55. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice:
56. “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not a single word has gone unfulfilled of the entire gracious promise he made through Moses his servant.
57. May the Lord, our God, be with us as he was with our ancestors and may he not forsake us nor cast us off.
58. May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may walk in his ways and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances that he enjoined on our ancestors.
59. May these words of mine, the petition I have offered before the Lord, our God, be present to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel as each day requires,
60. so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and there is no other.
61. Your heart must be wholly devoted to the Lord, our God, observing his statutes and keeping his commandments, as on this day.”
62. The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord.
63. Solomon offered as communion offerings to the Lord twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. Thus the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the Lord.