I Kings 8

¹Thanne alle the gretter men in birthe in Israel, with the princes of lynagis, and the duykis of meynees of the sones of Israel, weren gaderid to kyng Salomon, in to Jerusalem, that thei schulden bere the arke of boond of pees of the Lord fro the citee of Dauid, that is, fro Syon.

²And al Israel cam to gidere in the moneth Bethanym, in the solempne dai; thilke is the seuenthe moneth.

³And alle the elde men of Israel camen; and the preestis token the arke,

⁴and baren the arke of the Lord, and the tabernacle of boond of pees, and alle vessels of the seyntuarye, that weren in the tabernacle; and the preestis and dekenes baren tho.

⁵Sotheli kyng Salomon, and al the multitude of Israel, that camen togidere to hym, yede with hym bifor the arke; and thei offriden scheep and oxis, with out gessyng and noumbre.

⁶And prestis brouyten the arke of boond of pees of the Lord in to his place, in to Goddis answerynge place of the temple, in to the hooli of hooli thingis, vndur the wengis of cherubyns.

⁷Forsothe cherubyns spredden forth wengis ouer the place of the arke; and hiliden the arke, and the barris therof aboue.

⁸And whanne the barris stoden forth, and the hiynesse of tho apperiden with out the seyntuarye, bifor `Goddis answerynge place, tho apperyden no ferther with outforth; whiche barris also weren there `til in to present day.

⁹Forsothe in the arke is noon other thing, no but twei tablis of stoon, whiche tablis Moyses in Oreb hadde put in the ark, whanne the Lord made boond of pees with the sones of Israel, whanne thei yeden out of the loond of Egipt.

¹⁰Forsothe it was doon whanne the preestis hadden go out of the seyntuarie, a cloude fillide the hows of the Lord;

¹¹and the preestis myyten not stonde and mynystre, for the cloude; for whi the glorye of the Lord hadde fillid the hows of the Lord.

¹²Thanne Salomon seide, The Lord seide, that he wolde dwelle in a cloude.

¹³Y bildynge haue bildid an hows in to thi dwelling place, in to thi moost stidefast trone with outen ende.

¹⁴And the kyng turnede his face, and blesside al the chirche in Israel; for al the chirche of Israel stood.

¹⁵And Salomon seide, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, that spak with his mouth to Dauid, my fadir, and performyde in hise hondis, and seide,

¹⁶Fro the dai in which Y ledde my puple Israel out of Egipt, Y chees not a citee of alle the lynagis of Israel, that an hows schulde be bildid, and my name schulde be there; but Y chees Dauid, that he schulde be ouer my puple Israel.

¹⁷And Dauid, my fadir, wolde bilde an hows to the name of the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁸And the Lord seide to Dauid, my fadir, That thou thouytist in thin herte to bilde an hows to my name, thou didist wel, tretynge this same thing in soule;

¹⁹netheles thou schalt not bilde an hows to me, but thi sone, that schal go out of thi reynes, he schal bilde an hows to my name.

²⁰The Lord hath confermyd his word, which he spak; and Y stood for Dauid, my fadir, and Y sat on the trone of Israel, as the Lord spak; and Y haue bildid an hows to the name of the Lord God of Israel.

²¹And Y haue ordeyned there a place of the arke, in which arke the boond of pees of the Lord is, which he smoot with oure fadris, whanne thei yeden out of the lond of Egipt.

²²Forsothe Salomon stood bifoor the auter of the Lord, in the siyt of the chirch of Israel; and he helde forth hise hondis ayens heuene,

²³and seide, Lord God of Israel, no God in heuene aboue, nether on erthe bynethe, is lijk thee, which kepist couenaunt and mercy to thi seruauntis, that goon bifor thee in al her herte;

²⁴and thou kepist to Dauid, my fadir, thi seruaunt, tho thingis whiche thou hast spoke to him; bi mouth thou hast spoke, and bi hondis thou hast fillid, as this day preueth.

²⁵Now therfor, Lord God of Israel, kepe thou to thi seruaunt Dauid, my fadir, tho thingis whiche thou spakist to hym, and seidist, A man of thee schal not be taken awei bifor me, which man schal sitte on the trone of Israel, so netheles if thi sones kepen thi weye, that thei go bifor me, as thou yedist in my siyt.

