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ThenSolomonassembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' households of the sons of Israel, to KingSolomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion.
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They brought up the ark of the LORD and the tent of meeting and all the holyutensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levitesbrought them up.
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And KingSolomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificingsomanysheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.
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Then the priestsbrought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the innersanctuary of the house, to the mostholyplace, under the wings of the cherubim.
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But the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before* the innersanctuary, but they could not be seenoutside; they are there to thisday.
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There was nothing in the arkexcept the twotablets of stonewhichMosesputthere at Horeb, where the LORDmade a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
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'Since the day that I brought My peopleIsrael from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, but I choseDavid to be over My peopleIsrael.'
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"Now the LORD has fulfilled His wordwhich He spoke; for I have risen in place of my fatherDavid and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORDpromised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
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"There I have set a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD, which He made with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt."
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He said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, there is noGodlike You in heavenabove* or on earthbeneath*, keepingcovenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walkbefore You with all their heart,
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who have kept with Your servant, my fatherDavid, that which You have promised him; indeed, You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand as it is thisday.
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"Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with Your servantDavid my father that which You have promised him, saying, 'You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, ifonly your sonstakeheed to their way to walkbefore Me as you have walked.'
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"Yet haveregard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayerwhich Your servantpraysbefore You today;
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that Your eyes may be opentowardthishousenight and day, toward the place of which You have said, 'My name shall be there,' to listen to the prayerwhich Your servant shall praytowardthisplace.
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"Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your peopleIsrael, when they praytowardthisplace; hear in heaven Your dwellingplace; hear and forgive.
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then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.
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"When Your peopleIsrael are defeatedbefore an enemy, because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and makesupplication to You in thishouse,
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"When the heavens are shut up and there is norain, because they have sinned against You, and they praytowardthisplace and confess Your name and turn from their sinwhen You afflict them,
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then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your peopleIsrael, indeed, teach them the goodway in which they should walk. And sendrain on Your land, which You have given Your people for an inheritance.
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"If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemybesieges them in the land of their cities, whateverplague, whateversickness there is,
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whatever*prayer or supplication is made by anyman or by all Your peopleIsrael, eachknowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his handstowardthishouse;
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then hear in heaven Your dwellingplace, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whoseheart You know, for You aloneknow the hearts of all the sons of men,
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hear in heaven Your dwellingplace, and do according to all for which the foreignercalls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your peopleIsrael, and that they may know that thishousewhich I have built is called by Your name.
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"When Your peoplego out to battleagainst their enemy, by whateverway You shall send them, and they pray to the LORDtoward the citywhich You have chosen and the housewhich I have built for Your name,
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"When they sin against You (for there is nomanwho does not sin ) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off ornear;
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if they takethought in the landwhere* they have been takencaptive, and repent and makesupplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and have committediniquity, we have actedwickedly ';
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if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemieswho have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their landwhich You have given to their fathers, the citywhich You have chosen, and the housewhich I have built for Your name;
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and forgive Your peoplewho have sinned against You and all their transgressionswhich they have transgressed against You, and make them objects of compassionbefore those who have taken them captive, that they may havecompassion on them
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that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your peopleIsrael, to listen to them whenever they call to You.
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"For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spokethroughMoses Your servant, when You brought our fathersforth from Egypt, O LordGOD."
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When Solomon had finishedprayingthisentireprayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his handsspread toward heaven.
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"Blessed be the LORD, who has givenrest to His peopleIsrael, according to all that He promised; not oneword has failed of all His goodpromise, which He promisedthroughMoses His servant.
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that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.
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"And may thesewords of mine, with which I have madesupplicationbefore the LORD, be near to the LORD our Godday and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His peopleIsrael, as eachdayrequires,
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Solomonoffered for the sacrifice of peaceofferings, which he offered to the LORD, 22,000**oxen and 120,000**sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israeldedicated the house of the LORD.
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On the sameday the kingconsecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, becausethere he offered the burntoffering and the grain offering and the fat of the peaceofferings; for the bronzealtar that was before the LORD was toosmall to hold the burntoffering and the grain offering and the fat of the peaceofferings.
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So Solomonobserved the feast at that time, and allIsrael with him, a greatassembly from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, for sevendays and seven more days, even fourteen*days.
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On the eighthday he sent the peopleaway and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tentsjoyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.