2 Chronicles Chapter 6

At a Glance

  • Chapter 6 centers on Solomon’s dedicatory prayer and God’s response to Solomon’s aspiration for a permanent dwelling.
  • Solomon’s intercession covers themes of prayer for forgiveness, drought, plague, and military distress, asking God to hear prayer offered toward this house.
  • In sum, 6 is a crucial hinge between temple theology and daily living—one speaks of God’s dwelling; the other, of a responsive God who hears the prayers of a humbled people.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • As a central voice in Chronicles, this chapter presents Solomon’s dedication in a post-dynastic, priestly frame that highlights covenant faithfulness, prayer, and temple theology.

Chapter Overview

Chapter 6 centers on Solomon’s dedicatory prayer and God’s response to Solomon’s aspiration for a permanent dwelling. Solomon acknowledges the paradox that God “dwells in thick darkness” while human beings build a house for God’s name. He blesses Israel and recounts God’s covenant faithfulness from Egypt to the present moment, emphasizing that God chose Jerusalem and David’s line to house his name. Solomon’s prayer then unfolds in a brasen scaffold scene—he lifts his hands to heaven, interceding on behalf of the people, the temple, and the land.

Solomon’s intercession covers themes of prayer for forgiveness, drought, plague, and military distress, asking God to hear prayer offered toward this house. The chapter shifts from architecture to supplication, showing worship as a life that continually seeks God’s mercy and favor beyond the building itself. Solomon’s prayers position the temple as a place where covenant faithfulness and divine mercy intersect, where humans approach God honestly, confess sin, and seek mercy. The chapter also introduces the temple’s moral dimension: if Israel is faithful, God will answer; if not, the temple’s blessing could be compromised.

In sum, 6 is a crucial hinge between temple theology and daily living—one speaks of God’s dwelling; the other, of a responsive God who hears the prayers of a humbled people.

Historical & Literary Context

As a central voice in Chronicles, this chapter presents Solomon’s dedication in a post-dynastic, priestly frame that highlights covenant faithfulness, prayer, and temple theology. The literary aim is to present legitimate worship as a dynamic relationship between God and his people, with prayer and ritual as vehicles for divine-human interaction. The language of “thick darkness” and God’s dwelling illustrates the tension between divine transcendence and intimate presence. The chapter’s prayers and blessings are crafted to model a theology of omission and confession—how Israel should respond when God’s presence is near.

Key Themes

- God’s transcendence paired with dwelling: God’s glory fills the temple, yet he remains beyond human comprehension.

- Covenant memory and faithfulness: The prayer anchors the temple within God’s historic promises.

- Prayer as the core of worship: The temple becomes a house of prayer that seeks forgiveness and mercy.

- Conditional blessing: Aligning with obedience may bring blessing; disobedience invites accountability.

Modern Application

This chapter invites readers to approach God with honesty, recognizing God’s greatness while bringing personal and communal needs before him. Practical implications:

- Embrace prayer as foundational to church life, not secondary to programs.

- Acknowledge God’s holiness and our dependence; worship begins with confession, humility, and trust.

- Use sacred spaces as launchpads for prayerful living beyond the building.

- Foster intergenerational leadership that models humility, prayer, and covenant faithfulness.

Cross-References (3–5)

- 2 Chronicles 7 (the divine response to Solomon’s prayer)

- 1 Kings 8 (Solomon’s dedicatory prayer)

- Psalm 27 (the language of seeking God in the sanctuary)

Recommended Personas

- Solomon (for prayerful leadership and intercession)

- Priest/Levite chorus (for worship leadership and liturgical life)

Chapter Text

1

Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

2

But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

3

And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

4

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,

5

Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:

6

But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

7

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

8

But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:

9

Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

10

The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

11

And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.

12

And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

13

For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,

14

And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

15

Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

16

Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

17

Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.

18

But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

19

Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:

20

That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.

21

Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.

22

If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

23

Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.

24

And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;

25

Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.

26

When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;

27

Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.

28

If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:

29

Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:

30

Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)

31

That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

32

Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;

33

Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

34

If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;

35

Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

36

If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;

37

Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;

38

If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

39

Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.

40

Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

41

Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.

42

O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

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