1ከዚያም ሰሎሞን እንዲህ አለ፤ “እግዚአብሔር ጥቅጥቅ ባለ ደመና ውስጥ እንደሚኖር ተናግሯል፤ 2እኔም አንተ ለዘላለም ትኖርበት ዘንድ፣ ይህን ታላቅና ድንቅ ቤተ መቅደስ ሠራሁልህ።”
3መላው የእስራኤል ጉባኤ እዚያው ቆመው ሳሉ፣ ንጉሡ ዘወር ብሎ ባረካቸው። 4እንዲህም አለ፤
“ለአባቴ ለዳዊት በቃሉ የሰጠውን ተስፋ በእጁ የፈጸመ የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን፤ እንዲህ ብሏልና፤ 5‘ሕዝቤን ከግብፅ ካወጣሁበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ፣ ስሜ የሚጠራበት ቤተ መቅደስ ይሠራበት ዘንድ ከማናቸውም የእስራኤል ነገድ ከተሞች አንድም አልመረጥሁም፤ ወይም የሕዝቤ የእስራኤል መሪ ይሆን ዘንድ ማንንም አልመረጥሁም። 6አሁን ግን ስሜ በዚያ እንዲሆን ኢየሩሳሌምን፣ ሕዝቤን እስራኤልን እንዲገዛም ዳዊትን መርጫለሁ።’
7“አባቴ ዳዊት፣ ለእስራኤል አምላክ ለእግዚአብሔር ስም ቤተ መቅደስ ለመሥራት በልቡ አስቦ ነበር፤ 8እግዚአብሔር ግን፣ ለአባቴ ለዳዊት እንዲህ አለው፤ ‘ለስሜ ቤተ መቅደስ ለመሥራት በልብህ አስበህ ነበር፤ ይህን በልብህ በማሰብህ መልካም አድርገሃል፤ 9ይሁን እንጂ ቤተ መቅደሱን የምትሠራው አንተ አይደለህም፤ ለስሜ ቤተ መቅደስ የሚሠራልኝ ከአብራክህ የሚከፈለው፣ የገዛ ልጅህ ነው።’
10“እግዚአብሔርም የተናገረውን ቃል ፈጽሟል፤ እኔም እግዚአብሔር በሰጠው ተስፋ መሠረት በአባቴ በዳዊት እግር ተተክቼ፣ በእስራኤል ዙፋን ላይ ተቀምጫለሁ፤ ለእስራኤል አምላክ ለእግዚአብሔርም ስም ቤተ መቅደስ ሠርቻለሁ። 11በዚያም እግዚአብሔር ከእስራኤል ሕዝብ ጋር ያደረገው ኪዳን ያለበትን ታቦት አኑሬአለሁ።”
ሰሎሞን በምረቃው ጊዜ ያቀረበው ጸሎት
6፥12-40 ተጓ ምብ – 1ነገ 8፥22-53
6፥41-42 ተጓ ምብ – መዝ 132፥8-10
12ከዚህ በኋላ ሰሎሞን መላው የእስራኤል ጉባኤ ባሉበት በእግዚአብሔር መሠዊያ ፊት እጆቹን ዘርግቶ ቆመ። 13ሰሎሞንም ርዝመቱ አምስት ክንድ፣6፥13 2.3 ሜትር ይህል ነው። ወርዱ አምስት ክንድ፣ ከፍታውም ሦስት ክንድ6፥13 1.3 ሜትር ይህል ነው። የሆነ የናስ መድረክ በውጭው አደባባይ መካከል አሠርቶ ነበር፤ በመድረኩም ላይ ወጥቶ በመቆም በመላው የእስራኤል ጉባኤ ፊት ተንበርክኮ እጆቹን ወደ ሰማይ ዘረጋ፤ 14እንዲህም አለ፤
“የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፤ በፍጹም ልባቸው በመንገድህ ከሚሄዱት ባሪያዎችህ ጋር የፍቅር ኪዳንህን የምትጠብቅ፣ በሰማይም ሆነ በምድር እንደ አንተ ያለ አምላክ የለም፤ 15ለባሪያህ ለአባቴ ለዳዊት የሰጠኸውን ተስፋ አጽንተሃል፤ በአፍህ የተናገርኸውን ዛሬም እንደ ሆነው በእጅህ ፈጸምኸው።
16“አሁንም የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፤ ለባሪያህ ለአባቴ ለዳዊት፣ ‘ልጆችህ አንተ እንደ አደረግኸው ሁሉ በሚያደርጉት ሁሉ ሕጌን በመጠበቅ በፊቴ ቢመላለሱ፣ በእራኤል ዙፋን ላይ በፊቴ የሚቀመጥ ሰው ከቶ አታጣም’ ብለህ የሰጠኸውን ተስፋ አጽናለት። 17እንግዲህ የእስራኤል አምላክ እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፣ ለባሪያህ ለዳዊት የሰጠኸው የተስፋ ቃል ይፈጸም።
18“በውኑ እግዚአብሔር ከሰው ጋር በምድር ላይ ይኖራልን? እነሆ፤ ሰማያትና ሰማየ ሰማያት እንኳ አንተን ሊይዙህ አይችሉም፤ ታዲያ እኔ የሠራሁት ይህ ቤተ መቅደስማ ምንኛ ያንስ! 19ይሁን እንጂ እግዚአብሔር አምላኬ ሆይ፤ የባሪያህን ጸሎትና ስለ ምሕረት ያቀረበውን ልመና አድምጥ፤ ባሪያህ በፊትህ የሚያቀርበውን ጩኸትና ጸሎት ስማ። 20ስምህ እንደሚጠራበት ወደ ተናገርኸው ወደዚህ ቤተ መቅደስ ዐይኖችህ በቀንም በሌሊትም የተገለጡ ይሁኑ፤ ባሪያህ ወደዚህ ስፍራ የሚጸልየውንም ጸሎት ስማ። 21ባሪያህና ሕዝብህ እስራኤል ወደዚህ ስፍራ በሚጸልዩበትም ጊዜ ልመናቸውን ስማ፤ ከማደሪያህ ከሰማይ ስማ፤ ሰምተህም ይቅር በል።
22“አንድ ሰው ባልንጀራውን ቢበድልና እንዲምል ቢጠየቅ፣ እርሱም መጥቶ በቤተ መቅደሱ በመሠዊያህ ፊት ቢምል፣ 23ከሰማይ ሆነህ ስማ፤ አድርግም። በደለኛውን፣ በደሉን በራሱ ላይ አድርገህ እንደ ሥራው በመክፈል በባሪያዎችህ መካከል ፍረድ። ንጹሑም በደለኛ አለመሆኑን አስታውቅ፤ እንደ ንጽሕናውም ክፈለው።
24“ሕዝብህ እስራኤል አንተን ከመበደላቸው የተነሣ በጠላቶቻቸው ፊት ድል ቢሆኑ፣ ወደ አንተ ተመልሰውም በዚህ ቤተ መቅደስ ውስጥ በፊትህ በመጸለይና ልመናቸውን በማቅረብ ስምህን ቢጠሩ፣ 25በሰማይ ሆነህ ስማ፤ የሕዝብህን የእስራኤልን ኀጢአት ይቅር በል፤ ለእነርሱና ለአባቶቻቸው ወደ ሰጠሃቸውም ምድር መልሳቸው።
