The Ark Brought into the Temple
1 jThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, kthe leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, lto bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of mthe city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at nthe feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
The Lord Has Chosen Zion
A Song of mAscents.
1 Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
all ythe hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
and zvowed to athe Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not bgive sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I cfind a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for athe Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in dEphrathah;
we found it in ethe fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
8 hArise, O Lord, and go to your iresting place,
you and the ark of your jmight.
9 Let your kpriests be lclothed with righteousness,
and let your msaints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
11 pThe Lord swore to David a sure oath
qfrom which he will not turn back:
r“One of the sons of your body1
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall ssit on your throne.”
13 For the Lord has tchosen Zion;
he has udesired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my vresting place forever;
here I will wdwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly xbless her provisions;
I will ysatisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her zpriests I will clothe with salvation,
and her zsaints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make aa horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared ba lamp for cmy anointed.
18 His enemies I will dclothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
4 And all the elders of Israel came, eand the Levites took up the ark. 5 And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; fthe Levitical priests brought them up. 6 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. 9 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen gfrom the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are1 there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets hthat Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
1 wGive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
xfor his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to ythe God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to ythe Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 to him who alone zdoes great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who aby understanding bmade the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who cspread out the earth dabove the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who emade the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
10 to him who fstruck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
11 and gbrought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
12 with ha strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
13 to him who idivided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
14 jand made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
15 but koverthrew1 Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
16 to him who lled his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
17 to him mwho struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
18 and killed mighty kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
22 a heritage to Israel his nservant,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
23 It is he who oremembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and prescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who qgives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to rthe God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to itheir divisions, 12 and all the Levitical jsingers, kAsaph, lHeman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with mcymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 npriests who were trumpeters; 13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, owith trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,
p“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever,”
the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, qfor the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
