Tunc Salomon ait: Dominus pollicitus est ut habitaret in caligine:

Where the cloud is, cried Solomon, the Lord has promised to be.

Then Solomon said: The Lord promised that he would dwell in a cloud.

ego autem ædificavi domum nomini ejus, ut habitaret ibi in perpetuum.

It is true, then, the house I have built in his honour is to be, for ever, his dwelling-place.

But I have built a house to his name, that he might dwell there for ever.

Et convertit rex faciem suam, et benedixit universæ multitudini Israël (nam omnis turba stabat intenta), et ait:

With that, the king turned to bless the whole assembly; all Israel, that stood waiting there.

And the king turned his face, and blessed all the multitude of Israel (for all the multitude stood attentive) and he said:

Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, qui quod locutus est David patri meo, opere complevit, dicens:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, he said, who has fulfilled in act the promise he made to my father David.

Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who hath accomplished in deed that which he spoke to David my father, saying:

A die qua eduxi populum meum de terra Ægypti, non elegi civitatem de cunctis tribubus Israël ut ædificaretur in ea domus nomini meo, neque elegi quemquam alium virum ut esset dux in populo Israël:

So many years since he had rescued his people from Egypt, and never a city among all the tribes of Israel had he chosen to be the site of his dwelling-place or the shrine of his name, never a prince had he appointed over his people of Israel,

From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built in it to my name: neither chose I any other man, to be the ruler of my people Israel.

sed elegi Jerusalem ut sit nomen meum in ea, et elegi David ut constituerem eum super populum meum Israël.

till at last he chose Jerusalem, to enshrine his name there, and David for his people’s ruler.

But I chose Jerusalem, that my name might be there: and I chose David to set him over my people Israel.

Cumque fuisset voluntatis David patris mei ut ædificaret domum nomini Domini Dei Israël,

And when he, my father, would have built a house in honour of the Lord God of Israel,

And whereas David my father had a mind to build a house to the name of the Lord the God of Israel,

dixit Dominus ad eum: Quia hæc fuit voluntas tua, ut ædificares domum nomini meo, bene quidem fecisti hujuscemodi habere voluntatem:

the Lord told him that he had done well to conceive such a purpose in his heart;

The Lord said to him: Forasmuch as it was thy will to build a house to my name, thou hast done well indeed in having such a will:

sed non tu ædificabis domum: verum filius tuus, qui egredietur de lumbis tuis, ipse ædificabit domum nomini meo.

But it is not for thee, he said, to build me a house. A house shall be built in my honour, but by thy son, the heir of thy body.

But thou shalt not build the house, but thy son, who shall come out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.

Complevit ergo Dominus sermonem suum quem locutus fuerat: et ego surrexi pro David patre meo, et sedi super thronum Israël, sicut locutus est Dominus: et ædificavi domum nomini Domini Dei Israël.

That promise of his the Lord has fulfilled; I have come forward in my father David’s place, sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised I should; it has been mine to build a house to the honour of the Lord, Israel’s God,

The Lord therefore hath accomplished his word which he spoke: and I am risen up in the place of David my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel.

Et posui in ea arcam in qua est pactum Domini quod pepigit cum filiis Israël.

and to find a home for this ark, witness of the covenant he made with Israel’s sons.

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

Stetit ergo coram altari Domini ex adverso universæ multitudinis Israël, et extendit manus suas.

Then Solomon stood before the Lord’s altar in full view of all Israel, and stretched out his hands.

And he stood before the altar of the Lord, in presence of all the multitude of Israel, and stretched forth his hands.

Siquidem fecerat Salomon basim æneam, et posuerat eam in medio basilicæ, habentem quinque cubitos longitudinis, et quinque cubitos latitudinis, et tres cubitos altitudinis: stetitque super eam, et deinceps flexis genibus contra universam multitudinem Israël, et palmis in cælum levatis,

In the midst of the great court he had bidden them set down a block of bronze, five cubits across either way and three feet in height; on this he mounted, and there, in the sight of all Israel, kneeling down with his hands lifted up towards heaven, he prayed.

