1 Then all the elders of Israel, the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of clans, met in Jerusalem to help king Solomon bring the ark home; the ark then rested in the Keep of David, which we call Sion. 2 It was on the great feast day of the seventh month (Ethanim, as it is called) that king Solomon sent out this summons to the whole of Israel, 3 and the elders, one and all, came in answer to it. The priests took up the ark, 4 and soon ark and tabernacle and all the tabernacle’s appurtenances were borne aloft, with priests and Levites to carry them. 5 King Solomon walked before the ark, and with him all the throng of Israelites that had assembled; no reckoning made, no count taken, of the sheep and oxen they offered up as victims. 6 So the ark that bears witness of the Lord’s covenant was borne by the priests to the place designed for it, there in the temple’s inner shrine, where the cherubim spread their wings; 7 spread them over the very place where the ark rested, to protect it and protect the poles that bore it. 8 These poles jutted out indeed, so that the ends of them could be seen by one standing before the shrine, beyond the limits of the inner sanctuary; but never again were they seen in the open; they have remained in the temple to this day. 9 And nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses laid up there on mount Horeb, when the Lord made his covenant with the sons of Israel after their escape from Egypt.
1 Tunc congregati sunt omnes majores natu Israël cum principibus tribuum, et duces familiarum filiorum Israël, ad regem Salomonem in Jerusalem, ut deferrent arcam fœderis Domini de civitate David, id est, de Sion. 2 Convenitque ad regem Salomonem universus Israël in mense Ethanim, in solemni die: ipse est mensis septimus. 3 Veneruntque cuncti senes de Israël, et tulerunt arcam sacerdotes, 4 et portaverunt arcam Domini, et tabernaculum fœderis, et omnia vasa sanctuarii quæ erant in tabernaculo: et ferebant ea sacerdotes et Levitæ. 5 Rex autem Salomon, et omnis multitudo Israël quæ convenerat ad eum, gradiebatur cum illo ante arcam, et immolabant oves et boves absque æstimatione et numero. 6 Et intulerunt sacerdotes arcam fœderis Domini in locum suum, in oraculum templi, in Sanctum sanctorum, subter alas cherubim. 7 Siquidem cherubim expandebant alas super locum arcæ, et protegebant arcam, et vectes ejus desuper. 8 Cumque eminerent vectes, et apparerent summitates eorum foris sanctuarium ante oraculum, non apparebant ultra extrinsecus, qui et fuerunt ibi usque in præsentem diem. 9 In arca autem non erat aliud nisi duæ tabulæ lapideæ quas posuerat in ea Moyses in Horeb, quando pepigit Dominus fœdus cum filiis Israël, cum egrederentur de terra Ægypti.
10 As soon as the priests had left the inner sanctuary, the whole of the Lord’s house was wreathed in cloud; 11 lost in that cloud, the priests could not wait upon the Lord with his accustomed service; his own glory was there, filling his own house. 12 Where the cloud is, cried Solomon, the Lord has promised to be; 13 it is true, then, the house I have built is to be thy dwelling, thy throne for ever immovable. 14 With that, the king turned to bless the whole assembly of Israel; all Israel, that stood to receive his blessing. 15 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, he said, who has now fulfilled in act the promise he made to my father David. 16 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; but a man he did choose out, to rule his people, king David. 17 And when he, my father, would have built a house in honour of the Lord God of Israel, 18 the Lord told him that he had done well to conceive such a purpose in his heart; But it is not for thee, he said, to build me a house. 19 A house shall be built in my honour, but by thy son, the heir of thy body. 20 That promise of his the Lord has fulfilled; I have come forward in my father’s place, to 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, 21 and to find a home for this ark, witness of the covenant made with our fathers when they escaped from Egypt.
10 Factum est autem cum exissent sacerdotes de sanctuario, nebula implevit domum Domini, 11 et non poterant sacerdotes stare et ministrare propter nebulam: impleverat enim gloria Domini domum Domini. 12 Tunc ait Salomon: Dominus dixit ut habitaret in nebula. 13 Ædificans ædificavi domum in habitaculum tuum: firmissimum solium tuum in sempiternum. 14 Convertitque rex faciem suam, et benedixit omni ecclesiæ Israël: omnia enim ecclesia Israël stabat. 15 Et ait Salomon: Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, qui locutus est ore suo ad David patrem meum, et in manibus ejus perfecit, dicens: 16 A die qua eduxi populum meum Israël de Ægypto, non elegi civitatem de universis tribubus Israël, ut ædificaretur domus, et esset nomen meum ibi: sed elegi David ut esset super populum meum Israël. 17 Voluitque David pater meus ædificare domum nomini Domini Dei Israël: 18 et ait Dominus ad David patrem meum: Quod cogitasti in corde tuo ædificare domum nomini meo, bene fecisti, hoc ipsum mente tractans. 19 Verumtamen tu non ædificabis mihi domum, sed filius tuus, qui egredietur de renibus tuis, ipse ædificabit domum nomini meo. 20 Confirmavit Dominus sermonem suum quem locutus est: stetique pro David patre meo, et sedi super thronum Israël, sicut locutus est Dominus: et ædificavi domum nomini Domini Dei Israël. 21 Et constitui ibi locum arcæ in qua fœdus Domini est, quod percussit cum patribus nostris quando egressi sunt de terra Ægypti.
