1 Kings 8:22-61

Solomon prays in the temple

22 Then Solomon stood in front of the Lord's altar. All the Israelite people who had come together there could see him. He lifted up his hands towards the sky. 23 He prayed,

8:22‘the sky’ or ‘heaven

Lord, Israel's God, there is no God like you, either in heaven above or down here on the earth. You continue to do what you have promised to do for your people. You faithfully love those who want to serve you. 24 You have done what you promised to do for your servant, my father David. You have used your power to finish today everything that you said you would do. 25 Now Lord, Israel's God, there is another promise that you spoke to my father David. I pray that you will do that too. You said to David, “There will always be one of your descendants to rule Israel as my chosen king. But for this to happen, your sons must be careful to serve me well, as you have done.” 26 So now, God of Israel, please cause what you promised to my father, your servant David, to happen.

27 But surely God, you do not live on the earth! The whole sky, or even heaven itself, is too small to contain you! So how can you live in this temple that I have built? 28 But Lord, my God, please listen to my prayer, as I ask you for help. Please answer me, your servant, because I need your help today. 29 Watch over this temple and take care of it day and night. This is the place about which you said, “People will give honour to my name there.” Please answer my prayers when I turn towards this place to pray to you. 30 Hear the prayers of me, your servant, and the prayers of your people, the Israelites. Please answer us when we turn towards this place and we pray to you. Hear us from heaven, the place where you live. And when we pray, forgive us for our sins.

31 Somebody may do a bad thing against another person. Then he may come to this temple and stand in front of your altar. He may say to you that he is not guilty of any wrong thing. 32 Then listen from heaven to what these people are saying. Decide who is right. Punish the guilty person as he deserves. Show clearly that the other person is right, because he has not done any wrong thing.

33 Perhaps an enemy will win against your people, the Israelites, because we have not obeyed you. But then your people may turn back to you and worship you. They may come into this temple and pray that you will help them. 34 If they do that, please hear them from heaven! Please forgive the sins of your people, the Israelites. Please bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors.

35 Sometimes, there may be no rain from the sky because your people have not obeyed you. Then they may turn towards this place and pray to you. They may give honour to your name and turn away from their sins, because you have punished them. 36 If they do that, please hear them from heaven! Please forgive the sins of your servants, your people, the Israelites. Teach them to live in the right way. And please send rain onto this land that you gave to your people to belong to them for ever.

37 Sometimes, there may be other troubles in our land. There may be a famine or a bad disease. Our crops may not grow and our animals may be ill. Locusts may destroy our crops. An enemy may attack some cities in our land. Or there may be other kinds of disease or trouble. 38 Then, some of your people may pray to you and ask you for help. If someone is sad and upset, he may turn towards this temple and lift up his hands in prayer. 39 If someone does that, please hear him from your home in heaven. Please forgive the sins of your people and help them. Only you know what people are thinking. So please give to each person as they deserve. 40 Then your people will respect and obey you as they live in this land that you gave to our ancestors.

41 Foreigners, who do not belong to your people, the Israelites, will hear how great you are. Then they will come here from other countries far away. 42 They will hear about you and your power to do great things. Then they will turn towards this temple and pray to you. 43 When that happens, please hear them from your home in heaven. Please answer all the prayers of these foreign people. Then people from all the nations in the world will realize how great you are. They also will respect you and obey you, as your own people do. They will understand that this temple that I have built belongs to you.

44 Sometimes, your people will go to fight against their enemies at the place where you have sent them. Then they may turn towards this city and pray to the Lord. This is the city that you have chosen for me to build the temple to give you honour. 45 When they pray to you, please hear them from your home in heaven. Do what is right to help them win against their enemies.

46 There is nobody who never does a wrong thing. So when your people do not obey you, you will be angry with them. You will put them under the power of their enemies. Those enemies will take them as prisoners to their own country. Perhaps it will be a country that is far away. Perhaps it will be near. 47 Then your people may think about the bad things that they have done. While they are prisoners in their enemy's country, they may be sorry about their sins. They may pray to you and ask you to forgive them. They may say, “We have turned away from God and we have done wicked things.” 48 In the country where they are prisoners, they may turn back to you and worship you truly. They may turn towards this land that you gave to their ancestors. They may pray to you as they look towards this city that you have chosen. They may look towards the temple that I have built to give you honour. 49 If they do that, please hear them from your home in heaven. Please answer their prayers and do what is right to help them.

50 Please forgive your people for all the sins that they have done against you. Please cause their enemies to be kind to them. 51 Remember that they are your special people who belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt where they were like prisoners in a very hot oven.

52 I pray that you will carefully watch over me, your servant. Please answer my prayers and the prayers of your people, the Israelites. Whenever we pray to you, please listen to us. 53 From all the nations of the world you chose Israel to belong to you as your special people. Almighty Lord, this is what you promised to your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.’

54 So Solomon finished all his prayers and everything that he wanted to ask the Lord for. He had been down on his knees with his hands lifted up towards the sky in front of the Lord's altar. Now he stood up. 55 When he stood up, he asked God to bless all the people in Israel. He said with a loud voice, 56 ‘Praise the Lord as he deserves! He has given his people, the Israelites, a safe place to live, as he has promised to do. Every great promise that the Lord gave to his servant Moses has now happened! 57 I pray that the Lord our God will be with us, as he was with our ancestors. I pray that he will never leave us or turn away from us. 58 I pray that the Lord will cause us to respect his authority. Then we will do what he wants us to do. We will obey all his commands, rules and laws that he gave to our ancestors. 59 I pray that the Lord our God will continue to remember these words that I have prayed. May he keep them in his thoughts. I pray that he will do what is right to help me and his people, the Israelites. May he give us the help that we need each day. 60 Then all the nations of the earth will understand that the Lord is the only true God. There is no other God. 61 I pray that you will continue to serve the Lord our God faithfully. You must continue to obey his rules and his commands, as you do now.’