1 Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
2 But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.
3 And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.
4 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,
5 Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:
6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.
8 But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:
9 Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
10 The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.
11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.
12 And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.
14 And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
16 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
17 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
20 That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.
21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
24 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;
25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
29 Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
31 That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
33 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.
34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
35 Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
37 Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
38 If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
41 Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
42 O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
<html><b>Then Solomon said</b> Since the House is full of smoke, I now know that the Shechinah is resting in the thick darkness therein, for so is His wont, as it is written (Exod. 20:18): “and Moses drew near to the thick darkness wherein God appeared.” [Therefore, I deduce that] He surely wishes to stay therein, and in Sifre it is explained: Then Solomon said - when he saw the cloud, he said, “Now I see that the Shechinah rests in the House that I have built, for He promised to come and dwell therein out of the midst of the cloud and the thick darkness.” Now where did He say this? (Lev. 16:2): “for in the cloud I shall appear on the Ark cover.”</html>
<html><b>a House to dwell in</b> - Heb. בֵית זְבֻל a dwelling. <b>for You to dwell in forever</b> For since it was selected, the Shechinah did not rest elsewhere, and the high places were prohibited.</html>
<html><b>and blessed all the congregation of Israel</b> the blessing stated at the end of the episode.</html>
<html><b>Who spoke with His mouth</b> that He would give him a son who would build Him a House. <b>has fulfilled</b> He fulfilled His good word.</html>
<html><b>Since the day that I brought forth</b> For this too You spoke to my father.</html>
<html><b>And I chose Jerusalem</b> This refers to “I chose no city.” <b>and I chose David</b> This refers back to “neither did I choose a man.”</html>
<html><b>you did well that it was in your heart</b> i.e., I too choose the House that you thought to build, where My name shall dwell, as is stated above.</html>
<html><b>and he spread forth his hands</b> Scripture should have said the following: “and he spread forth his hands toward heaven, and he said, etc.,” but it interrupted in between to inform [us] on what he stood, and so in I Kings (8:22f.): “and he spread forth his hands towards heaven, and he said.”</html>
<html><b>For Solomon had made</b> This refers back to “opposite all the congregation of Israel,” i.e., how was he higher than all of them to make his words heard? <b>and he stood on it</b> And now, all Israel could see him, and since he interrupted the topic, he had to repeat, “opposite all the congregation of Israel,” and so, “and he spread forth his hands toward heaven.”</html>
<html><b>there is no God like You</b> insofar as You keep the covenant and the kindness that You decree from heaven to give to those who love You. You hide and conceal the covenant and the kindness to fulfill Your promise on earth. <b>who walk before You</b> as my father David walked, and this is [the meaning of] <b>For You have kept for Your servant David</b> with an expression referring to the realization of a promise.</html>
<html><b>But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth?</b> This is an expression of wonder. Is it possible for man to believe that God will dwell on the earth? For the heaven and the heaven of the heaven, etc. However, because of the kindness that You bestowed upon my father, David, You contracted Your Shechinah. <b>much less this House that I have built</b> So why did I build it? To pray before God and so that He should turn to our prayers.</html>
<html><b>to the cry</b> - Heb. הָרִנָּה. This is a cry, like (I Kings 22:36): “A cry (הָרִנָּה) passed through the camp.” Perforce, concerning the cry of any man who flees in distress, he will not pray but express his cry in secret. This is the sequence of the verses, and the conclusion of the topic proves it, for he says, “You shall hear from Your abode.” You have thus learned that he built it only with this intention to bring down the Shechinah therein, in order that He dwell on the earth, to hear “from Your abode” the prayer that they will pray therein.</html>
<html><b>That Your eyes may be open, etc.</b> whenever they pray to You.</html>
<html><b>If a man sins</b> This verse refers to all Israel; whoever exacts an oath from his neighbor - if he is adjuring him legitimately, and the one swearing is swearing falsely, You shall hear from heaven. If, on the other hand, justice is on the side of the one who swears, for the litigant exacts an oath from him for naught, even the one who exacts the oath is called wicked.</html>
