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 

[8:14]  ¹ tn Heb “turned his face.”

[8:14]  ² tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”

[8:22]  ³ tn Or “heaven.”

[8:2]  ⁴ sn The festival. This was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.

[8:2]  ⁵ sn The month Ethanim. This would be September-October in modern reckoning.

[20:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “this great horde.”

[134:1]  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).

[134:1]  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.

[134:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Look!”

[134:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand.”

[134:3]  ¹¹ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine singular, suggesting that the servants addressed in vv. 1-2 are responding to the psalmist.

[134:3]  ¹² tn Heb “may the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven and earth.”

[135:1]  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.

[135:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “stand.”

[135:3]  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).