Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 ^zThen Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^athere is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^bkeeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father ^cwhat you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me ^das you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; ^ehow much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your ^feyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^g‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers ^htoward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

46 “If they sin against you—for ^tthere is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ^u‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they ^vrepent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them ^wcompassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your ^xheritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the ^yiron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you ^zseparated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon’s Benediction

54 ^aNow as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given ^brest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^cNot one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be ^dwith us, as he was with our fathers. May he not ^eleave us or forsake us, 58 that he may ^fincline our hearts to him, to ^gwalk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 ^hthat all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; ⁱthere is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be ^jwholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon’s Sacrifices

62 ^kThen the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as ^lpeace offerings to the Lord ^m22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel ⁿdedicated the house of the Lord.

The Light of the Gospel

1 Therefore, having this ministry ^rby the mercy of God,¹ we do not ^slose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. ^tWe refuse to practice² cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth ^uwe would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even ^vif our gospel is veiled, it is veiled ^wto those who are perishing. 4 In their case the ^xgod of this world has ^yblinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the ^zimage of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but ^aJesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your ^bservants³ for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, ^c“Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts ^dto give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 ^eWe are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 ^falways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^gso that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are ^halways being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So ⁱdeath is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^j“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 ^kknowing that ^lhe who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and ^mbring us with you into his presence. 15 For ⁿit is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self⁴ is wasting away, our ^oinner self is being ^prenewed day by day. 17 For ^qthis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look ^rnot to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.