I will give you rulers and advisers like those you had long ago. Then Jerusalem will be called the righteous, faithful city."

Because the LORD is righteous, he will save Jerusalem and everyone there who repents.

"I will bring you to Zion, my sacred hill, give you joy in my house of prayer, and accept the sacrifices you offer on my altar. My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations."

The LORD says, "I will restore my people to their land and have mercy on every family; Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and its palace restored.

I will restore the nation's ancient power and establish it firmly again; I will punish all who oppress them.

The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "When I restore the people to their land, they will once again say in the land of Judah and in its towns, 'May the LORD bless the sacred hill of Jerusalem, the holy place where he lives.'

People will live in Judah and in all its towns, and there will be farmers, and shepherds with their flocks.

There in the land, on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, all you people of Israel will worship me. I will be pleased with you and will expect you to bring me your sacrifices, your best offerings, and your holy gifts.

After I bring you out of the countries where you have been scattered and gather you together, I will accept the sacrifices that you burn, and the nations will see that I am holy.

For seven days the priests are to consecrate the altar and make it ready for use.

When the week is over, the priests are to begin offering on the altar the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings of the people. Then I will be pleased with all of you. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

I will return to Jerusalem, my holy city, and live there. It will be known as the faithful city, and the hill of the LORD Almighty will be called the sacred hill.

At that time even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with the words "Dedicated to the LORD." The cooking pots in the Temple will be as sacred as the bowls before the altar.

Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in all Judah will be set apart for use in the worship of the LORD Almighty. The people who offer sacrifices will use them for boiling the meat of the sacrifices. When that time comes, there will no longer be any merchant in the Temple of the LORD Almighty.

They sacrificed seven bulls and seven sheep, to make sure that God would help the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box.

They took the Covenant Box to the tent which David had prepared for it and put it inside. Then they offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to God.

and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and some raisins.

He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He prayed, and the LORD answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn the sacrifices on the altar.

Then David commanded the people, "Praise the LORD your God!" And the whole assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the LORD and also to the king.

So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the LORD. For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the LORD they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest.

In front of the Tent the king worshiped the LORD by offering sacrifices on the bronze altar; he had a thousand animals killed and burned whole on it.

When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the LORD's presence filled the Temple.

When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love.

and on the following day, the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They were happy about all the blessings that the LORD had given to his people Israel, to David, and to Solomon.

the LORD appeared to him at night. He said to him, "I have heard your prayer, and I accept this Temple as the place where sacrifices are to be offered to me.

Solomon offered sacrifices to the LORD on the altar which he had built in front of the Temple.

Following the rules laid down by his father David, he organized the daily work of the priests and of the Levites who assisted the priests in singing hymns and in doing their work. He also organized the Temple guards in sections for performing their daily duties at each gate, in accordance with the commands of David, the man of God.

Hezekiah said to the people, "Now that you are ritually clean, bring sacrifices as offerings of thanksgiving to the LORD." They obeyed, and some of them also voluntarily brought animals to be sacrificed as burnt offerings.

they also brought 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep as sacrifices for the people to eat.

In addition to offering the sacrifices that were burned whole, the priests were responsible for burning the fat that was offered from the sacrifices which the people ate, and for pouring out the wine that was presented with the burnt offerings. And so worship in the Temple was begun again.

For seven days the people who had gathered in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with great joy, and day after day the Levites and the priests praised the LORD with all their strength.

they all decided to celebrate for another seven days. So they celebrated with joy.

So everyone was happy---the people of Judah, the priests, the Levites, the people who had come from the north, and the foreigners who had settled permanently in Israel and Judah.

The priests and the Levites asked the LORD's blessing on the people. In his home in heaven God heard their prayers and accepted them.

Throughout all Judah, King Hezekiah did what was right and what was pleasing to the LORD his God.

He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem. "I remember how faithful you were when you were young, how you loved me when we were first married; you followed me through the desert, through a land that had not been planted.

Israel, you belonged to me alone; you were my sacred possession. I sent suffering and disaster on everyone who hurt you. I, the LORD, have spoken."