²⁶And now, Lord God of Israel, thi wordis be maad stidfast, whiche thou spakist to thi seruaunt Dauid, my fadir.

²⁷Therfor whether it is to gesse, that God dwellith verily on erthe; for if heuene, and heuene of heuenes moun not take thee, how myche more this hows, which Y bildid to thee, `mai not take thee.

²⁸But, my Lord God, biholde thou to the preiere of thi seruaunt, and to the bisechyngis of hym; here thou the `ympne, ether preysing, and preiere, which thi seruaunt preieth bifor thee to day;

²⁹that thin iyen be openyd on this hows bi niyt and dai, on the hows, of which thou seidist, My name schal be there; that thou here the preier, which thi seruaunt preieth to thee in this place; that thou here the bisechyng of thi seruaunt,

³⁰and of thi puple Israel, what euer thing he preieth in this place, and here thou in the place of thi dwellyng in heuene; and whanne thou hast herd, thou schalt be mercyful.

³¹If a man synneth ayens a man, and hath ony ooth, bi which he is holdun boundun, and cometh for the ooth in to thin hows, bifor thin auter, thou schalt here in heuene,

³²and thou schalt do, and thou schalt deme thi seruauntis; and thou schalt condempne the wickid man, and schalt yelde his weie on his heed, and thou schalt iustifie the iust man, and schalt yelde to hym vp his riytfulnesse.

³³If thi puple Israel fleeth hise enemyes, for he schal do synne to thee, and thei doen penaunce, and knoulechen to thi greet name, and comen, and worschipen, and bisechen thee in this hows,

³⁴here thou in heuene, and foryyue thou the synne of thi puple; and thou schalt lede hem ayen in to the lond, which thou hast youe to the fadris of hem.

³⁵If heuene is closid, and reyneth not for the synnes of hem, and thei preyen in this place, and doen penaunce to thi name, and ben conuertid fro her synnes for her turment,

³⁶here thou hem in heuene, and foryyue thou the synnes of thi seruauntis, and of thi puple Israel, and schewe thou to hem good weie, bi which thei schulen go, and yyue thou reyn to hem on the lond, which thou hast youe to hem in to possessioun.

³⁷If hungur risith in the lond, ether pestilence is, ether corrupt eyr is, ether rust, ether locuste, ether myldew, and his enemy turmentith hym, and bisegith the yatis, al wounde, al sikenesse, al cursyng,

³⁸and wichyng of yuel, that bifallith to ech man of thi puple Israel, if ony man knowith the wounde of his herte, and holdith forth hise hondis in this hows,

³⁹thou schalt here in heuene, in the place of thi dwellyng, and thou schalt do mercy, and thou schalt do that thou yyue to ech man vpe alle hise weies, as thou seest his herte; for thou aloone knowist the herte of alle the sones of men,

⁴⁰that thei drede thee in alle daies in whiche thei lyuen on the face of the lond, which thou hast youe to oure fadrys.

⁴¹Ferthermore and whanne an alien, which is not of thi puple Israel, cometh fro a fer lond for thi name; for thi grete name, and thi strong hond,

⁴²and thin arm `holdun forth schal be herd euery where; therfor whanne he cometh, and preieth in this place,

⁴³thou schalt here in heuene, in the firmament of thi dwellyng place, and thou schalt do alle thingis, for whiche the alien clepith thee, that alle puplis of londis lerne to drede thi name, as thi puple Israel doith, and preue, that thi name is clepid on this hows, which Y bildide.

⁴⁴If thi puple goith out to batel ayens hise enemyes, bi the weie whidir euer thou sendist hem, thei schulen preye thee ayens the weie of the citee which thou hast chose, and ayens the hows which Y bildide to thi name,

⁴⁵and thou schalt here in heuene the preyeris of hem, and the bisechyngis of hem, and thou schalt make the doom of hem.

