1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5, Revelation 14 - 15, Song of Songs 4

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

8^aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ^bthe heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^cto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from ^dthe city of David, which is Zion. ²And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at ^athe feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^athe priests carried the ark. ⁴And they brought up the ark of Yahweh and ^athe tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who congregated to him being ^awith him before the ark, were sacrificing ¹so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁶Then ^athe priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh ^bto its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, ^cunder the wings of the cherubim. ⁷For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above. ⁸But ^athe poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day. ⁹^aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where ^bYahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place, ^athe cloud filled the house of Yahweh, ¹¹so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

Solomon Blesses the People

¹²^aThen Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that ^bHe would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.

¹³“^aI have surely built You a lofty house,^bA place for Your dwelling forever.”

¹⁴Then the king turned his face around and ^ablessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵And he said, “^aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^bwho spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying, ¹⁶‘^aSince the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that ^bMy name might be there, but ^cI have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ ¹⁷“^aAnd it was ¹in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁸“But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was ¹in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ²in your heart. ¹⁹‘^aNevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will ^bcome forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’ ²⁰“And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and ^aI have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh ¹promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ²¹“And there I have set a place for the ark, ^ain which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Israel

²²Then ^aSolomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and ^bspread out his hands toward heaven. ²³And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^athere is no god like You in heaven above or upon earth beneath, ^bkeeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart, ²⁴who have kept with Your ¹servant, my father David, that which You have ²promised him; indeed, You have ³promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand as it is this day. ²⁵“So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your ¹servant David my father that which You have ²promised him, saying, ‘^aYou shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their way to walk as you have walked before Me.’ ²⁶“So now, O God of Israel, let Your word truly ¹endure ^awhich You have spoken to Your ²servant, my father David.

²⁷“But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, ^aheaven and the ¹highest heaven cannot ²contain You; how much less this house which I have built! ²⁸“Yet have regard to the ^aprayer of Your slave and to his supplication, O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your slave prays before You today; ²⁹^athat Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^bthe place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place. ³⁰“^aAnd listen to the supplication of Your slave and of Your people Israel, ^bwhen they pray toward this place; listen in heaven Your dwelling place; listen and ^cforgive.

³¹“^aIf a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ³²then listen in heaven and act and judge Your slaves, ^acondemning the wicked by ¹bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by ²bringing him reward according to his righteousness.

³³“^aWhen Your people Israel are ¹defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, ^bif they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house, ³⁴then listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

³⁵“^aWhen the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them, ³⁶then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; ^aindeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And ^bgive rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

³⁷“^aIf there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their ¹cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each of whom knows the ¹affliction of his own heart, and spreads his ²hands toward this house; ³⁹then listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to each according to all his ways, ^awhose heart You know, for ^bYou alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, ⁴⁰that they may ¹fear You all the days that they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹“Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake ⁴²(for they will hear of Your great name ^aand Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^athat all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to ¹fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.

⁴⁴“When Your people go out to battle against ¹their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and ^athey pray to Yahweh ²toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, ⁴⁵then listen in heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.

⁴⁶“When they sin against You (for ^athere is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that ¹they take them away captive ^bto the land of the enemy, far off or near; ⁴⁷^aand if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and ¹return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘^bWe have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’; ⁴⁸^aand if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and ^bpray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; ⁴⁹then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them, ⁵⁰and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and ^agive them over as objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹(^afor they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, ^bfrom the midst of the iron furnace), ⁵²^athat Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your slave and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. ⁵³“For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, ^aas You spoke by the hand of Moses Your ¹servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.”

Solomon Blesses Yahweh

⁵⁴^aNow it happened that when Solomon had ¹finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to Yahweh, ^bhe arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his ²hands spread toward heaven. ⁵⁵And he stood and ^ablessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶“Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, ^aaccording to all that He ¹promised; ^bnot one promise has ²failed of all His good ³promises, which He ⁴promised by the hand of Moses His ⁵servant. ⁵⁷“May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; ^amay He not forsake us or abandon us, ⁵⁸that ^aHe may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹“And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that He may do justice for His slave and justice for His people Israel, ¹as each day requires, ⁶⁰so ^athat all the peoples of the earth may know that ^bYahweh is God; there is no one else. ⁶¹“^aLet your heart therefore be ¹wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

The Offering for the House of Yahweh

⁶²^aNow the king and all Israel with him were ^boffering sacrifices before Yahweh. ⁶³And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. ^aSo the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh. ⁶⁴On the same day the king set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he ¹offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings; for ^athe bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵So ^aSolomon celebrated the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly ^bfrom ¹Lebo-hamath ^cto the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. ⁶⁶On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His ¹servant and to Israel His people.

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

5^aThus all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was finished. And Solomon brought in the ¹^,^bthings set apart as holy by his father David, even the silver and the gold and all the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

²^aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel to Jerusalem, ^bto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion. ³^aAnd all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at ^bthe feast, that is in the seventh month. ⁴Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^athe Levites carried the ark. ⁵And they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. ⁶And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who congregated with him before the ark, were sacrificing ¹so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁷Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above. ⁹But the poles were so long that ^athe ends of the poles of the ark could be seen before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and ¹they are there to this day. ¹⁰^aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of Yahweh Fills His House

¹¹Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard ^ato divisions), ¹²and all the Levitical singers, ^aAsaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, ^bwith cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests ^cblowing trumpets ¹³in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to give thanks to Yahweh, and when they lifted up their voice ^aaccompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised Yahweh saying, “^bHe indeed is good for His lovingkindness endures forever,” then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for ^athe glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14Then I looked, and behold, ^athe Lamb was standing on ^bMount Zion, and with Him ^c144,000, having ^dHis name and the ^ename of His Father written ^fon their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven, like ^athe sound of many waters and like the ^bsound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of ^charpists playing on their harps. ³And they *¹sang ^aa new song before the throne and before the ^bfour living creatures and the ^celders. And ^dno one could learn that song except the ^e144,000 who had been ^fpurchased from the earth. ⁴^aThese are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who ^bfollow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been ^cpurchased from among men ^das first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵And ^ano lie was found in their mouth; they are ^bblameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in ^amidheaven, having ^ban eternal gospel to proclaim to ^cthose who ¹inhabit the earth, and to ^devery nation and tribe and tongue and people. ⁷And he said with a loud voice, “^aFear God, and ^bgive Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who ^cmade the heaven and the earth and sea and ^dsprings of waters.”

