1 Where the cloud is, cried Solomon, the Lord has promised to be. 2 It is true, then, the house I have built in his honour is to be, for ever, his dwelling-place. 3 With that, the king turned to bless the whole assembly; all Israel, that stood waiting there. 4 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, he said, who has fulfilled in act the promise he made to my father David. 5 So many years since he had rescued his people from Egypt, and never a city among all the tribes of Israel had he chosen to be the site of his dwelling-place or the shrine of his name, never a prince had he appointed over his people of Israel, 6 till at last he chose Jerusalem, to enshrine his name there, and David for his people’s ruler. 7 And when he, my father, would have built a house in honour of the Lord God of Israel, 8 the Lord told him that he had done well to conceive such a purpose in his heart; 9 But it is not for thee, he said, to build me a house. A house shall be built in my honour, but by thy son, the heir of thy body. 10 That promise of his the Lord has fulfilled; I have come forward in my father David’s place, sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised I should; it has been mine to build a house to the honour of the Lord, Israel’s God, 11 and to find a home for this ark, witness of the covenant he made with Israel’s sons.
1 Tunc Salomon ait: Dominus pollicitus est ut habitaret in caligine: 2 ego autem ædificavi domum nomini ejus, ut habitaret ibi in perpetuum. 3 Et convertit rex faciem suam, et benedixit universæ multitudini Israël (nam omnis turba stabat intenta), et ait: 4 Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, qui quod locutus est David patri meo, opere complevit, dicens: 5 A die qua eduxi populum meum de terra Ægypti, non elegi civitatem de cunctis tribubus Israël ut ædificaretur in ea domus nomini meo, neque elegi quemquam alium virum ut esset dux in populo Israël: 6 sed elegi Jerusalem ut sit nomen meum in ea, et elegi David ut constituerem eum super populum meum Israël. 7 Cumque fuisset voluntatis David patris mei ut ædificaret domum nomini Domini Dei Israël, 8 dixit Dominus ad eum: Quia hæc fuit voluntas tua, ut ædificares domum nomini meo, bene quidem fecisti hujuscemodi habere voluntatem: 9 sed non tu ædificabis domum: verum filius tuus, qui egredietur de lumbis tuis, ipse ædificabit domum nomini meo. 10 Complevit ergo Dominus sermonem suum quem locutus fuerat: et ego surrexi pro David patre meo, et sedi super thronum Israël, sicut locutus est Dominus: et ædificavi domum nomini Domini Dei Israël. 11 Et posui in ea arcam in qua est pactum Domini quod pepigit cum filiis Israël.
12 Then Solomon stood before the Lord’s altar in full view of all Israel, and stretched out his hands. 13 In the midst of the great court he had bidden them set down a block of bronze, five cubits across either way and three feet in height; on this he mounted, and there, in the sight of all Israel, kneeling down with his hands lifted up towards heaven, he prayed. 14 Lord God of Israel, he said, thou reignest without rival in heaven and earth, making good thy merciful promises to all who follow thee with undivided hearts. 15 And thou hast not disappointed thy servant, my father David; thy act matches thy word; this day, who doubts it? 16 Do not forget, Lord God of Israel, that other promise of thine to David, that he should always have an heir to sit on the throne of Israel, would but his sons guide their steps, like David himself, as in thy presence; 17 let that promise too, Lord God of Israel, be ratified!
12 Stetit ergo coram altari Domini ex adverso universæ multitudinis Israël, et extendit manus suas. 13 Siquidem fecerat Salomon basim æneam, et posuerat eam in medio basilicæ, habentem quinque cubitos longitudinis, et quinque cubitos latitudinis, et tres cubitos altitudinis: stetitque super eam, et deinceps flexis genibus contra universam multitudinem Israël, et palmis in cælum levatis, 14 ait: Domine Deus Israël, non est similis tui deus in cælo et in terra: qui custodis pactum et misericordiam cum servis tuis qui ambulant coram te in toto corde suo: 15 qui præstitisti servo tuo David patri meo quæcumque locutus fueras ei: et quæ ore promiseras, opere complesti, sicut et præsens tempus probat. 16 Nunc ergo Domine Deus Israël, imple servo tuo patri meo David quæcumque locutus es, dicens: Non deficiet ex te vir coram me, qui sedeat super thronum Israël: ita tamen si custodierint filii tui vias suas, et ambulaverint in lege mea, sicut et tu ambulasti coram me. 17 Et nunc Domine Deus Israël, firmetur sermo tuus quem locutus es servo tuo David.
