World English Bible · The united kingdom
2 Chronicles 6
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Then said, " has said that he would in the thick . But I have built you a house and home, a place for you to in ." The king turned , and all of Israel; and all of Israel stood. He said, " be , the of Israel, who spoke with his to , and has with his hands fulfilled it, saying, 'Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of , I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there, and I chose no man to be prince over my people Israel; but now I have chosen , that my name might be there; and I have chosen to be over my people Israel.' Now it was in of to build a house for the name of , the of Israel. But said to , 'Whereas it was in to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in ; nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will come out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.' " has performed his word that he spoke; for I have up in the place of , and sit on of Israel, as promised, and have built the house for the name of , the of Israel. There I have set the ark, in which is , which he made with the ." He stood before in the of all of Israel, and spread out his hands (for had made a bronze platform, five long, five wide, and three high, and had set it in the middle of the court; and he stood on it, and knelt down on his knees before all of Israel, and spread out his hands toward ). Then he said, ", the of Israel, there is no like you in or on earth—you who keep and with your servants who walk before you with all their ; who have kept with that which you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your , and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is today. "Now therefore, , the of Israel, keep with that which you have promised him, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk in as you have walked before me.' Now therefore, , the of Israel, let your word be verified, which you spoke to . "But will indeed with men on the earth? Behold, and the can't contain you; how much less this house which I have built! Yet have respect for the of and to his , my , to listen to the cry and to the which prays before you; that your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place where you have said that you would put your name, to listen to the which will toward this place. Listen to the petitions of and of your people Israel, when they toward this place. Yes, hear from your , even from ; and when you hear, forgive. "If a man against his neighbor, and an is laid on him to cause him to , and he comes and swears before your in this house, then hear from , act, and judge your servants, bringing retribution to , to bring his way on his own head; and justifying , to give him according to his . "If your people Israel are struck down before because they have against you, and they turn again and your name, and and make before you in this house, then hear from , and forgive the of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to them and to their fathers. "When is shut up and there is no because they have against you, if they toward this place and your name, and turn from their when you afflict them, then hear in , and forgive the of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and send on your land, which you have given to your people for an . "If there is in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, or caterpillar; if their besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is— whatever and is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who will each know his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread out his hands toward this house, then hear from your and forgive, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose you know (for you, even you only, know the of the children of men), that they may fear you, to walk in your ways as long as they live in the land which you gave to our fathers. "Moreover, concerning the , who is not of your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for your great name's sake and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when they come and toward this house, then hear from , even from your , and do according to all that the calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name. "If your people go out to battle against their , by whatever way you send them, and they to you toward this city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name; then hear from their and their , and maintain their cause. "If they against you (for there is no man who doesn't ), and you are angry with them and them to , so that they carry them away to a land far off or near; yet if they come to their senses in the land where they are carried , and turn again, and make to you in the land of their , saying, 'We have , we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly;' if they return to you with all their and with all their in the land of their , where they have been taken , and toward their land which you gave to their fathers, and the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name; then hear from , even from your , their and their petitions, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have against you. "Now, my , let, I beg you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive to the that is made in this place. "Now therefore arise, , into your , you, and the ark of your strength. Let your priests, , be clothed with , and let your rejoice in goodness. " , don't turn away the of your . Remember your loving kindnesses to ."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.