22 Then Solomon stood before the Lord’s altar in full view of all Israel, and lifted his hands to heaven; 23 and thus he prayed: Lord God of Israel, thou reignest without rival in heaven and earth, making good thy merciful promises to all who follow thee with undivided hearts. 24 And thou hast not disappointed thy servant, my father David; thy act matches thy word; this day, who doubts it? 25 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; 26 let that promise, too, Lord God of Israel, be ratified!
22 Stetit autem Salomon ante altare Domini in conspectu ecclesiæ Israël, et expandit manus suas in cælum, 23 et ait: Domine Deus Israël, non est similis tui deus in cælo desuper, et super terram deorsum: qui custodis pactum et misericordiam servis tuis qui ambulant coram te in toto corde suo. 24 Qui custodisti servo tuo David patri meo quæ locutus es ei: ore locutus es, et manibus perfecisti, ut hæc dies probat. 25 Nunc igitur Domine Deus Israël, conserva famulo tuo David patri meo quæ locutus es ei, dicens: Non auferetur de te vir coram me, qui sedeat super thronum Israël: ita tamen si custodierint filii tui viam suam, ut ambulent coram me sicut tu ambulasti in conspectu meo. 26 Et nunc Domine Deus Israël, firmentur verba tua quæ locutus es servo tuo David patri meo.
27 Folly it were to think that God has a dwelling-place on earth. If the very heavens, and the heavens that are above the heavens, cannot contain thee, what welcome can it offer thee, this house which I have built? 28 Yet, O Lord my God, do not let this prayer go all unheeded, that sues for thy favour; listen to the cry of entreaty thy servant makes before thee this day! 29 This I ask, that thy eyes should be ever watching, night and day, over this temple of thine, the chosen sanctuary of thy name; be this the meeting-place where thou wilt listen to thy servant’s prayer. 30 Whatever requests I or thy people Israel make shall find audience here; thou wilt listen from thy dwelling-place in heaven, and listening, wilt forgive.
27 Ergone putandum est quod vere Deus habitet super terram? si enim cælum, et cæli cælorum, te capere non possunt, quanto magis domus hæc, quam ædificavi? 28 Sed respice ad orationem servi tui, et ad preces ejus, Domine Deus meus: audi hymnum et orationem quam servus tuus orat coram te hodie: 29 ut sint oculi tui aperti super domum hanc nocte ac die: super domum, de qua dixisti: Erit nomen meum ibi: ut exaudias orationem quam orat in loco isto ad te servus tuus: 30 ut exaudias deprecationem servi tui et populi tui Israël, quodcumque oraverint in loco isto, et exaudies in loco habitaculi tui in cælo: et cum exaudieris, propitius eris.
31 Has a man wronged his neighbour, and is he bidden 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, 32 thou, in heaven, wilt be listening, and ready to strike the blow; thine to do justice between thy servants, passing sentence on the guilty and avenging the wrong, acquitting the innocent and granting him due redress.
31 Si peccaverit homo in proximum suum, et habuerit aliquod juramentum quo teneatur astrictus, et venerit propter juramentum coram altari tuo in domum tuam, 32 tu exaudies in cælo: et facies, et judicabis servos tuos, condemnans impium, et reddens viam suam super caput ejus, justificansque justum, et retribuens ei secundum justitiam suam.
33 Are thy people of Israel condemned to flee before their enemies, in punishment of the sins they will surely commit? Then, if they come here repentant, and acknowledging thy power, pray to thee and plead with thee in this temple of thine, 34 do thou, in heaven, listen to them, and forgive the sins of thy people Israel, and restore them to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.
33 Si fugerit populus tuus Israël inimicos suos (quia peccaturus est tibi), et agentes pœnitentiam, et confitentes nomini tuo, venerint, et oraverint, et deprecati te fuerint in domo hac: 34 exaudi in cælo, et dimitte peccatum populi tui Israël, et reduces eos in terram quam dedisti patribus eorum.
35 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, 36 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.
35 Si clausum fuerit cælum, et non pluerit propter peccata eorum, et orantes in loco isto, pœnitentiam egerint nomini tuo, et a peccatis suis conversi fuerint propter afflictionem suam: 36 exaudi eos in cælo, et dimitte peccata servorum tuorum, et populi tui Israël: et ostende eis viam bonam per quam ambulent, et da pluviam super terram tuam, quam dedisti populo tuo in possessionem.
