II Chronicles 6

¹Thanne Salomon seide, The Lord bihiyte, that he wolde dwelle in derknesse;

²forsothe I haue bilde an hows to his name, that he schulde dwelle there with outen ende.

³And Salomon turnede his face, and blesside al the multitude of Israel; for al the cumpeny stood ententif; and he seide,

⁴Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for he fillide in werk that thing, that he spak to Dauid, my fadir, and seide,

⁵Fro the dai in which Y ledde my puple out of the lond of Egipt, Y chees not a citee of alle the lynagis of Israel, that an hows schulde be bildid therynne to my name, nether Y chees ony other man, that he schulde be duyk on my puple Israel;

⁶but Y chees Jerusalem, that my name be therynne, and Y chees Dauid, to ordeyne hym on my puple Israel.

⁷And whanne it was of the wille of Dauid, my fadir, to bilde an hows to the name of the Lord God of Israel,

⁸the Lord seide to hym, For this was thi wille, `that thou woldist bilde an hows to my name, sotheli thou didist wel,

⁹hauynge suche a wil, but thou schalt not bilde an hows to me; netheles the sone, that schal go out of thi leendis, he schal bilde an hows to my name.

¹⁰Therfor the Lord hath fillid his word, which he spak; and Y roos for Dauid, my fader, and Y sat on the trone of Israel, as the Lord spak, and Y bildide an hous to the name of the Lord God of Israel;

¹¹and I haue put therynne the arke, in which is the couenaunt of the Lord, which he `couenauntide with the sones of Israel.

¹²Therfor Salomon stood bifor the auter of the Lord euene ayens al the multitude of Israel, and stretchide forth his hondis.

¹³For Salomon hadde maad a brasun foundement, and hadde set it in the myddis of the greet hows, and it hadde fyue cubitis of lengthe, and fyue of breede, and thre cubitis of heiythe, and he stood theron; and fro that tyme he knelide ayens al the multitude of Israel, and reiside the hondis in to heuene,

¹⁴and seide, Lord God of Israel, noon is lijk thee; `thou art God in heuene and in erthe, which kepist couenaunt and mercy with thi seruauntis, that goon bifor thee in al her herte;

¹⁵which hast youe to Dauid thi seruaunt, my fadir, what euer thingis thou hast spoke to hym, and thow hast fillid in werk tho thingis, whiche thou bihiytist bi mouth, as also present tyme preueth.

¹⁶Now therfor, Lord God of Israel, fille thou to thi seruaunt my fadir Dauid, what euer thingis thou hast spoke, seiynge, A man of thee schal not faile bifor me, that schal sitte on the trone of Israel; so netheles if thi sones kepen my weies, and goon in my lawe, as and thou hast go bifor me.

¹⁷And now, Lord God of Israel, thi word be maad stidefast, which thou spakist to thi seruaunt Dauid.

¹⁸Therfor whether it is leueful, that the Lord dwelle with men on erthe? If heuene and the heuenes of heuenes `taken not thee, how myche more this hows, which Y haue bildid?

¹⁹But herto oneli it is maad, that thou, my Lord God, biholde the preier of thi seruaunt, and the bisechyng of hym, and that thou here the preieris, whiche thi seruaunt schedith bifor thee;

²⁰that thou opyne thin iyen on this hows bi dayes and nyytis, on the place in which thou bihiytist, that thi name schulde be clepid,

²¹and that thou woldist here the preier, which thi seruaunt preieth therynne. Here thou the preieris of thi seruaunt, and of thi puple Israel; who euer preieth in this place, here thou fro thi dwellyng place, that is, fro heuenes, and do thou merci.

²²If ony man synneth ayens his neiybore, and cometh redi to swere ayens him, and byndith hym silf with cursyng bifor the auter in this hows,

²³thou schalt here fro heuene, and schalt do the doom of thi seruauntis; so that thou yelde to the wickid man his weie in to his owne heed, and that thou venge the iust man, and yelde to hym after his riytfulnesse.

²⁴If thi puple Israel is ouercomen of enemyes, for thei schulen do synne ayens thee, and if thei conuertid doen penaunce, and bisechen thi name, and preien in this place,

²⁵thou schalt here fro heuene, and do thou mercy to the synne of thi puple Israel, and brynge hem ayen `in to the lond, which thou hast youe to hem, and to `the fadris of hem.

