levi's family who helped the priests.

5And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

5King Solomon and all the people stood with him in front of the ark. They gave God many sheep and oxen as gifts. There were far too many to count.

6And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

6The priests carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place. That place was the inside room of the temple, called the Most Holy Place. They set it under the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim were two large winged figures carved for that room.

7For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

7The cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark. Their wings covered the ark and the poles used to carry it.

8And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

8The poles were pulled out so far that their ends could be seen. People in the holy room in front could see them. But no one outside that room could see them. The poles are still there today.

9There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

9Nothing was inside the ark except two flat stones. Moses had put them there at Mount Horeb. That is where God made his agreement with the people of Israel. It was after they came out of Egypt.

10And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

10When the priests came out of the holy room, a cloud filled the LORD's house.

11So 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.

11The priests could not stay and do their work because of the cloud. The bright, shining presence of the LORD had filled his house.

12Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

12Then Solomon said, "The LORD said he would live in the thick dark cloud."

13I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

13"I have built you a house to live in. It is a lasting place for you to stay forever."

14And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

14All the people of Israel were standing there. The king turned around to face them. He spoke good words over them and asked God to bless them.

15And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

15He said, "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel. He spoke a promise to my father David with his mouth. Now he has done it with his own hand. This is what he said:

16Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

16'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I did not choose a city. I did not pick any town in Israel for a house to hold my name. But I did choose David to lead my people Israel.'

17And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

17"My father David really wanted to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

18And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

18But the LORD said to my father David, 'You wanted to build a house for my name. It was good that you wanted this.

19Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

19But you are not the one who will build it. Your own son will build the house for my name.'

20And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

20"The LORD has done just what he said. I have taken my father David's place. I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. And I have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

Note"I am risen up in the room of David" is old English. "In the room of" means "in the place of." Solomon means he became king after his father.

21And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

21I have made a place there for the ark. Inside it is the agreement the LORD made with our fathers. He made it when he brought them out of Egypt."

22And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

22Then Solomon stood in front of the altar of the LORD. All the people of Israel were watching. The altar was the special table where gifts were given to God. Solomon lifted his hands up toward the sky.

23And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

23He said, "LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you. Not in heaven above, and not on earth below. You keep your agreement. You show steady love to your servants who follow you with their whole heart.

24Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

24You kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father. You said it with your mouth. You have done it with your hand, as we see today.

25Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

25So now, LORD, God of Israel, keep the other promise you made to David. You said, 'You will always have a man to sit on Israel's throne. This will be true if your children are careful to follow me, as you did.'

26And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

26And now, God of Israel, please make your promise to my father David come true.

27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

27But will God really live here on earth? The sky and the highest heaven cannot hold you. This house I built is far too small for you.

28Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

28Still, please listen to my prayer and my asking, LORD my God. Hear the crying and praying I am doing before you today.

29That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

29Watch over this house night and day. This is the place you said, 'My name will be there.' Please hear the prayers I pray toward this place.

30And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

30Hear me and hear your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Listen in heaven, where you live. And when you hear, please forgive.

31If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:

31Suppose a man does wrong to his neighbor. He is told to make a promise to tell the truth. He comes and makes that promise at your altar in this house.

32Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

32Then listen in heaven and act. Judge between your servants. Say the guilty man is guilty, and let his wrong come back on him. Say the good man is right, and give him what his goodness deserves.

33When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

33Suppose your people Israel lose a battle because they sinned against you. Then they turn back to you. They say your name, and they pray and beg you in this house.

34Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

34Then listen in heaven. Forgive the sin of your people Israel. Bring them back to the land you gave their fathers.

35When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

35Suppose the sky is shut and no rain falls, because they sinned against you. Then they pray toward this place. They say your name and turn away from their sin, because you made them suffer.

36Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

36Then listen in heaven. Forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live. And send rain on your land, the land you gave your people to keep.

37If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

37Suppose there is no food in the land. Or a sickness spreads. Or the crops dry up or turn moldy. Or bugs eat the plants. Or an enemy army surrounds their cities. Any trouble or any illness may come.