For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, and had set it in the midst of the temple, which was five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high: and he stood upon it: then kneeling down in the presence of all the multitude of Israel, and lifting up his hands towards heaven,

ait: Domine Deus Israël, non est similis tui deus in cælo et in terra: qui custodis pactum et misericordiam cum servis tuis qui ambulant coram te in toto corde suo:

Lord God of Israel, he said, thou reignest without rival in heaven and earth, making good thy merciful promises to all who follow thee with undivided hearts.

He said: O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven nor in earth: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

qui præstitisti servo tuo David patri meo quæcumque locutus fueras ei: et quæ ore promiseras, opere complesti, sicut et præsens tempus probat.

And thou hast not disappointed thy servant, my father David; thy act matches thy word; this day, who doubts it?

Who hast performed to thy servant David my father all that thou hast promised him: and hast accomplished in fact, what thou hast spoken with thy mouth, as also the present time proveth.

Nunc ergo Domine Deus Israël, imple servo tuo patri meo David quæcumque locutus es, dicens: Non deficiet ex te vir coram me, qui sedeat super thronum Israël: ita tamen si custodierint filii tui vias suas, et ambulaverint in lege mea, sicut et tu ambulasti coram me.

Do not forget, Lord God of Israel, that other promise of thine to David, that he should always have an heir to sit on the throne of Israel, would but his sons guide their steps, like David himself, as in thy presence;

Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfil to thy servant David my father, whatsoever 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 ways, and walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

Et nunc Domine Deus Israël, firmetur sermo tuus quem locutus es servo tuo David.

let that promise too, Lord God of Israel, be ratified!

And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy word be established which thou hast spoken to thy servant David.

Ergone credibile est ut habitet Deus cum hominibus super terram? si cælum et cæli cælorum non te capiunt, quanto magis domus ista quam ædificavi?

Folly it were to think that God has a dwelling-place on earth. If the very heavens, and the heaven that is above the heavens, cannot contain thee, what welcome can it offer thee, this house which I have built?

Is it credible then that God should dwell with men on the earth? If heaven and the heavens of heavens do not contain thee, how much less this house, which I have built?

Sed ad hoc tantum facta est, ut respicias orationem servi tui, et obsecrationem ejus, Domine Deus meus, et audias preces quas fundit famulus tuus coram te:

Yet it has not been built in vain, O Lord my God, if thou wilt give heed to thy servant’s prayer, that sues for thy favour, listen to the cry of entreaty he makes before thee.

But to this end only it is made, that thou mayest regard the prayer of thy servant and his supplication, O Lord my God: and mayest hear the prayers which thy servant poureth out before thee.

ut aperias oculos tuos super domum istam diebus ac noctibus, super locum in quo pollicitus es ut invocaretur nomen tuum,

This I ask, that thy eyes should be ever watching, night and day, over this temple of thine, the chosen sanctuary of thy name;

That thou mayest open thy eyes upon this house day and night, upon the place wherein thou hast promised that thy name should be called upon,

et exaudires orationem quam servus tuus orat in eo: et exaudias preces famuli tui, et populi tui Israël. Quicumque oraverit in loco isto, exaudi de habitaculo tuo, id est, de cælis, et propitiare.

be this the meeting-place where thou wilt listen to thy servant’s prayer. Whatever requests I or my people Israel make shall find audience here; thou wilt listen from thy dwelling-place in heaven, and listening, wilt forgive.

And that thou wouldst hear the prayer which thy servant prayeth in it: hearken then to the prayers of thy servant, and of thy people Israel. Whosoever shall pray in this place, hear thou from thy dwelling place, that is, from heaven, and shew mercy.

Si peccaverit quispiam in proximum suum, et jurare contra eum paratus venerit, seque maledicto constrinxerit coram altari in domo ista:

Has a man wronged his neighbour, and is he ready to clear himself of the charge by an oath? Then, if he comes to this house of thine, to swear the lie before thy altar,

If any man sin against his neighbour, and come to swear against him, and bind himself with a curse before the altar in this house:

tu audies de cælo, et facies judicium servorum tuorum, ita ut reddas iniquo viam suam in caput proprium, et ulciscaris justum, retribuens ei secundum justitiam suam.

thou, in heaven, wilt be listening, and wilt do justice between thy servants, passing sentence upon the guilty and avenging the wrong, acquitting the innocent and granting him due redress.

