1st Kings 8:14-39

¹⁴And the king turned his face, and blessed all the church in Israel; for all the church of Israel stood.

¹⁵And Solomon said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that spake with his mouth to David, my father, and performed it in his hands, and said,

¹⁶From the day in which I led my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose not a city of all the lineages of Israel, that an house should be builded, and my name should be there; but I chose David, that he should be over my people Israel.

¹⁷And David, my father, would build or would have builded an house to the name of the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁸And the Lord said to David, my father, That thou thoughtest in thine heart to build an house to my name, thou didest well, treating this same thing in thy soul;

¹⁹nevertheless thou shalt not build an house to me, but thy son, that shall go out of thy reins, he shall build an house to my name.

²⁰The Lord hath now confirmed his word, that he spake; and I stood for David, my father, and I sat upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord spake; and I have builded an house to the name of the Lord God of Israel.

²¹And I have ordained there a place of the ark, in which ark the bond of peace of the Lord is, which he smote with our fathers, when they went out of the land of Egypt.

²²And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the church of Israel; and he held forth his hands against heaven,

²³and said, Lord God of Israel, no God in heaven above, neither on earth beneath, is like thee, which keepest covenant and mercy to thy servants, that go before thee in all their heart;

²⁴and thou keepest to David, my father, thy servant, those things which thou hast spoken to him; by mouth thou hast spoken it, and by hands thou hast fulfilled it, as this day proveth.

²⁵Now therefore, Lord God of Israel, keep thou to thy servant David, my father, those things which thou spakest to him, and saidest, A man of thee shall not be taken away from before me, which man shall sit on the throne of Israel, so nevertheless if thy sons keep thy way, that they go before me, as thou wentest in my sight.

²⁶And now, Lord God of Israel, thy words be made steadfast, which thou spakest to thy servant David, my father.

²⁷Therefore whether it is to guess, that God dwelleth verily on earth; for if heaven, and heaven of heavens be not able to take thee, how much more this house, that I have builded to thee.

²⁸But, my Lord God, behold thou to the prayer of thy servant, and to the beseechings of him; hear thou the hymn, either praising, and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today;

²⁹that thine eyes be opened on this house by night and day, on the house of which thou saidest, My name shall be there; that thou hear the prayer, which thy servant prayeth to thee in this place;

³⁰that thou hear the beseeching of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatever thing he prayeth in this place, and hear thou in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hast heard, thou shalt be merciful.

³¹If a man sinneth against a man, and hath any oath, by which he is holden bound, and cometh for the oath into thine house, before thine altar,

³²thou shalt hear in heaven, and thou shalt do, and thou shalt deem thy servants; and thou shalt condemn the wicked man, and shalt yield his way on his head, and thou shalt justify the just or rightwise man, and shalt yield to him after his rightfulness or rightwiseness.

³³If thy people Israel fleeth his enemies, for he shall do sin to thee, and they do penance, or repent their sin, and acknowledge to thy great name, and come, and worship, and beseech thee in this house,

³⁴hear thou in heaven, and forgive thou the sin of thy people Israel; and thou shalt lead them again into the land, which thou hast given to the fathers of them.

³⁵If heaven is closed, and it raineth not for the sins of them, and they pray in this place, and do penance to thy name, and be converted, or altogether turned, from their sins for their torment,

³⁶hear thou them in heaven, and forgive thou the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, and show thou to them a good way, by which they shall go, and give thou rain to them upon the land, which thou hast given to them into possession.

³⁷If hunger riseth in the land, either pestilence is, either corrupt air is, either rust, either locust, either mildew, and if his enemy tormenteth him, and besiegeth the gates of him, and bringeth in all wound, all sickness,

³⁸all cursing, and all wishing of evil, that befalleth to each man of thy people Israel, if any man knoweth the wound of his heart, and holdeth forth his hands in this house,

³⁹thou shalt hear in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and thou shalt do mercy, and thou shalt do that thou give to each man after all his ways, as thou seest his heart; for thou alone knowest the heart of all the sons of men,