“God does not really live with humankind on the earth! ¹  Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built!

So look, the Lord is about to severely afflict ¹  your people, your sons, your wives, and all you own.

to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which they read before the king of Judah.

Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how ¹  can your gods rescue ²  you from my power?’”

You must serve me as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. ¹ 

and Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve the Lord, led 200,000 skilled warriors.

Hezekiah said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves ¹  to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings ²  to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so ³  brought burnt sacrifices.

He wrote letters mocking the Lord God of Israel and insulting him with these words: ¹  “The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power. Neither can Hezekiah’s god rescue his people from my power.” ² 

Now I intend ¹  to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger. ² 

But the Lord was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty ¹  because of the promise ²  he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty. ³ 

They said to them, “Don’t bring those captives here! Are you planning on making us even more sinful and guilty before the Lord? ¹  Our guilt is already great and the Lord is very angry at Israel.” ² 

Messengers ¹  delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. This royal edict read: ²  “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return ³  to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria. ⁴ 

You defeated Edom ¹  and it has gone to your head. ²  Gloat over your success, ³  but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” ⁴ 

That night God appeared ¹  to Solomon and said to him, “Tell me ²  what I should give you.”

Look, I am ready to build a temple to honor ¹  the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him in order to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed, ²  and to offer burnt sacrifices each morning and evening, and on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other times appointed by the Lord our God. This is something Israel must do on a permanent basis. ³ 

Now, don’t be stubborn ¹  like your fathers! Submit ²  to the Lord and come to his sanctuary which he has permanently consecrated. Serve the Lord your God so that he might relent from his raging anger. ³ 

He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel!

Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.” ¹ 

and prayed: ¹  “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty ²  to your servants who obey you with sincerity. ³