5
1 All the work Solomon did on the Lord’s temple was finished. He brought the holy things that had belonged to his father David—the silver, gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the storerooms of God’s temple.
The LORD Comes to His Temple
(1 Kings 8:1–11)
2 Then Solomon assembled the respected leaders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the Israelite families. They came to Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord’s promise from the City of David (that is, Zion). 3 All the men of Israel gathered around the king at the Festival ⌞of Booths⌟ in the seventh month.
4 When all the leaders of Israel had arrived, the Levites picked up the ark. 5 They brought the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils in it ⌞to the temple⌟. The priests and the Levites carried them 6 while King Solomon and the whole assembly from Israel were offering countless sheep and cattle sacrifices in front of the ark. 7 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s promise to its place in the inner room of the temple (the most holy place) under the wings of the angels.* Or “cherubim.”
8 The angels’ outstretched wings were over the place where the ark ⌞rested⌟ so that the angels became a covering above the ark and its poles. 9 The poles were so long that their ends could be seen in the holy place by anyone standing in front of the inner room,† A few Hebrew manuscripts, 1 Kings 8:8, Greek; other Hebrew manuscripts “The poles extended so long from the ark that their ends could be seen by anyone standing in front of the inner room.” but they couldn’t be seen outside. (They are still there today.) 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a promise to the Israelites after they left Egypt.
11 All the priests who were present had performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy to God without regard to staying in their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, and their relatives—were dressed in fine linen and stood east of the altar with cymbals, harps, and lyres. With the musicians were 120 priests blowing trumpets. When the priests left the holy place,‡ The first part of verse 11 (in Hebrew) has been placed just before verse 13 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English. 13 the trumpeters and singers praised and thanked the Lord in unison. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, they sang in praise to the Lord: “He is good; his mercy endures forever.” Then the Lord’s temple was filled with a cloud. 14 The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. The Lord’s glory filled God’s temple.
*5:7 Or “cherubim.”
†5:9 A few Hebrew manuscripts, 1 Kings 8:8, Greek; other Hebrew manuscripts “The poles extended so long from the ark that their ends could be seen by anyone standing in front of the inner room.”
‡5:12 The first part of verse 11 (in Hebrew) has been placed just before verse 13 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.