18 Folly it were to think that God has a dwelling-place on earth. If the very heavens, and the heaven that is above the heavens, cannot contain thee, what welcome can it offer thee, this house which I have built? 19 Yet it has not been built in vain, O Lord my God, if thou wilt give heed to thy servant’s prayer, that sues for thy favour, listen to the cry of entreaty he makes before thee. 20 This I ask, that thy eyes should be ever watching, night and day, over this temple of thine, the chosen sanctuary of thy name; 21 be this the meeting-place where thou wilt listen to thy servant’s prayer. Whatever requests I or my people Israel make shall find audience here; thou wilt listen from thy dwelling-place in heaven, and listening, wilt forgive.
18 Ergone credibile est ut habitet Deus cum hominibus super terram? si cælum et cæli cælorum non te capiunt, quanto magis domus ista quam ædificavi? 19 Sed ad hoc tantum facta est, ut respicias orationem servi tui, et obsecrationem ejus, Domine Deus meus, et audias preces quas fundit famulus tuus coram te: 20 ut aperias oculos tuos super domum istam diebus ac noctibus, super locum in quo pollicitus es ut invocaretur nomen tuum, 21 et exaudires orationem quam servus tuus orat in eo: et exaudias preces famuli tui, et populi tui Israël. Quicumque oraverit in loco isto, exaudi de habitaculo tuo, id est, de cælis, et propitiare.
22 Has a man wronged his neighbour, and is he ready to clear himself of the charge by an oath? Then, if he comes to this house of thine, to swear the lie before thy altar, 23 thou, in heaven, wilt be listening, and wilt do justice between thy servants, passing sentence upon the guilty and avenging the wrong, acquitting the innocent and granting him due redress.
22 Si peccaverit quispiam in proximum suum, et jurare contra eum paratus venerit, seque maledicto constrinxerit coram altari in domo ista: 23 tu audies de cælo, et facies judicium servorum tuorum, ita ut reddas iniquo viam suam in caput proprium, et ulciscaris justum, retribuens ei secundum justitiam suam.
24 Are thy people of Israel condemned to flee before their enemies, in punishment of the sins they will surely commit? Then, if they come back to thee in repentance, call on thy name and plead with thee in this temple of thine, 25 thou wilt be listening in heaven; forgive the sins of thy people Israel, and restore them to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.
24 Si superatus fuerit populus tuus Israël ab inimicis (peccabunt enim tibi), et conversi egerint pœnitentiam, et obsecraverint nomen tuum, et fuerint deprecati in loco isto, 25 tu exaudies de cælo: et propitiare peccato populi tui Israël, et reduc eos in terram quam dedisti eis, et patribus eorum.
26 Does the sky bar its gates against them, and give no rain, in punishment for their sins? Then, if they come here acknowledging thee with prayer and repentance, and turn away, in their sore need, from their sins, 27 do thou, in heaven, listen, and grant thy servants the people of Israel forgiveness; teach them to guide their steps aright, and send rain on the land thou hast given them for their home.
26 Si clauso cælo pluvia non fluxerit propter peccata populi, et deprecati te fuerint in loco isto, et confessi nomini tuo, et conversi a peccatis suis, cum eos afflixeris, 27 exaudi de cælo, Domine, et dimitte peccata servis tuis et populi tui Israël, et doce eos viam bonam, per quam ingrediantur: et da pluviam terræ quam dedisti populo tuo ad possidendum.
28 Is there famine in the land, or pestilence, blight or mildew, plague of locust or caterpillar? Does some enemy press hard on it, besieging its city gates? Whatever be the plague or the sickness that weighs us down, 29 if any one among thy people, accepting that plague or sickness as his own, makes prayer to thee, stretching out his hands in this temple, 30 thou, in heaven, thy high dwelling-place, wilt be listening; do thou relent, and send to each man the lot his deeds deserve, thou, who alone readest the hearts of human kind. 31 So will men learn to fear thee and to follow in thy paths, long as they live to enjoy the land thou gavest to our fathers.
28 Fames si orta fuerit in terra, et pestilentia, ærugo, et aurugo, et locusta, et bruchus: et hostes, vastatis regionibus, portas obsederint civitatis, omnisque plaga et infirmitas presserit: 29 si quis de populo tuo Israël fuerit deprecatus, cognoscens plagam et infirmitatem suam, et expanderit manus suas in domo hac, 30 tu exaudies de cælo, de sublimi scilicet habitaculo tuo: et propitiare, et redde unicuique secundum vias suas, quas nosti eum habere in corde suo (tu enim solus nosti corda filiorum hominum): 31 ut timeant te, et ambulent in viis tuis cunctis diebus quibus vivunt super faciem terræ quam dedisti patribus nostris.
