God

then, if they come to their senses in the land where they have been carried away captive, turn back and make their plea to you in the land of those who carried them off captive, saying, 'We sinned, we acted wrongly, we behaved wickedly,'

if, in the land of their enemies who carried them off captive, they return to you with all their heart and being and pray to you toward their own land, which you gave to their ancestors, toward the city you chose and toward the house I have built for your name;

then, in heaven where you live, hear their prayer and plea, uphold their cause,

and forgive your people who have sinned against you - forgive their transgressions which they have committed against you, and give them compassion in the sight of their captors, so that they will show compassion toward them;

for they are your people, your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of the flames of the iron furnace.

"May your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Isra'el, so that you will hear them whenever they cry out to you.

For you made a distinction between them and all the peoples of the earth by making them your inheritance, as you said through Moshe your servant when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, Adonai ELOHIM."

When Shlomo had finished praying all this prayer and plea to ADONAI, he got up from in front of the altar of ADONAI, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven,

"Blessed be ADONAI, who has given rest to his people Isra'el, in accordance with everything he promised. Not one word has failed of his good promise, which he made through Moshe his servant.

May ADONAI our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us.

In this way he will incline our hearts toward him, so that we will live according to his ways and observe his mitzvot, laws and rulings which he ordered our fathers to obey.

May these words of mine, which I have used in my plea before ADONAI, be present with ADONAI our God day and night, so that he will uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Isra'el day by day.

Then all the peoples of the earth will know that ADONAI is God; there is no other.

So be wholehearted with ADONAI our God, living by his laws and observing his mitzvot, as you are doing today."

Then the king, together with all Isra'el, offered sacrifices before ADONAI.

For the sacrifice of peace offerings which Shlomo offered to ADONAI, he offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Thus the king and all the people of Isra'el dedicated the house of ADONAI.

The same day, the king consecrated the center of the courtyard in front of the house of ADONAI, because he had to offer the burnt offering, the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings there. For the bronze altar before ADONAI was too small to receive the burnt offering, the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.

So Shlomo celebrated the festival at that time. All Isra'el, a huge gathering [that had come all the way] from the entrance of Hamat to the Vadi [of Egypt], celebrated with him before ADONAI our God for seven days and then for seven more days - fourteen days in all.

On the eighth day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and returned to their tents full of joy and glad of heart for all the goodness ADONAI had shown to David his servant and to Isra'el his people.

After Shlomo had finished building the house of ADONAI, the royal palace and everything else he wanted to build for himself,

ADONAI appeared to Shlomo a second time, as he had appeared to him in Giv'on.

ADONAI said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your plea that you made before me: I am consecrating this house which you built and placing my name there forever; my eyes and heart will always be there.

As for you, if you will live in my presence, as did David your father, in pureness of heart and uprightness, doing everything I have ordered you to do, and observing my laws and rulings;

then I will establish the throne of your rulership over Isra'el forever, just as I promised David your father when I said, 'You will never lack a man on the throne of Isra'el.'

But if you turn away from following me, you or your children, and do not observe my mitzvot and regulations which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, worshipping them;