26“ሕዝብህ አንተን ከመበደላቸው የተነሣ፣ ሰማያት ተዘግተው ዝናብ ባይዘንብ፣ አንተ ስለ አስጨነቅሃቸው ወደዚህ ስፍራ ቢጸልዩ፣ ስምህን ቢጠሩና ከኀጢአታቸው ቢመለሱ፣ 27በሰማይ ሆነህ ስማ፤ የባሪያዎችህን የሕዝብህን የእስራኤልን ኀጢአት ይቅር በል፤ የሚኖሩበትን ቀናውን መንገድ አስተምራቸው፤ ለሕዝብህ ርስት አድርገህ በሰጠኸውም ምድር ላይ ዝናብን ላክ።
28“በምድሪቱ ላይ ራብ ወይም ቸነፈር ወይም ዋግ ወይም አረማሞ ወይም አንበጣ ወይም ኵብኵባ በሚወርድባት ጊዜ፣ ወይም ደግሞ በየትኛውም ከተማቸው ሳሉ ጠላት በሚከብባቸው ጊዜ፣ ወይም ማናቸውም አደጋ ወይም ደዌ በሚደርስባቸው ጊዜ፣ 29ከሕዝብህ ከእስራኤል ማንም ሰው ጭንቀቱና ሕመሙ ተሰምቶት፣ እጁን ወደዚህ ቤተ መቅደስ በመዘርጋት ጸሎትና ልመና ቢያቀርብ፣ 30በሰማይ በማደሪያህ ሆነህ ስማ፤ ይቅርም በል፤ የሰውን ልብ የምታውቅ አንተ ብቻ ስለ ሆንህ፣ ለእያንዳንዱ እንደ ሥራው መጠን ክፈለው፤ 31ይህም ለአባቶቻችን በሰጠሃቸው ምድር በሚኖሩበት ጊዜ ሁሉ አንተን እንዲፈሩህና በመንገዶችህ እንዲሄዱ ነው።
32“ከሕዝብህ ከእስራኤል ወገን ያልሆነ ባዕድ ሰው ስለ ታላቁ ስምህ፣ ስለ ኀያሉ እጅህና ስለ ተዘረጋው ክንድህ ሰምቶ ከሩቅ አገር በመምጣት ወደዚህ ቤተ መቅደስ በሚጸልይበት ጊዜ፣ 33በሰማይ በማደሪያህ ሆነህ ስማ፤ የምድር ሕዝቦች ሁሉ እንደ ገዛ ሕዝብህ እንደ እስራኤል፣ ስምህን በማወቅ እንዲፈሩህ፣ የሠራሁትም ይህ ቤት ስምህ የሚጠራበት ቤት መሆኑን እንዲያውቁ ባዕዱ ሰው የሚጠይቅህን ሁሉ አድርግ።
34“ሕዝብህ አንተ በምትልካቸው ቦታ ሁሉ ጠላቶቻቸውን ለመውጋት በሚወጡበት ጊዜ፣ አንተ ወደ መረጥሃት ወደዚህች ከተማ፣ እኔም ለስምህ ወደ ሠራሁት ወደዚህ ቤተ መቅደስ ወደ አንተ ቢጸልዩ፣ 35ጸሎታቸውንና ልመናቸውን በሰማይ ስማ፤ የጠየቁህንም አድርግላቸው።
36“መቼም የማይበድል ሰው የለምና፣ አንተን በበደሉህ ጊዜ፣ ተቈጥተሃቸው ሩቅ ወይም ቅርብ ወደ ሆነ አገር በምርኮ ለሚወስዳቸው ጠላት አሳልፈህ ብትሰጣቸው፣ 37በተማረኩበት አገር ሆነው የልብ ጸጸት ተሰምቷቸው ንስሓ ቢገቡና በምርኮ ሳሉ፣ ‘ኀጢአት ሠርተናል፤ በድለናል፤ ክፉ ድርጊትም ፈጽመናል’ ቢሉ፣ 38ተማርከው በሚኖሩበትም ምድር ሆነው በፍጹም ልባቸው፣ በፍጹምም ነፍሳቸው ቢመለሱና ለአባቶቻቸው ወደ ሰጠሃቸው ምድር፣ አንተም ወደ መረጥሃት ከተማና እኔም ለስምህ ወደ ሠራሁት ቤተ መቅደስ ቢጸልዩ፣ 39ጸሎታቸውንና ልመናቸውን በሰማይ በማደሪያህ ስማ፤ የጠየቍህንም አድርግላቸው። የበደሉህንም የሕዝብህን ኀጢአት ይቅር በል።
40“አሁንም አምላኬ ሆይ፤ በዚህ ስፍራ ወደ ቀረበው ጸሎት ዐይኖችህ የተገለጡ፣ ጆሮዎችህም የሚያደምጡ ይሁኑ።
41“አሁንም እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ሆይ ተነሥ፣
ከኀይልህ ታቦት ጋር ወደ ማረፊያ ቦታህ ግባ።
እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ሆይ፤ ካህናትህ ድነትን ይልበሱ፤
ቅዱሳንህም በቸርነትህ ደስ ይበላቸው።
42እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ሆይ፤ የቀባኸውን አትተወው፤
ለባሪያህ ለዳዊት ቃል የገባህለትን ጽኑ ፍቅር ዐስብ።”
1Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 2I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell for ever.’
3While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned round and blessed them. 4Then he said:
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5“Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”
7‘My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8But the Lord said to my father David, “You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood – he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.”
10‘The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.’
Solomon’s prayer of dedication
12Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,6:13 That is, about 2.3 metres long and wide and 1.4 metres high and had placed it in the centre of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands towards heaven. 14He said:
‘Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth – you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it – as it is today.
16‘Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, “You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.” 17And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.
18‘But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple that I have built! 19Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20May your eyes be open towards this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays towards this place. 21Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling-place; and when you hear, forgive.
22‘When anyone wrongs their neighbour and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, 23then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.
24‘When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.
26‘When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray towards this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 27then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land that you gave your people for an inheritance.
28‘When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel – being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands towards this temple – 30then hear from heaven, your dwelling-place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart), 31so that they will fear you and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land that you gave our ancestors.
32‘As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm – when they come and pray towards this temple, 33then hear from heaven, your dwelling-place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house that I have built bears your Name.
34‘When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you towards this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
36‘When they sin against you – for there is no-one who does not sin – and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, “We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly”; 38and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray towards the land that you gave their ancestors, towards the city you have chosen and towards the temple that I have built for your Name; 39then from heaven, your dwelling-place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
40‘Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
41‘Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting-place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.
42Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.
Remember the great love promised to David your servant.’