<html><b>and to justify the righteous</b> not to punish him for the oath, for he swore in truth. <i>Tosefta</i> of <i>Sotah</i> (1: 3) explains [this verse as referring to the rite of the sotah, the married woman accused of adultery Num. 5:11-30)]: If a man sins by being intimate with a married woman. <b>and an oath be exacted of him</b> and an oath makes him guilty, for just as the water tests her, so does the water test him. before Your altar - as it is written (Num. 5:18): “And the priest shall have the woman stand [before the Lord].” <b>to bring his way upon his head</b> - as it is written (ibid. verse 27): “her belly will swell and her thigh will fall away.” <b>and to justify the righteous</b> - (ibid. verse 28): “and she will be blessed with offspring.”</html>
<html><b>And if Your people…is struck down</b> not because You have no power, but because they will sin against You. <b>and confess</b> - Heb. וְהוֹדוּ. The meaning is: and they will confess their iniquity, and the latter verse proves this (verse 26): “and confess to Your name and repent of their sin, so that You may answer them.”</html>
<html><b>and bring them back to the land</b> For when they fall and are struck down before their enemies, they [their enemies] will seize what they can and will bring them into captivity to another land.</html>
<html><b>When heaven is shut up</b> as it is written (Deut. 11:17): “and He will shut up the heaven, and there will be no rain.”</html>
<html><b>for You will teach them the good way</b> as You did when there was a famine in David’s time for three years (II Sam. 21:1), and You taught them and said to them, “(It is) for Saul and (also) for his bloody house.” Likewise, so shall You teach them which sin causes them [their distress], for what reason the heaven was shut up.</html>
<html><b>whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness (there be)</b> The meaning is: I have mentioned to You pestilence, blast and mildew, being struck down [in battle], and lack of rainfall, and what else can I include, but whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there may be, and he pray and spread forth his hands toward this House, and this is what it says.</html>
<html><b>Any prayer, any supplication</b> that he will pray and supplicate about, concerning any of these matters. <b>every man shall know his plague</b> i.e., if he pray about his affliction or about his sickness to remove it from him.</html>
<html><b>and forgive and give to each man according to his ways, etc.</b> to the wicked according to his wickedness and to the righteous according to his righteousness. For if He does not repay the wicked according to his wickedness, he will speak insolently toward Heaven, and he will say, “There is no God.” Then [the thoughts of] his heart will be known, and there will be a profanation of the Name [of God]. Likewise shall You do to the righteous according to his righteousness, which You shall do for him when he prays to You.</html>
<html><b>That they may fear You</b> and the wicked will repent of his way; therefore, I pray to give each man according to his ways.</html>
<html><b>and You shall do whatever the stranger calls upon You</b> Concerning an Israelite, I pray to give him according to his ways, but concerning a heathen, according to all the stranger calls upon You, because Israelites recognize the Holy One, blessed be He, and they know that He has the ability to do, and if his prayer is not heard, he assigns the cause to himself, to his sins, and he searches his deeds, but the heathen will complain of injustice and say, “I heard His fame throughout the world, and I toiled on many roads until I came and prayed in this place, and I did not find reality in Him any more than the other deities.” Therefore, You shall do whatever the stranger calls upon You.</html>
<html><b>toward the city</b> With their faces toward Jerusalem.</html>
<html><b>and maintain their cause</b> their revenge from their enemies. Another meaning is: their necessities. A similar instance is (I Kings 8:59): “that He sustain the cause of His servant.”</html>
<html><b>that I built for Your name</b> The meaning is: this House, which I built in order to aggrandize Your name, for when You accept their prayer, they will pray to You in this House; wherever they are, they will turn to this, Your House.</html>
<html><b>You shall hear, etc.</b> And through this, Your name will be aggrandized in the world.</html>
<html><b>And now, arise, O Lord</b> so as not to have to move as until now, from Shiloh to Nob and from Nob to Gibeon. <b>You and the Ark of Your might</b> that it will no longer move from now on. <b>Your might</b> Because of the following it is called “Your might”: because it performed wonders and mighty deeds among the Philistines. And so it is written above (I Chron 16:8-36): “Give thanks to the Lord,” “Search for the Lord and His might.” Our Sages stated further in Tractate <i>Abodah Zarah</i> 24b (I Sam. 6:12): “And the cows sang.” What song did they recite? They said, (Ps. 98:1) “His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.” <b>shall be attired with salvation</b> because they will not wander from place to place, like (Isa. 11:5): “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins.” <b>and Your pious ones shall rejoice with the goodness</b> with the abundance of goodness and tithes that will be given to the Levites as reward for guarding the Ark and singing before it.</html>
<html><b>do not turn back the face of Your anointed one</b> by not treating me with goodness, and if not for my sake, do it for Your sake.</html>