1 Kings 8:12

Good News Translation

Then Solomon prayed: "You, Lord , have placed the sun in the sky, yet you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Solomon said:

Hebrew Names Version
Then spoke Shlomo, the LORD has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

King James Version
Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

English Standard Version
Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

New Century Version
Then Solomon said, "The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud.

New English Translation
Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness.

Amplified Bible
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness [of the cloud].

New American Standard Bible
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then spake Salomon, The Lord said, that he woulde dwell in the darke cloude.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Solomon said,"Yahweh has said that He would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.

Contemporary English Version
Then Solomon prayed: "Our Lord , you said that you would live in a dark cloud.

Complete Jewish Bible
Shlomo said, " Adonai said he would live in thick darkness.

Darby Translation
Then said Solomon: Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Solomon said, "The Lord caused the sun to shine in the sky, but he chose to live in a dark cloud.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Solomon said, O LORD, thou hast said that thou wouldst dwell in the thick darkness.

Lexham English Bible
Then Solomon said, "Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the very thick cloud.

Literal Translation
And Solomon said, Jehovah has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Salomon: The LORDE sayde, that he wolde dwell in a darke cloude.

American Standard Version
Then spake Solomon, Jehovah hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

Bible in Basic English
Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then spake Solomon: The Lorde saide that he would dwell in the darke cloude.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then spoke Solomon: The LORD hath said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.

King James Version (1611)
Then spake Solomon; The Lord said that hee would dwell in the thicke darkenesse.

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

Berean Standard Bible
Then Solomon said: "The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thanne Salomon seide, The Lord seide, that he wolde dwelle in a cloude.

Young's Literal Translation
Then said Solomon, `Jehovah hath said to dwell in thick darkness;

Update Bible Version
Then Solomon spoke, Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then spoke Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

World English Bible
Then spoke Solomon, Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

New King James Version
Then Solomon spoke: "The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.

New Living Translation
Then Solomon prayed, "O Lord , you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness.

New Life Bible
Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that He would live in the thick cloud.

New Revised Standard
Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then, said Solomon, - Yahweh, said, that he would make his habitation in thick gloom:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Solomon said: The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud.

Revised Standard Version
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has set the sun in the heavens, but has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

THE MESSAGE
Then Solomon spoke: God has told us that he lives in the dark where no one can see him; I've built this splendid Temple, O God, to mark your invisible presence forever.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

Contextual Overview

¹² Then Solomon prayed: "You, Lord , have placed the sun in the sky, yet you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness. ¹³ Now I have built a majestic temple for you, a place for you to live in forever." ¹⁴ As the people stood there, King Solomon turned to face them, and he asked God's blessing on them. ¹⁵ He said, "Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David, when he told him, ¹⁶ ‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen any city in all the land of Israel in which a temple should be built where I would be worshiped. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.'" ¹⁷ And Solomon continued, "My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel, ¹⁸ but the Lord said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me, ¹⁹ but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.' ²⁰ "And now the Lord has kept his promise. I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built the Temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel. ²¹ I have also provided a place in the Temple for the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The Lord: Deuteronomy 4:11, 2 Chronicles 6:1, 2 Chronicles 6:2-11, Psalms 18:8-11, Psalms 97:2

the thick: Exodus 20:21, Leviticus 16:2, Deuteronomy 5:22, Isaiah 45:15, Hebrews 12:18

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:9 - Lo 2 Samuel 22:10 - darkness Job 26:9 - General Ecclesiastes 12:9 - he still

Cross-References

Genesis 8:2
The outlets of the water beneath the earth and the floodgates of the sky were closed. The rain stopped,

Genesis 8:3
and the water gradually went down for 150 days.

Genesis 8:5
The water kept going down, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared.

Genesis 8:6
After forty days Noah opened a window

Genesis 8:7
and sent out a raven. It did not come back, but kept flying around until the water was completely gone.

Genesis 8:8
Meanwhile, Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had gone down,

Genesis 8:10
He waited another seven days and sent out the dove again.

Psalms 27:14
Trust in the Lord . Have faith, do not despair. Trust in the Lord .

Isaiah 8:17
The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but I trust him and place my hope in him.

Isaiah 25:9
When it happens, everyone will say, "He is our God! We have put our trust in him, and he has rescued us. He is the Lord ! We have put our trust in him, and now we are happy and joyful because he has saved us."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And then spake Solomon,.... Perceiving by this symbol that the Lord was come into his house, to take up his dwelling in it, and seeing the priests and people in consternation at it, spake the following words to their comfort:

the Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness; and now was fulfilling his promise, and therefore to be considered not as a token of his displeasure, but of his gracious presence; this was done for the greater awe of the divine Majesty, and to denote the darkness of the former dispensation; reference may be had to Leviticus 16:2 or rather this was now said by the Lord, that is, it appeared to be his resolution and determination to dwell in this manner; the Targum is,

"the Lord is pleased to cause his Shechinah or divine Majesty to dwell in Jerusalem,''

in the temple there. This was imitated by the Heathens; hence the Lacedemonians had a temple dedicated to Jupiter Scotitas, or the dark, as Pausanias u relates; and the Indian Pagans to this day affect darkness in their temples, and are very careful that no light enter into them but by the door, which is commonly strait and low, and by little crevices in the windows w.

u Laconica, sive, I. 3. p. 178. w Agreement of Customs between the East-Indians and Jews, art. 5. p. 35.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rather, “The Lord spake of dwelling in the thick darkness” (margin reference). Solomon sees in the cloud the visible symbol of God’s presence, and accepts the token as a proof that He has taken possession of the house built for Him, and will thenceforth dwell there 1 Kings 8:13.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 8:12. The Lord said - he would dwell — It was under the appearance of a cloud that God showed himself present with Israel in the wilderness; see Exodus 14:19-20. And at the dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness, God manifested himself in the same way that he did here at the dedication of the temple; see Exodus 40:34-35.