Then hear thou from heaven, and do justice to thy servants, so as to requite the wicked by making his wickedness fall upon his own head, and to revenge the just, rewarding him according to his justice.

Si superatus fuerit populus tuus Israël ab inimicis (peccabunt enim tibi), et conversi egerint pœnitentiam, et obsecraverint nomen tuum, et fuerint deprecati in loco isto,

Are thy people of Israel condemned to flee before their enemies, in punishment of the sins they will surely commit? Then, if they come back to thee in repentance, call on thy name and plead with thee in this temple of thine,

If thy people Israel be overcome by their enemies, (for they will sin against thee,) and being converted shall do penance, and call upon thy name, and pray to thee in this place,

tu exaudies de cælo: et propitiare peccato populi tui Israël, et reduc eos in terram quam dedisti eis, et patribus eorum.

thou wilt be listening in heaven; forgive the sins of thy people Israel, and restore them to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.

Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back into the land, which thou gavest to them, and their fathers.

Si clauso cælo pluvia non fluxerit propter peccata populi, et deprecati te fuerint in loco isto, et confessi nomini tuo, et conversi a peccatis suis, cum eos afflixeris,

Does the sky bar its gates against them, and give no rain, in punishment for their sins? Then, if they come here acknowledging thee with prayer and repentance, and turn away, in their sore need, from their sins,

If the heavens be shut up, and there fall no rain by reason of the sins of the people, and they shall pray to thee in this place, and confess to thy name, and be converted from their sins, where thou dost afflict them,

exaudi de cælo, Domine, et dimitte peccata servis tuis et populi tui Israël, et doce eos viam bonam, per quam ingrediantur: et da pluviam terræ quam dedisti populo tuo ad possidendum.

do thou, in heaven, listen, and grant thy servants the people of Israel forgiveness; teach them to guide their steps aright, and send rain on the land thou hast given them for their home.

Then hear thou from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the sins of thy servants and of thy people Israel, and teach them the good way, in which they may walk: and give rain to thy land which thou hast given to thy people to possess.

Fames si orta fuerit in terra, et pestilentia, ærugo, et aurugo, et locusta, et bruchus: et hostes, vastatis regionibus, portas obsederint civitatis, omnisque plaga et infirmitas presserit:

Is there famine in the land, or pestilence, blight or mildew, plague of locust or caterpillar? Does some enemy press hard on it, besieging its city gates? Whatever be the plague or the sickness that weighs us down,

If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence or blasting, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars: or if their enemies waste the country, and besiege the cities, whatsoever scourge or infirmity shall be upon them:

si quis de populo tuo Israël fuerit deprecatus, cognoscens plagam et infirmitatem suam, et expanderit manus suas in domo hac,

if any one among thy people, accepting that plague or sickness as his own, makes prayer to thee, stretching out his hands in this temple,

Then if any of thy people Israel, knowing his own scourge and infirmity shall pray, and shall spread forth his hands in this house,

tu exaudies de cælo, de sublimi scilicet habitaculo tuo: et propitiare, et redde unicuique secundum vias suas, quas nosti eum habere in corde suo (tu enim solus nosti corda filiorum hominum):

thou, in heaven, thy high dwelling-place, wilt be listening; do thou relent, and send to each man the lot his deeds deserve, thou, who alone readest the hearts of human kind.

Hear thou from heaven, from thy high dwelling place, and forgive, and render to every one according to his ways, which thou knowest him to have in his heart: (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)

ut timeant te, et ambulent in viis tuis cunctis diebus quibus vivunt super faciem terræ quam dedisti patribus nostris.

So will men learn to fear thee and to follow in thy paths, long as they live to enjoy the land thou gavest to our fathers.

That they may fear thee, and walk in thy ways all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.

Externum quoque, qui non est de populo tuo Israël, si venerit de terra longinqua propter nomen tuum magnum, et propter manum tuam robustam, et brachium tuum extentum, et adoraverit in loco isto,

Nay, is it some stranger, with no part in thy people Israel, who yet comes here from distant lands, for love of thy renown, for the constraining force thy power displays, and worships thee in this temple?