⁴⁶That if thei synnen to thee, for no man is that synneth not, and thou art wrooth, and bitakist hem to her enemyes, and thei ben led prisoneris in to the lond of enemyes,

⁴⁷fer ether nyy, and thei doon penaunce in her herte in the place of prisonyng, and ben conuertid, and bisechen in her prisonyng, and seien, We han synned, we han do wickidli, we han do vnfeithfuli;

⁴⁸and thei turnen ayen to thee in al her herte and al her soule, in the lond of her enemyes, to which thei ben led prisoneris, and thei preyen thee ayens the weie of her lond which thou hast youe to her fadris, and of the citee which thou hast chose, and of the temple which Y bildide to thi name, thou schalt here in heuene,

⁴⁹in the firmament of thi seete, the preiers of hem, and the bisechingis of hem, and thou shalt make the doom of hem;

⁵⁰and thou schalt be merciful to thi puple, that synnede to thee, and to alle the wickidnessis, bi whiche thei trespassiden ayens thee; and thou schalt do merci bifor tho men, that hadden hem prisoneris, that tho men do mercy to hem.

⁵¹For it is thi puple, and thin erytage, whiche thou leddist out of the lond of Egipt, fro the myddis of yrone furneis;

⁵²that thin yyen be opyn to the bisechyng of thi seruaunt, and of thi puple Israel; and thou schalt here hem in alle thingis, for whiche thei clepen thee.

⁵³For thou hast departid hem to thee in to heritage fro alle the puplis of erthe, as thou spakist bi Moyses, thi seruaunt, whanne thou, Lord God, leddist oure fadris out of Egipt.

⁵⁴Forsothe it was don, whanne Salomon, preiynge the Lord, hadde fillid al this preier and bisechyng, he roos fro the siyt of the auter of the Lord; for he hadde set fast euer either kne to the erthe, and hadde holde forth the hondis to heuene.

⁵⁵Therfor he stood, and blesside al the chirche of Israel, and seide with greet vois,

⁵⁶Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, that yaf reste to his puple Israel, bi alle thingis whiche he spak; a word felde not doun, sotheli nether oon, of alle goodis whiche he spak bi Moises, his seruaunt.

⁵⁷Oure Lord God be with vs, as he was with oure fadris, and forsake not vs, nether caste awey;

⁵⁸but bowe he oure hertis to hym silf, that we go in alle hise weies, and kepe hise comaundementis, and cerymonyes, and domes, whiche euere he comaundide to oure fadris.

⁵⁹And these wordis of me, bi whiche Y preiede bifor the Lord, be neiyynge to oure Lord God bi dai and niyt, that he make doom to his seruaunt, and to his puple Israel bi alle daies;

⁶⁰and alle the puplis of erthe wite, that the Lord hym silf is God, and noon `is ouer `with out hym.

⁶¹Also oure herte be perfit with oure Lord God, that we go in hise domes, and kepe hise comaundementis, as and to dai.

⁶²Therfor the kyng, and al Israel with hym, offriden sacrifices bifor the Lord.

⁶³And Salomon killide pesible sacrifices, whiche he offride to the Lord; of oxis two and twenti thousynde, and of scheep sixe score thousynde; and the king and the sones of Israel halewiden the temple of the Lord.

⁶⁴In that dai the kyng halewide the myddil of the greet street, that was bifor the hows of the Lord; for he made there brent sacrifice, and sacrifice, and the innere fatnesse of pesible thingis; for the brasun auter that was bifor the Lord, was to litil, and myyte not take the brent sacrifice, and the sacrifice, and the ynnere fatnesse of pesible thingis.

⁶⁵Therfor Salomon made in that tyme a solempne feeste, and al Israel with hym, a grete multitude, fro the entryng of Emath `til to the stronde of Egipt, bifor oure Lord God, in seuene daies and seuene daies, that is, fourtene daies.

⁶⁶And in the eiythe day he delyueryde the puplis, whiche blessiden the kyng, and yeden forth in to her tabernaclis, and weren glade and of ioyful herte on alle the goodis whiche God hadde do to Dauid, his seruaunt, and to Israel, his puple.

I Kings 8

¹Then 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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,

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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.

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.

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

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?

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:

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.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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;

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:

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;)

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

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;

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.

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:

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

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;

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;

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:

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

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:

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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:

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.