📖 2 Chronicles — Chapter 6 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
2 Chronicles 6:1 Then said Solomon, RThe LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
2 Chronicles 6:2 But RI have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.
2 Chronicles 6:3 And the king Rturned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.
2 Chronicles 6:4 And he said, RBlessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,
2 Chronicles 6:5 RSince the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:
2 Chronicles 6:6 RBut I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
2 Chronicles 6:7 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
2 Chronicles 6:8 But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, Rthou didst well in that it was in thine heart:
2 Chronicles 6:9 Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but Rthy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
2 Chronicles 6:10 The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for RI am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
2 Chronicles 6:11 And in it have RI put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.
2 Chronicles 6:12 And Rhe stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
2 Chronicles 6:13 For Solomon had made a brasen Rscaffold of five cubits Tlong, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.
2 Chronicles 6:14 And said, RO LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
2 Chronicles 6:15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; Rand spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
2 Chronicles 6:16 Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, Rkeep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, TThere shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.
2 Chronicles 6:17 Now then, RO LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
2 Chronicles 6:18 RBut will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
2 Chronicles 6:19 RHave respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
2 Chronicles 6:20 That Rthine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth Ttoward this place.
2 Chronicles 6:21 Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall Tmake Ttoward this place: hear thou from Rthy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
2 Chronicles 6:22 If a man Rsin against his neighbour, Tand an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
2 Chronicles 6:23 Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by Rrequiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
2 Chronicles 6:24 And if thy people Israel Tbe Rput to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee Tin this house;
2 Chronicles 6:25 Then hear thou from the heavens, and Rforgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
2 Chronicles 6:26 When Rthe heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray Ttoward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
2 Chronicles 6:27 Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, Rwhen thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
2 Chronicles 6:28 RIf there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them Tin the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
2 Chronicles 6:29 Then Rwhat prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands Tin this house:
2 Chronicles 6:30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and Rrender unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
2 Chronicles 6:31 That they may Rfear thee, to walk in thy ways, Tso long as they live Tin the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
2 Chronicles 6:32 Moreover concerning Rthe stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
2 Chronicles 6:33 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; Rthat all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that Tthis house which I have built is called by thy name.
2 Chronicles 6:34 If Rthy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
2 Chronicles 6:35 Then Rhear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their Tcause.
2 Chronicles 6:36 If Rthey sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and Tthey carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
2 Chronicles 6:37 RYet if they Tbethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
2 Chronicles 6:38 If they Rreturn to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
2 Chronicles 6:39 Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their RTcause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
2 Chronicles 6:40 Now, Rmy God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent Tunto the prayer that is made in this place.
2 Chronicles 6:41 Now therefore Rarise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
2 Chronicles 6:42 O LORD God, Rturn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Chronicles 6:1–11 — God's promise fulfilled
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Solomon blesses the gathered people and credits God with fulfilling his word to David. David's desire to build was good, but the work belonged to his son. Solomon places the ark within the finished house and interprets the occasion through God's promise. Fulfillment calls for gratitude rather than personal boasting.
Key Truth: Give God thanks for promises faithfully fulfilled.
Check What You Remember
1. Which city did God choose for his name? (2 Chronicles 6:6)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:6 (KJV).
2. Who had first desired to build the house? (2 Chronicles 6:7)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:7 (KJV).
3. What did Solomon place in the house? (2 Chronicles 6:11)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:11 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Chronicles 6:12–31 — Prayer for justice and forgiveness
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Solomon kneels publicly and asks God to hear from heaven. He acknowledges that no building can contain God. His prayer includes justice, defeat, drought, sickness, and forgiveness for repentant people. The covenant setting explains these petitions; it should not become a claim that every illness today proves a person's particular sin.
Key Truth: Pray humbly to the God who knows every heart.
Check What You Remember
1. What posture did Solomon take on the scaffold? (2 Chronicles 6:13)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:13 (KJV).
2. Can the highest heavens contain God? (2 Chronicles 6:18)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:18 (KJV).
3. Who alone knows the hearts of all people? (2 Chronicles 6:30)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:30 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Chronicles 6:32–42 — Prayer reaches strangers and captives
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Solomon prays for foreigners who seek God's name and for Israelites who repent in captivity. The prayer anticipates suffering and exile without treating them as beyond the reach of mercy. He asks God to hear, forgive, and remember his mercies to David. The house points toward a God whose hearing is not confined to its walls.
Key Truth: Turn to God with a repentant and wholehearted prayer.
Check What You Remember
1. For whom outside Israel does Solomon pray? (2 Chronicles 6:32)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:32 (KJV).
2. How should the captives return to God? (2 Chronicles 6:38)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:38 (KJV).
3. Whose mercies does the closing petition ask God to remember? (2 Chronicles 6:42)
Find it in 2 Chronicles 6:42 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
1 Kings 8:27 — Kings also records Solomon's acknowledgment that heaven cannot contain God.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Which part of Solomon's prayer helps you bring your own need honestly before God?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does Solomon distinguish David’s intention from the task assigned to him?
2. How does the prayer avoid treating the temple as a limit on God?
3. What connection is made between drought, repentance, and restoration?
4. What purpose accompanies the prayer for the stranger?
5. What inward return is sought for people carried captive?
Notes
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