8. Solomon and all the Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days. There were many people. They came from as far away as Lebo Hamath. And they came all the way from the brook of Egypt.
9. They had given the altar for the worship of the Lord. And they celebrated that for seven days. Then they celebrated the festival for seven days. On the eighth day they had a meeting.
10. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people home. They were full of joy. They were happy because the Lord had been so good to David, Solomon and his people the Israelites.
11. Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord and the king’s palace. He had success in doing everything he planned in the Temple of the Lord and his own palace.
12. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night. The Lord said, “Solomon, I have heard your prayer. And I have chosen this place for myself to be a Temple for sacrifices.
13. “I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people.
14. Then my people, who are called by my name, will be sorry for what they have done. They will pray and obey me and stop their evil ways. If they do, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.
15. Now I will see them. And I will listen to the prayers prayed in this place.
16. I have chosen this Temple and made it holy. So I will be worshiped here forever. Yes, I will always watch over it and love it.
17. “Solomon, obey me as your father David did. Obey all I have commanded. Obey my laws and rules.
18. If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the agreement I made with your father David. I told him, ‘David, someone from your family will always be king in Israel.’
19. “But you must not turn away from me. You must not stop obeying the laws and commands I gave you. You must not serve and worship other gods.
20. If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I gave them. And I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of it and speak evil about it.
21. This Temple is honored now. But then, everyone who passes by will be surprised. They will say, ‘Why has the Lord done this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’
22. Then people will answer, ‘It’s because the Israelites left the Lord, the God their ancestors obeyed. He is the God who led them out of Egypt. But they accepted other gods and worshiped and served them. That is why the Lord brought this disaster on them.’”