²⁶If whanne heuene is closid, reyn come not doun for the synne of thi puple, and thei bisechen thee in this place, and knowlechen to thi name, and ben turned fro her synnes, whanne thou hast turmentid hem,

²⁷here thou, Lord, fro heuene, and foryyue thou synnes to thi seruauntis, and to thi puple Israel, and teche thou hem a good weie, bi which thei schulen entre, and yyue thou reyn to the lond, which thou hast youe to thi puple to haue in possessioun.

²⁸If hungur risith in the lond, and pestilence, and rust, and wynd distriynge cornes, and a locuste, and bruke cometh, and if enemyes bisegen the yatis of the citee, aftir that the cuntreis ben distried, and al veniaunce and sikenesse oppressith;

²⁹if ony of thi puple Israel bisechith, and knowith his veniaunce and sikenesse, and if he spredith abrood hise hondis in this hows,

³⁰thou schalt here fro heuene, that is, fro thin hiye dwellyng place, and do thou mercy, and yelde thou to ech man aftir hise weies, whiche thou knowist, that he hath in his herte; for thou aloone knowist the hertis of the sones of men;

³¹that thei drede thee, and go in thi weies in alle daies, in which thei lyuen on the face of erthe, which thou hast youe to oure fadris.

³²Also thou schalt here fro heuene, thi moost stidfast dwellyng place, a straunger, which is not of thi puple Israel, if he cometh fro a fer lond for thi greet name, and for thi stronge hond, and arm holdun forth, `and preye in this place;

³³and thou schalt do alle thingis, for which thilke pilgrym `inwardli clepith thee, that alle the puplis of erthe knowe thi name, and drede thee, as thi puple Israel doith; and that thei knowe, that thi name is clepid on this hows, which Y haue bildid to thi name.

³⁴If thi puple goith out to batel ayens hise aduersaries, bi the weie in which thou sendist hem, thei schulen worschipe thee ayens the weie in which this citee is, which thou hast chose, and the hows which Y bildide to thi name,

³⁵that thou here fro heuene her preieris and bisechyng, and do veniaunce.

³⁶Forsothe if thei synnen ayens thee, for no man is that synneth not, and if thou art wrooth to hem, and bitakist hem to enemyes; and enemyes leden hem prisoneris in to a fer lond, ether certis which lond is nyy;

³⁷and if thei ben conuertid in her herte in the lond, to which thei ben led prisoneris, and thei don penaunce, and bisechen thee in the lond of her caitifte, and seien, We han synned, we han do wickidly, we diden vniustli;

³⁸and if thei turnen ayen to thee in al her herte, and in al her soule, in the lond of her caitifte, to which thei ben led, thei schulen worschipe thee ayens the weie of her lond, which thou hast youe to the fadris of hem, and of the citee which thou hast chose, and of the hows which Y bildide to thi name; that thou here fro heuene,

³⁹that is, fro thi stidefast dwellyng place, the preieris of hem, and that thou make dom, and foryyue to thi puple, thouy `it be synful; for thou art my God;

⁴⁰Y biseche, be thin iyen openyd, and thin eeris be ententif to the preier which is maad in this place.

⁴¹Now therfor, Lord God, rise in to thi reste, thou and the arke of thi strengthe; Lord God, thi preestis be clothid with helthe, and thi hooli men be glad in goodis.

⁴²Lord God, turne thou not a weie the face of thi crist; haue thou mynde on the mercyes of Dauid thi seruaunt.

II Chronicles 6

¹Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

²But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

³And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

⁴And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,

⁵Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:

⁶But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

⁷Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

⁸But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:

⁹Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

¹⁰The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

¹¹And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.

¹²And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

¹³For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,

¹⁴And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

¹⁵Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

¹⁶Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

¹⁷Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.

¹⁸But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

¹⁹Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:

²⁰That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.

²¹Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.

²²If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

²³Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.

²⁴And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;

²⁵Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.

²⁶When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

²⁷Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.

²⁸If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:

²⁹Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:

³⁰Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)

³¹That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

³²Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;

³³Then hear thou from the heavens, even from 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, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

³⁴If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;

³⁵Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

³⁶If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;

³⁷Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;

³⁸If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

³⁹Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.

⁴⁰Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

⁴¹Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

⁴²O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.