July 26th

Then 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, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, that is in the seventh month.

Then all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites carried the ark.

And 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.

And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who congregated with him before the ark, were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

Then 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.

And 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.

But the poles were so long that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day.

There 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.

Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions),

and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests blowing trumpets

in 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 accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised Yahweh saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness endures forever,” then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud,

so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.

Then Solomon said,

Then the king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

And he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hands, saying,

‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of 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, nor did I choose any man for a ruler over My people Israel;

but I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

And it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will come forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’

And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and I have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

And there I have set the ark in which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with the sons of Israel.”

Then he stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

Now Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had put it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven.

And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart;

who have kept with Your servant David, my father, that which You have promised him; indeed You have promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand, as it is this day.

So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father, that which You have promised him, saying, ‘You 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 in My law as you have walked before Me.’

So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, let Your word truly endure which You have spoken to Your servant David.

“But will God truly dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built.

Yet have regard to the prayer 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;

that Your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place of which You have said that You would place Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place.

And listen to the supplications of Your slave and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; listen from Your dwelling place, from heaven; listen and forgive.

“If 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,

then listen from heaven and act and judge Your slaves, punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by bringing him reward according to his righteousness.

“And if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they turn to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house,

then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You have given to them and to their fathers.

“When 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;

then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And give rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, if there is locust or grasshopper, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is,

whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, who know his own affliction and his own pain, and spread his hands toward this house,

then listen from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men,

that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways all the days they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers.

“Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your great name’s sake and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm, so if they come and pray toward this house,

then listen from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name even to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.

“When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,

then listen from heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.

“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far off or near,

and if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and return and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have committed iniquity and have acted wickedly’;

and if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which You have given to their fathers and the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your name,

then listen from heaven, from Your dwelling place, to their prayer and supplications, and do justice for them and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

“Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

“So now, arise, O Yahweh God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength; let Your priests, O Yahweh God, be clothed with salvation and let Your holy ones be glad in what is good.

“O Yahweh God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember Your lovingkindness to Your servant David.”

And after we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.

And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

And after he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow;

take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should keep from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality.”

Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

Now when the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon noticing him in the temple, began to throw all the crowd into confusion and laid hands on him,

crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches to everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

Then all the city was stirred, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

At once he took along soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

And when he got to the stairs, he actually was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd;

for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!”

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek?

Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago raised a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”

And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,