16. because it belongs to me, and this is where I will be worshipped for ever. I will never stop watching over it.
17. Your father David obeyed me, and now, Solomon, you must do the same. Obey my laws and teachings,
18. and I will keep my solemn promise to him that someone from your family will always be king of Israel.
19. But if you or any of the people of Israel disobey my laws or start worshipping foreign gods,
20. I will pull you out of this land I gave you. I will desert this temple where I said I would be worshipped, so that people everywhere will think it is only a joke and will make fun of it.
21. This temple is now magnificent. But when these things happen, everyone who walks by it will be shocked and will ask, “Why did the Lord do such a terrible thing to his people and to this temple?”
22. Then they will answer, “It was because the people of Israel rejected the Lord their God, who rescued their ancestors from Egypt, and they started worshipping other gods.”