38What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

38Then someone may pray and beg you. Or all your people Israel may pray. Each one knows the trouble in his own heart. Each one lifts his hands toward this house.

39Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

39Then listen in heaven, where you live. Forgive them and act. Give each person what fits the way he has lived. You know his heart. You alone know what is inside every person.

40That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

40Then they will honor you as long as they live. They will live in the land you gave our fathers.

41Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake;

41Now think about a foreigner, someone who is not one of your people Israel. He comes from a country far away because he has heard about you.

Note"Stranger" in this old English means a foreigner, a person from another country. It does not mean someone you simply have not met.

42(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

42People will hear about your great name. They will hear about your strong hand and your powerful arm. So this foreigner will come and pray toward this house.

43Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

43Then listen in heaven, where you live. Do what that foreigner asks you to do. Then everyone on earth will know your name. They will honor you, just as your people Israel do. And they will know this house I built carries your name.

44If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

44Suppose your people go out to fight their enemies, wherever you send them. And they pray to you, turning toward the city you chose and the house I built for your name.

45Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

45Then listen in heaven to their prayer and their asking. Stand up for them.

46If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

46Suppose they sin against you, for everyone sins. And you become angry and let an enemy win. That enemy takes them away to his own land, near or far.

47Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

47But in that faraway land, they may think again. They may feel sorry and turn back. They may beg you and say, 'We have sinned. We have done wrong. We have been wicked.'

48And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

48They may come back to you with their whole heart, there in their enemies' land. They may pray toward the land you gave their fathers, and toward the city you chose, and toward the house I built for your name.

49Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

49Then listen in heaven, where you live. Hear their prayer and their asking. Stand up for them.

50And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

50Forgive your people for the sins they did against you. Forgive every wrong thing they did. And make the people who took them away feel kind toward them.

51For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

51They are your people. They belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt. That land was like a furnace, a fire hot enough to melt iron.

52That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

52Please watch over me and hear me when I ask. Watch over your people Israel too. Listen to them whenever they call to you.

53For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD God.

53You set them apart from all the other peoples on earth to be your own. You said this through Moses, your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, LORD God."

54And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

54Solomon finished this whole prayer. He had been kneeling in front of the altar of the LORD, with his hands lifted toward the sky. Now he stood up.

55And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

55He stood and spoke good words over all the people of Israel. He said in a loud voice:

56Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

56"Praise the LORD. He has given his people Israel peace and rest, just as he promised. He made good promises through Moses, his servant. Not one word of them has failed.

57The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

57May the LORD our God stay with us, as he was with our fathers. May he never leave us or turn away from us.

58That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

58May he turn our hearts toward him. May we walk in all his ways. May we keep his commands, his rules, and his laws, which he gave our fathers.

59And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

59May the LORD our God keep my prayer close to him, day and night. Then he will stand up for me, his servant, and for his people Israel, each day as they need.

60That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

60Then everyone on earth will know that the LORD is God. There is no other God at all.

61Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

61So give your whole heart to the LORD our God. Live by his rules and keep his commands, as you are doing today."

Note"Let your heart be perfect" does not mean never making a mistake. It means giving God your whole heart.

62And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.

62Then the king and all Israel with him gave gifts to the LORD.

63And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.

63Solomon gave peace offerings to the LORD. He gave 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all Israel gave the LORD's house to him.

64The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

64That same day the king set apart the middle of the yard in front of the LORD's house. He offered burnt gifts, grain gifts, and the fat of the peace offerings there. He did this because the bronze altar was too small to hold them all.

Note"Meat offerings" in this old English means grain offerings. They were gifts of flour and grain, not meat.

65And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

65At that time Solomon and all Israel held a feast. A huge crowd came, from the way into Hamath all the way to the brook of Egypt. They feasted before the LORD our God for seven days, then seven more. That was fourteen days in all.

66On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

66On the eighth day Solomon sent the people home. They spoke good words over the king and went to their tents. They were happy and glad inside. God had been so good to David his servant and to Israel his people.