12. He stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.
13. Solomon had made a bronze platform and had placed it in the middle of the enclosure. It was seven and one-half feet long, seven and one-half feet wide, and four and one-half feet high. He stood on it and then got down on his knees in front of the entire assembly of Israel. He spread out his hands toward the sky,
14. and prayed: “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity.
15. You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.
16. Now, O Lord God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, ‘You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and obey my law as you have done.’
17. Now, O Lord God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant David be realized.
18. “God does not really live with humankind on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built!
19. But respond favorably to your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you.
20. Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant’s prayer for this place.
21. Respond to the requests of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably and forgive.
22. “When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple,
23. listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve.
24. “If your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you, then if they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help before you in this temple,
25. then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.
26. “The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them,
27. then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess.
28. “The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight, and disease, or a locust invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs.
29. When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their intense pain and spread out their hands toward this temple,