37 Is there famine in the land, or pestilence, blight or rust, locust or mildew? Does some enemy press hard on it, besieging our city gates? Many are the forms of plague and sickness, 38 of curse and ban, that may fall upon all Israel without distinction. But each heart knows the wound that galls it; and if any one man stretches out his hand to thee in this temple, 39 thou, in heaven, thy dwelling-place, wilt listen and relent. Thou knowest the hearts of all human kind, and wilt send to each man, according to the dispositions of his heart, the lot his deeds deserve; 40 so will men learn to fear thee, long as they live to enjoy the land thou gavest to our fathers.
37 Fames si oborta fuerit in terra, aut pestilentia, aut corruptus aër, aut ærugo, aut locusta, vel rubigo, et afflixerit eum inimicus ejus portas obsidens: omnis plaga, universa infirmitas, 38 cuncta devotatio, et imprecatio quæ acciderit omni homini de populo tuo Israël: si quis cognoverit plagam cordis sui, et expanderit manus suas in domo hac, 39 tu exaudies in cælo in loco habitationis tuæ, et repropitiaberis, et facies ut des unicuique secundum omnes vias suas, sicut videris cor ejus (quia tu nosti solus cor omnium filiorum hominum), 40 ut timeant te cunctis diebus quibus vivunt super faciem terræ quam dedisti patribus nostris.
41 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 indeed there will be talk of thy renown, of the constraining force thy power displays, all the world over. 42 When such a man comes to pray in this temple, 43 thou, in heaven, in thy secure dwelling-place, wilt listen to the alien’s prayer and wilt answer it. So all the world shall learn to fear thy name, no less than Israel itself; shall doubt no more that this temple I have built claims thy protection.
41 Insuper et alienigena, qui non est de populo tuo Israël, cum venerit de terra longinqua propter nomen tuum (audietur enim nomen tuum magnum, et manus tua fortis, et brachium tuum 42 extentum ubique), cum venerit ergo, et oraverit in hoc loco, 43 tu exaudies in cælo, in firmamento habitaculi tui, et facies omnia pro quibus invocaverit te alienigena: ut discant universi populi terrarum nomen tuum timere, sicut populus tuus Israël, et probent quia nomen tuum invocatum est super domum hanc quam ædificavi.
44 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, 45 and thou, in heaven, wilt listen to their prayer for aid, wilt maintain their cause.
44 Si egressus fuerit populus tuus ad bellum contra inimicos suos per viam, quocumque miseris eos, orabunt te contra viam civitatis quam elegisti, et contra domum quam ædificavi nomini tuo, 45 et exaudies in cælo orationes eorum et preces eorum, et facies judicium eorum.
46 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 endure exile in neighbouring countries, or countries far away. 47 But ere long, in their banishment, they will come back to thee with repentant hearts, crying out, poor exiles, We are sinners, we have done amiss, rebels all! 48 In that alien land, the land of their captivity, they will come back to thee with all the purpose of their heart and soul. Then, if they turn in prayer towards the land thou gavest to their fathers, the city of thy choice, and the temple I have built there in thy honour, 49 thou, in heaven, on thy peaceful throne, wilt once more listen to their prayer for aid, wilt maintain their cause still. 50 Thou wilt relent towards thy people, though they have sinned against thee, wilt pardon the wrong their transgressions have done thee, wilt melt the hearts of their captors into pity. 51 Are they not thy own people, thy coveted possession, the men thou didst rescue from Egypt’s furnace of iron? 52 Ever let thy eyes be watchful, to look down upon me, thy servant, and upon thy people, when they cry for aid; give all their requests a hearing. 53 Hast thou not set them apart, among all the peoples of the world, to be thy coveted possession? Was not this thy promise, given through thy servant Moses when thou didst rescue our fathers from Egypt, O Lord our God?
46 Quod si peccaverint tibi (non est enim homo qui non peccet) et iratus tradideris eos inimicis suis, et captivi ducti fuerint in terram inimicorum longe vel prope, 47 et egerint pœnitentiam in corde suo in loco captivitatis, et conversi deprecati te fuerint in captivitate sua, dicentes: Peccavimus: inique egimus, impie gessimus: 48 et reversi fuerint ad te in universo corde suo et tota anima sua in terra inimicorum suorum, ad quam captivi ducti fuerint: et oraverint te contra viam terræ suæ, quam dedisti patribus eorum, et civitatis quam elegisti, et templi quod ædificavi nomini tuo: 49 exaudies in cælo, in firmamento solii tui, orationes eorum et preces eorum, et facies judicium eorum: 50 et propitiaberis populo tuo qui peccavit tibi, et omnibus iniquitatibus eorum quibus prævaricati sunt in te: et dabis misericordiam coram eis qui eos captivos habuerint, ut misereantur eis. 51 Populus enim tuus est, et hæreditas tua, quos eduxisti de terra Ægypti, de medio fornacis ferreæ. 52 Ut sint oculi tui aperti ad deprecationem servi tui, et populi tui Israël, et exaudias eos in universis pro quibus invocaverint te. 53 Tu enim separasti eos tibi in hæreditatem de universis populis terræ, sicut locutus es per Moysen servum tuum quando eduxisti patres nostros de Ægypto, Domine Deus.
