Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
- BSB Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud;
- 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 18:8–11There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
- Exod 20:21And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
- Lev 16:2And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
- Heb 12:18For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
- Nah 1:3The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
- 1 Kgs 8:12–50Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
- Deut 4:11And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
- Exod 24:15–18And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.