Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud;
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
- KJV Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
- NKJV Then Solomon spoke: “The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud.
- NASB Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.
- NLT Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness.
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
Solomon declared that the Lord had said he would dwell in thick darkness. He acknowledged God's presence in the cloud that had just filled the temple.
Overview
Recalling God's word at Sinai, Solomon interpreted the glory-cloud as a sign that the Lord had come to dwell in the temple. The 'thick darkness' conveyed both God's nearness and his hidden, unapproachable majesty. This tension of God present yet veiled would be resolved in Christ, who makes the invisible God known to us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 18:8–11Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
- Exod 20:21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
- Lev 16:2And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
- Heb 12:18For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;
- Nah 1:3The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
- 1 Kgs 8:12–50Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
- Deut 4:11You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Exod 24:15–18When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
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Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 6:1 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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