54 So prayed king Solomon, so he pleaded with the Lord; and when he had finished, he rose up from before the Lord’s altar, where he had knelt on the ground with his hands outstretched towards heaven, 55 and standing there, gave his blessing aloud to the whole assembly of Israel. 56 Blessed be the Lord, he said, that he has given his people of Israel the repose he promised them; of all the hopes his word through Moses gave us, never one has been left unfulfilled. 57 May the Lord our God be with us still, as he was with our fathers, never forsaking us, never casting us away; 58 may he turn our hearts towards himself, ready to follow every path he has shewn us, keep every command, observance and decree he bade our fathers keep. 59 May this prayer I have uttered before him plead with the Lord our God day and night, to win redress, for me, and for his people Israel, as the time shall need it; 60 proving to the whole world that the Lord alone is God, there can be no other. 61 Wholly be our hearts given to the Lord our God, ready (as we are ready this day) to live by his laws, and keep true to his commandments.
54 Factum est autem, cum complesset Salomon orans Dominum omnem orationem et deprecationem hanc, surrexit de conspectu altaris Domini: utrumque enim genu in terram fixerat, et manus expanderat in cælum. 55 Stetit ergo, et benedixit omni ecclesiæ Israël voce magna, dicens: 56 Benedictus Dominus, qui dedit requiem populo suo Israël, juxta omnia quæ locutus est: non cecidit ne unus quidem sermo ex omnibus bonis quæ locutus est per Moysen servum suum. 57 Sit Dominus Deus noster nobiscum, sicut fuit cum patribus nostris, non derelinquens nos, neque projiciens. 58 Sed inclinet corda nostra ad se, ut ambulemus in universis viis ejus, et custodiamus mandata ejus, et cæremonias ejus, et judicia quæcumque mandavit patribus nostris. 59 Et sint sermones mei isti, quibus deprecatus sum coram Domino, appropinquantes Domino Deo nostro die ac nocte, ut faciat judicium servo suo, et populo suo Israël per singulos dies: 60 ut sciant omnes populi terræ quia Dominus ipse est Deus, et non est ultra absque eo. 61 Sit quoque cor nostrum perfectum cum Domino Deo nostro, ut ambulemus in decretis ejus, et custodiamus mandata ejus, sicut et hodie.
62 Then the king and all Israel with him immolated their victims in the Lord’s presence; 63 twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep were slaughtered as Solomon’s welcome-offering to the Lord. Thus the king and the men of Israel dedicated the temple. 64 That day, the king must needs hallow the middle part of the court before the Lord’s house, burning there the burnt-sacrifice, and the bloodless offerings, and the fat taken from the welcome-victims; there was no room for these on the brazen altar that stood there in the Lord’s presence. 65 High festival king Solomon kept at this time before the Lord our God, and with him a great multitude from the whole land of Israel, that stretched from the pass of Emath down to the River of Egypt. Fourteen days it lasted, a whole week and then a second week;[1] 66 and at last, when the eighth day came, the king sent the people home. So back they went to their dwelling-places, rejoicing with full hearts over all the mercies the Lord had shewn to his servant David, and to his own people of Israel.
62 Igitur rex, et omnis Israël cum eo, immolabant victimas coram Domino. 63 Mactavitque Salomon hostias pacificas, quas immolavit Domino, boum viginti duo millia, et ovium centum viginti millia: et dedicaverunt templum Domini rex et filii Israël. 64 In die illa sanctificavit rex medium atrii quod erat ante domum Domini: fecit quippe holocaustum ibi, et sacrificium, et adipem pacificorum: quoniam altare æreum quod erat coram Domino, minus erat, et capere non poterat holocaustum, et sacrificium, et adipem pacificorum. 65 Fecit ergo Salomon in tempore illo festivitatem celebrem, et omnis Israël cum eo, multitudo magna ab introitu Emath usque ad rivum Ægypti, coram Domino Deo nostro, septem diebus et septem diebus, id est, quatuordecim diebus. 66 Et in die octava dimisit populos: qui benedicentes regi, profecti sunt in tabernacula sua lætantes, et alacri corde super omnibus bonis quæ fecerat Dominus David servo suo, et Israël populo suo.
[1] It is probable that one week was devoted to keeping the feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23.34).