If the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, come from a far country, for the sake of thy great name, and thy strong hand, and thy stretched out arm, and adore in this place:

tu exaudies de cælo firmissimo habitaculo tuo, et facies cuncta pro quibus invocaverit te ille peregrinus: ut sciant omnes populi terræ nomen tuum, et timeant te sicut populus tuus Israël, et cognoscant quia nomen tuum invocatum est super domum hanc quam ædificavi.

Still, in heaven, thy secure dwelling-place, thou wilt grant the alien’s prayer. So shall all the world come to hear of thy renown, and fear thee no less than Israel itself; shall doubt no more that this temple I have built claims thy protection.

Hear thou from heaven thy firm dwelling place, and do all that which that stranger shall call upon thee for: that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and may fear thee, as thy people Israel, and may know, that thy name is invoked upon this house, which I have built.

Si egressus fuerit populus tuus ad bellum contra adversarios suos per viam in qua miseris eos, adorabunt te contra viam in qua civitas hæc est, quam elegisti, et domus quam ædificavi nomini tuo,

Sometimes thy people will go out to levy war upon their enemies, here and there at thy bidding. Then, as they fall to prayer, let them but turn in the direction of the city thou hast chosen, the temple I have built there in thy honour,

If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that thou shalt send them, and adore thee towards the way of this city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:

tu exaudies de cælo preces eorum, et obsecrationem: et ulciscaris.

and thou, in heaven, wilt listen to their prayer for aid, wilt maintain their cause.

Then hear thou from heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and revenge them.

Si autem peccaverint tibi (neque enim est homo qui non peccet), et iratus fueris eis, et tradideris hostibus, et captivos duxerint eos in terram longinquam, vel certe quæ juxta est,

But what, if they have offended thee by their faults? No man but is guilty of some fault; it may be thou wilt give them up, in thy anger, into the power of their enemies, and as prisoners they will be banished into countries far away, or alien countries within sight of home.

And if they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand,

et conversi in corde suo in terra ad quam captivi ducti fuerant, egerint pœnitentiam, et deprecati te fuerint in terra captivitatis suæ, dicentes: Peccavimus: inique fecimus, injuste egimus:

But ere long, in their banishment, they will come back to thee with repentant hearts, crying out to thee, poor exiles, We are sinners, we have done amiss, rebels all!

And if they be converted in their heart in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly:

et reversi fuerint ad te in toto corde suo, et in tota anima sua, in terra captivitatis suæ ad quam ducti sunt, adorabunt te contra viam terræ suæ, quam dedisti patribus eorum, et urbis quam elegisti, et domus quam ædificavi nomini tuo:

In that alien land, the land of their captivity, they will turn back to thee with all the purpose of their heart and soul. Then, if they turn in prayer towards the land thou gavest their fathers, the city of thy choice, and the temple I have built in thy honour,

And return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore thee towards the way of their own land which thou gavest their fathers, and of the city, which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built to thy name:

tu exaudies de cælo, hoc est, de firmo habitaculo tuo, preces eorum: et facias judicium, et dimittas populo tuo, quamvis peccatori:

thou, in heaven, on thy peaceful throne, wilt once more listen to their prayer for aid, wilt maintain their cause still. And thou wilt relent towards thy people, though they have sinned against thee.

Then hear thou from heaven, that is, from thy firm dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment, and forgive thy people, although they have sinned:

tu es enim Deus meus: aperiantur, quæso, oculi tui, et aures tuæ intentæ sint ad orationem quæ fit in loco isto.

My God! Ever be thy eyes open, ever thy ears attentive to the prayer that is offered here.

For thou art my God: let thy eyes, I beseech thee, be open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer, that is made in this place.

Nunc igitur consurge, Domine Deus, in requiem tuam, tu et arca fortitudinis tuæ: sacerdotes tui, Domine Deus, induantur salutem, et sancti tui lætentur in bonis.

Up, Lord, take possession of this, thy home, with the ark that makes known thy power; Lord God, let thy priests go clad in triumph, thy faithful people rejoice in thy bounty.

Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, put on salvation, and thy saints rejoice in good things.

Domine Deus, ne averteris faciem christi tui: memento misericordiarum David servi tui.

Lord God, do not reject my prayer, the king thou hast anointed; bethink thee of the loving designs thou hadst for thy servant David before him.

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