⁸And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “¹^,^aFallen, fallen is ^bBabylon the great, she who has ^cmade all the nations drink of the ^dwine of the wrath of her ²sexual immorality.”

⁹Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^aworships the beast and his ^bimage, and receives a ^cmark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰and he also will drink of the ^awine of the wrath of God, which is mixed ¹in full strength ^bin the cup of His rage, and he will be tormented with ^cfire and ²brimstone in the presence of the ^dholy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹“And the ^asmoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; ^bthey have no rest day and night, those who ^cworship the beast and his ^dimage, and ¹whoever receives the ^emark of his name.” ¹²Here is ^athe perseverance of the saints who ^bkeep the commandments of God and ¹^,^ctheir faith in Jesus.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘^aBlessed are the dead who ^bdie in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” ^csays the Spirit, “so that they may ^drest from their labors, for their ^edeeds follow with them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a ^awhite cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one ^blike ¹a son of man, having a golden ^ccrown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵And another angel ^acame out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, “¹^,^bPut in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the ^charvest of the earth ²is ripe.” ¹⁶Then He who sits on the cloud ¹swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷And another angel ^acame out of the sanctuary which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸Then another angel, ^athe one who has authority over fire, came out from ^bthe altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “¹^,^cPut in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters ²from the vine of the earth, ^dbecause her grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹So the angel ¹swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into ^athe great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰And ^athe wine press was trodden ^boutside the city, and ^cblood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, ¹for a distance of ²1,600 stadia.

Seven Angels, Seven Plagues

15Then I saw ^aanother sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ^bseven angels who have ^cseven plagues, which are ^dthe last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

²Then I saw something like a ^asea of glass mixed with fire, and those who have ^bovercome ¹the ^cbeast and ^dhis image and the ^enumber of his name, standing on the ^fsea of glass, having ^gharps of God. ³And they *sang the ^asong of Moses, ^bthe slave of God, and the ^csong of the Lamb, saying, “^dGreat and marvelous are Your works,^eO ¹Lord God, the Almighty;Righteous and true are Your ways,^fKing of the ²nations!

⁴“^aWho will not fear, O ¹Lord, and glorify Your name?For You alone are holy;For ^ball the nations will come and worship before You,For Your ²^,^crighteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵And after these things I looked, and ^athe sanctuary of the ^btabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, ⁶and the ^aseven angels who have the seven plagues ^bcame out of the sanctuary, clothed in ¹linen, clean and bright, and ^cgirded around their chests with golden sashes. ⁷Then one of the ^afour living creatures gave to the ^bseven angels seven ^cgolden bowls full of the ^dwrath of God, who ^elives forever and ever. ⁸And the sanctuary was filled with ^asmoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

Solomon Praises the Beauty of His Bride

4“¹Behold, you are beautiful, ^amy darling,Behold, you are beautiful!Your ^beyes are like doves ^cbehind your veil;Your ^dhair is like a flock of goatsThat have leapt down from Mount ^eGilead.²“Your ^ateeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewesWhich have come up from their washing,All of which bear twins,And not one among them has ¹lost her young.³“Your lips are like a ^ascarlet thread,And your ^bmouth is lovely.Your ^ctemples are like a slice of a pomegranateBehind your veil.⁴“Your ^aneck is like the tower of David,Built ¹with rows of stonesOn which are ^bhung one thousand shields,All the small ^cshields of the mighty men.⁵“Your ^atwo breasts are like two fawns,Twins of a gazelleWhich ¹^,^bfeed among the lilies.⁶“^aUntil the day breathesAnd the shadows flee,I will go my way to the mountain of ^bmyrrhAnd to the hill of ^cfrankincense.⁷“^aYou are altogether beautiful, my darling,And there is no blemish in you.⁸“Come with me from ^aLebanon, my ^bbride,May you come with me from Lebanon.¹Journey down from the top of ^cAmana,From the top of ^dSenir and Hermon,From the dens of lions,From the mountains of leopards.⁹“You have made my heart beat faster, ^amy sister, my bride;You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes,With a single strand of your ^bnecklace.¹⁰“^aHow beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!How much ^bbetter is your love than wine,And the ^cfragrance of your oilsThan all kinds of ¹spices!¹¹“Your lips, my bride, ^adrip ^bhoney from the comb;Honey and milk are under your tongue,And the fragrance of your garments is like the ^cfragrance of Lebanon.¹²“A garden locked is my sister, my bride,A ¹rock garden locked, a ^aspring ^bsealed up.¹³“Your shoots are ¹an ^aorchard of ^bpomegranatesWith ^cchoice fruits, ^dhenna with nard plants,¹⁴^aNard and saffron, calamus and ^bcinnamon,With all the trees of ^cfrankincense,^dMyrrh and aloes, along with all the finest ¹spices.¹⁵“You are a garden spring,A well of ¹^,^afresh water,And streams flowing from Lebanon.”¹⁶“¹Awake, O north wind,And come, wind of the south;Make my ^agarden breathe out fragrance,Let its ²spices flow forth.May ^bmy beloved come into his gardenAnd eat its ^cchoice fruits!”