51 Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things xthat David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
The Ark Brought into the Temple
1 yThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord zout of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the afeast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and bthe priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the ctent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, dsacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the einner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim fspread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its gpoles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there hto this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the itwo tablets of stone that Moses jput there at Horeb, kwhere the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, la cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Solomon Blesses the Lord
12 mThen Solomon said, “The Lord1 has said that he would dwell in nthick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in oforever.” 14 Then the king turned around and pblessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, q“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 r‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I schose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I tchose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 Now it was uin the heart of David my father to build a house vfor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, wyou shall not build the house, but xyour son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And ythere I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Ministers of the New Covenant
1 vAre we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, wletters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 xYou yourselves yare our letter of recommendation, written on our1 hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on ztablets of stone but on atablets of bhuman hearts.2
4 Such is the cconfidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a dnew covenant, enot of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but fthe Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the gministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that hthe Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very ibold, 13 not like Moses, jwho would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their kminds were lhardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one3 turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord4 is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is mfreedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, nbeholding othe glory of the Lord,5 are being ptransformed qinto the same image from one degree of glory to another.6 For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
