2 Chronicles 5

So all the work that Solomon did for the house of the LORD was finished. Then Solomon brought in the things his father David had set apart for God. He put the silver, the gold, and all the objects into the treasure rooms of God's house.

1Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

Note"The house of the LORD" means the temple in Jerusalem, the building described in the previous chapters. "Set apart for God" translates a word meaning made sacred and handed over permanently, David had reserved captured metal and gifts for this purpose, and they could not be put to ordinary use.

2Then Solomon called together in Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the leaders of the tribes, and the heads of the family groups of Israel. They were to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion.

2Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.

NoteThe ark of the covenant was a gold-covered wooden chest, about four feet long, with rings at the corners for carrying poles. It held the tablets of the law and was treated as the place where the LORD was present with Israel. The City of David, also called Zion, was the old fortified ridge that David captured; it lay lower down the hill than the new temple, which is why the ark is "brought up."

3So all the men of Israel came together to the king at the festival held in the seventh month.

3Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.

NoteThe festival in the seventh month (roughly September–October) was the Feast of Booths, a week-long autumn harvest festival when Israelites lived in temporary shelters. It was one of three occasions when men were expected to travel to the sanctuary.

4All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites lifted up the ark.

4And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

NoteThe Levites were members of the tribe of Levi, set apart to care for the sanctuary and assist the priests. Only they were permitted to lift and carry the ark.

5They brought up the ark, the tent where the people met with God, and all the holy objects that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites carried them up.

5And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Note"The tent where the people met with God" is the tabernacle, the portable shrine used from the wilderness years onward, which had been standing at Gibeon. Bringing it into the temple retired it: the permanent building replaced the tent.

6King Solomon and the whole gathering of Israel that had come to him stood before the ark. There they sacrificed so many sheep and cattle that no one could count or record them all.

6Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

7Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD into its place, into the inner room of the house, the Most Holy Place, right under the wings of the cherubim.

7And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:

NoteThe inner room, or Most Holy Place, was the windowless innermost chamber of the temple, which no one entered except the high priest, and he only once a year. The cherubim were not baby angels but large winged composite figures, here two carved and gold-plated statues whose outstretched wings spanned the width of the room; similar winged guardian figures flanked thrones throughout the ancient Near East.

8The cherubim spread their wings out over the place where the ark stood, so they covered the ark and its carrying poles from above.

8For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

9The poles were long enough that their ends could be seen from in front of the inner room, but they could not be seen from outside. They are still there today.

9And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.

NoteThe poles ran through rings on the ark so that it could be carried without being touched. "They are still there today" is a remark carried over from the older source this chapter draws on, written while the temple was still standing.

10There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb. That was where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel after they came out of Egypt.

10There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

NoteThe two stone tablets were the ones inscribed with the terms of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. A covenant was a binding agreement with sworn obligations on both sides, of the kind ancient kings made with their peoples.

11Then the priests came out of the holy place. All the priests who were there had made themselves ready for holy service, whatever work group they belonged to, so they were not serving in their usual turns.

11And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:

NotePriests served in fixed rotating shifts, so that only one group was on duty at a time. For this occasion the rotation was set aside and every priest present took part. "Made themselves ready for holy service" means they went through the required ceremonial preparations, washing, changing clothes, and avoiding anything that would make them ritually unclean.

12The Levites who were the singers (all those from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and relatives) were dressed in white linen. They held cymbals, lyres, and harps, and stood at the east end of the altar. With them were one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets.

12Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

NoteAsaph, Heman, and Jeduthun were the three families of hereditary temple musicians; many psalms carry their names in the headings. Linen was the required fabric for those serving at the sanctuary. The trumpets here are straight silver trumpets blown by priests, not the curved ram's horn.

13The trumpet players and the singers joined as one, making a single sound of praise and thanks to the LORD. They raised their voices along with the trumpets, the cymbals, and the other instruments, and they praised the LORD, saying, "He is good; his faithful love lasts forever." Then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud.

13It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;

NoteThis one line was a standing refrain in Israel's worship; it opens and closes several psalms and is repeated in every verse of Psalm 136. The phrase rendered "faithful love" translates a Hebrew word for loyal, committed kindness, the steady goodwill owed within a binding relationship, not passing affection.

14The priests could not stand up to do their work because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

14So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

NoteThe cloud and "the glory of the LORD" use the same wording as the account of the tent of meeting in Exodus, where a cloud settled on the tent and Moses could not enter. The word behind "glory" carries the sense of weight or heaviness, hence of impressive substance.