The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house.
- KJV So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
- BSB so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
- NKJV so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
- NASB so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The priests could not continue ministering because the glory of the Lord filled the temple. God's overwhelming presence interrupted human service.
Overview
So intense was the divine glory that the priests had to stop their duties, overcome by the holy presence of God. This echoed Sinai and the tabernacle's dedication, marking the temple as truly God's dwelling. The scene reveals both the nearness and the awesome holiness of God, before whom sinful people cannot stand except through the access secured by Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 44:4Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house: and I fell on my face.
- Ezek 43:4–5Yahweh’s glory came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
- 2 Cor 3:18But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
- Lev 9:23Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out, and blessed the people: and Yahweh’s glory appeared to all the people.
- 2 Cor 4:6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Ezek 43:2Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.
- John 1:14The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Rev 21:23The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moon, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
- Rev 21:11having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
- Acts 7:55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
- Lev 9:6Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh commanded that you should do: and Yahweh’s glory shall appear to you.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 8:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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