1 Kings 8:14

8:14 Then the king turned around 1  and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. 2 

1 Kings 8:22

Solomon Prays for Israel

8:22 Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky. 3 

1 Kings 8:2

8:2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival 4  in the month Ethanim 5  (the seventh month).

1 Kings 20:13

The Lord Delivers Israel

20:13 Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Do you see this huge army? 6  Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

1 Kings 20:19

20:19 They marched out of the city with the servants of the district governors in the lead and the army behind them.

Psalms 134:1--135:3

Psalm 134 7 

A song of ascents. 8 

134:1 Attention! 9  Praise the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord,

who serve 10  in the Lord’s temple during the night.

134:2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary

and praise the Lord!

134:3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,

bless you 11  from Zion! 12 

Psalm 135 13 

135:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord!

Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,

135:2 who serve 14  in the Lord’s temple,

in the courts of the temple of our God.

135:3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!

Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant! 15 

1 tn Heb “turned his face.”

2 tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”

3 tn Or “heaven.”

4 sn The festival. This was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.

5 sn The month Ethanim. This would be September-October in modern reckoning.

6 tn Heb “this great horde.”

7 sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).

8 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

9 tn Heb “Look!”

10 tn Heb “stand.”

11 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine singular, suggesting that the servants addressed in vv. 1-2 are responding to the psalmist.

12 tn Heb “may the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven and earth.”

13 sn Psalm 135. The psalmist urges God’s people to praise him because he is the incomparable God and ruler of the world who has accomplished great things for Israel.

14 tn Heb “stand.”

15 tn Heb “for [it is] pleasant.” The translation assumes that it is the Lord’s “name” that is pleasant. Another option is to understand the referent of “it” as the act of praising (see Ps 147:1).