King Solomon dedicates the newly built Temple, acknowledging God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to David. He offers a profound prayer, asking God to hear and forgive His people when they turn towards this house in various times of distress or sin. Solomon petitions God to maintain His covenant, judge righteously, and extend mercy to Israel and even to strangers who seek Him.
‘Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel:
“The LORD has performed his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
(for Solomon had made a bronze scaffold, five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and on it he stood, and kneeled down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;)
and he said, “LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven, or on earth; you who keep covenant and loving kindness with your servants, who walk before you with all their heart;
who have kept with your servant David my father that which you promised him: yes, you spoke with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is this day.
“Now therefore, LORD, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’
“But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house which I have built!
Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and to his supplication, LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you;
that your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place where you have said that you would put your name; to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yes, hear from your dwelling place, even from heaven; and when you hear, forgive.
then hear from heaven, and do, and judge your servants, bringing retribution to the wicked, to bring his way on his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
“If your people Israel be struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you, and shall turn again and confess your name, and pray and make supplication before you in this house;
“When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them:
then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.
“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is;
whatever prayer and supplication be made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall know every man his own plague and his own sorrow, and shall spread out his hands toward this house:
then hear from heaven, your dwelling place and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of the children of men;)
“Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for your great name’s sake, and your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm; when they shall come and pray toward this house:
then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, and fear you, as does your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.
“If your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to you toward this city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name;
“If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to a land far off or near;
yet if they shall repent themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly;’
if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have carried them captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, and the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name:
then hear from heaven, even from your dwelling place, their prayer and their petitions, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
“Now therefore arise, LORD God, into your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength: let your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation [yeshu`ah], and let your holy ones rejoice in goodness.
“LORD God, don’t turn away the face of your anointed. Remember your loving kindnesses to David your servant.”
Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 6
Verse 1
Solomon affirms that the Temple, despite being physical, is where the transcendent God (who dwells in 'thick darkness,' symbolizing mystery and majesty) chooses to manifest his presence.
Verse 2
The term 'house of habitation' emphasizes that this structure is not a home for God (who is omnipresent) but a designated, permanent place where Israel can meet Him according to His covenant terms.
Verse 4
This opening blessing highlights the Chronicler's emphasis on the reliability of God's word, celebrating the fulfillment of the covenant stipulations made with David (2 Sam 7).
Verse 5
Solomon contrasts the past, where God had no fixed dwelling place among the tribes, with the definitive choices of Jerusalem (v. 6) and the Davidic ruling dynasty.
Verse 12
Solomon stands before the altar, signifying his unique role as the anointed king and mediator leading the people in this foundational religious ceremony.
Verse 13
The 'brasen scaffold' was a special elevated platform built specifically for the king to address and lead the vast assembly in prayer, ensuring he was visible and audible to all.
Verse 14
The prayer begins with a classic declaration of Yahweh’s uniqueness (monotheism) and faithfulness, rooted in His covenant-keeping nature (*hesed*, 'mercy' or lovingkindness).
Verse 18
This rhetorical question expresses the profound theological paradox: an infinite God cannot be contained by any structure, yet He voluntarily condescends to meet humanity in a specific, defined space.
Verse 20
Solomon asks that God’s focus be on the Temple not because of the building itself, but because God has chosen to 'put his name there,' signifying His authority and accessibility.
Verse 21
The critical link is established: prayer directed toward this place will be heard from God’s true dwelling place—heaven—and will result in divine forgiveness.
Verse 22
This introduces the first scenario: judicial disputes requiring an oath before the altar. Solomon prays that God will intervene to reveal truth and dispense justice between parties.
Verse 24
The second scenario addresses military defeat, acknowledging that such loss is often divine judgment resulting from sin. Restoration is conditioned upon repentance and prayer toward the Temple.
Verse 26
The third scenario addresses drought, a sign of covenant curse (Deut 28). The turning point is confession, turning from sin, and prayer toward the Temple.
Verse 28
The fourth scenario covers widespread disasters (famine, pestilence, blight). This section emphasizes that God hears the individual’s private grief when they turn toward the place of His Name.
Verse 32
This fifth scenario demonstrates the universal scope of God's covenant, anticipating that the Temple would attract gentiles who recognize Yahweh, ensuring that God’s name is known globally.
Verse 34
The sixth scenario addresses offensive warfare undertaken by God's command. The people are to pray toward the city and the Temple for divine support and victory in battle.
Verse 36
This seventh and most poignant scenario anticipates the future judgment of exile, acknowledging the tragic inevitability of sin ('there is no man which sinneth not').
Verse 37
This passage provides the theological blueprint for repentance during the Babylonian exile. The necessary conditions are genuine confession and turning back to God.
Verse 38
The condition for restoration is praying toward the land, the city, and the house—the physical focal points of God's covenant promises, even when geographically distant.
Verse 40
Solomon shifts from specific scenarios to a general plea for God’s continuous attention to the prayers offered at this holy site, summarizing the purpose of the Temple.
Verse 41
This concluding doxology quotes Psalm 132:8-10, invoking the movement of the Ark ('resting place') and appealing for the spiritual welfare of the priests and the people (saints).
Verse 42
The final request anchors the entire prayer in the eternal Davidic Covenant. Solomon asks God to remember not his own merit, but the unconditional promises made to 'David thy servant.'
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