32 Nay, is it some stranger, with no part in thy people Israel, who yet comes here from distant lands, for love of thy renown, for the constraining force thy power displays, and worships thee in this temple? 33 Still, in heaven, thy secure dwelling-place, thou wilt grant the alien’s prayer. So shall all the world come to hear of thy renown, and fear thee no less than Israel itself; shall doubt no more that this temple I have built claims thy protection.
32 Externum quoque, qui non est de populo tuo Israël, si venerit de terra longinqua propter nomen tuum magnum, et propter manum tuam robustam, et brachium tuum extentum, et adoraverit in loco isto, 33 tu exaudies de cælo firmissimo habitaculo tuo, et facies cuncta pro quibus invocaverit te ille peregrinus: ut sciant omnes populi terræ nomen tuum, et timeant te sicut populus tuus Israël, et cognoscant quia nomen tuum invocatum est super domum hanc quam ædificavi.
34 Sometimes thy people will go out to levy war upon their enemies, here and there at thy bidding. Then, as they fall to prayer, let them but turn in the direction of the city thou hast chosen, the temple I have built there in thy honour, 35 and thou, in heaven, wilt listen to their prayer for aid, wilt maintain their cause.
34 Si egressus fuerit populus tuus ad bellum contra adversarios suos per viam in qua miseris eos, adorabunt te contra viam in qua civitas hæc est, quam elegisti, et domus quam ædificavi nomini tuo, 35 tu exaudies de cælo preces eorum, et obsecrationem: et ulciscaris.
36 But what, if they have offended thee by their faults? No man but is guilty of some fault; it may be thou wilt give them up, in thy anger, into the power of their enemies, and as prisoners they will be banished into countries far away, or alien countries within sight of home. 37 But ere long, in their banishment, they will come back to thee with repentant hearts, crying out to thee, poor exiles, We are sinners, we have done amiss, rebels all! 38 In that alien land, the land of their captivity, they will turn back to thee with all the purpose of their heart and soul. Then, if they turn in prayer towards the land thou gavest their fathers, the city of thy choice, and the temple I have built in thy honour, 39 thou, in heaven, on thy peaceful throne, wilt once more listen to their prayer for aid, wilt maintain their cause still. And thou wilt relent towards thy people, though they have sinned against thee.[1]
36 Si autem peccaverint tibi (neque enim est homo qui non peccet), et iratus fueris eis, et tradideris hostibus, et captivos duxerint eos in terram longinquam, vel certe quæ juxta est, 37 et conversi in corde suo in terra ad quam captivi ducti fuerant, egerint pœnitentiam, et deprecati te fuerint in terra captivitatis suæ, dicentes: Peccavimus: inique fecimus, injuste egimus: 38 et reversi fuerint ad te in toto corde suo, et in tota anima sua, in terra captivitatis suæ ad quam ducti sunt, adorabunt te contra viam terræ suæ, quam dedisti patribus eorum, et urbis quam elegisti, et domus quam ædificavi nomini tuo: 39 tu exaudies de cælo, hoc est, de firmo habitaculo tuo, preces eorum: et facias judicium, et dimittas populo tuo, quamvis peccatori:
40 My God! Ever be thy eyes open, ever thy ears attentive to the prayer that is offered here. 41 Up, Lord, take possession of this, thy home, with the ark that makes known thy power; Lord God, let thy priests go clad in triumph, thy faithful people rejoice in thy bounty. 42 Lord God, do not reject my prayer, the king thou hast anointed; bethink thee of the loving designs thou hadst for thy servant David before him.[2]
40 tu es enim Deus meus: aperiantur, quæso, oculi tui, et aures tuæ intentæ sint ad orationem quæ fit in loco isto. 41 Nunc igitur consurge, Domine Deus, in requiem tuam, tu et arca fortitudinis tuæ: sacerdotes tui, Domine Deus, induantur salutem, et sancti tui lætentur in bonis. 42 Domine Deus, ne averteris faciem christi tui: memento misericordiarum David servi tui.
[1] vv. 1-39, cf. III Kg. 8.12-52.
[2] Or perhaps, ‘the acts of mercy done by thy servant David’.
