They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.

He gave him the blueprints of all he envisioned for the courts of the Lord’s temple, all the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of God’s temple, and the storehouses for the holy items.

and for the refined gold of the incense altar. He gave him the blueprint for the seat of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and provide shelter for the ark of the Lord’s covenant.

for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?”

The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the Lord with a willing attitude; King David was also very happy.

O Lord our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you.

O Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, maintain the motives of your people and keep them devoted to you.

Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king in place of his father David; he was successful and all Israel was loyal to him.

But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, was in front of the Lord’s tabernacle. Solomon and the entire assembly prayed to him there.)

Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord which was at the meeting tent, and he offered up a thousand burnt sacrifices.

King Huram of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”

The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place under the wings of the cherubs.

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. (It was there that the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.)

The priests could not carry out their duties because of the cloud; the Lord’s splendor filled God’s temple.

He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David.

The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.

and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with the Israelites.”

and prayed: “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity.

But respond favorably to your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the Lord’s splendor filled the temple.