45. then hear their prayer for mercy in heaven,and do what is right ⌊for them⌋.
46. “They may sin against you.(No one is sinless.)You may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemywho takes them to ⌊another⌋ country as captives,⌊whether it is⌋ far or near.
47. If they come to their senses,are sorry for what they’ve done,and plead with you in the land where they are captives,saying, ‘We have sinned. We have done wrong.We have been wicked,’
48. if they change their attitude toward youin the land of their enemies where they are captives,if they pray to youtoward the land that you gave their ancestors,and the city you have chosen,and the temple I have built for your name,
49. then in heaven, the place where you live, hear their prayer for mercy.Do what is right for them.
50. Forgive your people, who have sinned against you.⌊Forgive⌋ all their wrongs when they rebelled against you,and cause those who captured them to have mercy on them
51. because they are your own peoplewhom you brought out of Egyptfrom the middle of an iron smelter.
52. “May your eyes always see my plea and your people Israel’s pleaso that you will listen to them whenever they call on you.
53. After all, you, Lord God, set them apart from all the people of the worldto be your own as you promised through your servant Moseswhen you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”
54. When Solomon finished praying this prayer for mercy to the Lord, he stood in front of the Lord’s altar, where he had been kneeling with his hands stretched out toward heaven.
55. Then he stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire assembly of Israel,
56. “Thanks be to the Lord! He has given his people Israel rest, as he had promised. None of the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed to come true.
57. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us.
58. May he bend our hearts toward him. Then we will follow him and keep his commands, laws, and rules, which he commanded our ancestors ⌊to keep⌋.
59. May these words which I have prayed to the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. Then he will give me and his people Israel justice every day as it is needed.
60. In this way all the people of the world will know that the Lord is God and there is no other ⌊god⌋.
61. May your hearts be committed to the Lord our God. Then you will live by his laws and keep his commands as you have today.”
62. Then the king and all Israel offered sacrifices to the Lord.
63. Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings to the Lord. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Lord’s temple.
64. On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar in front of the Lord was too small to hold all of them.
65. At that time Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival ⌊of Booths⌋. A large crowd had come from ⌊the territory between⌋ the border of Hamath and the River of Egypt to be near the Lord our God for seven days.