=9.= _thou shalt not build_] Compare 1 Chronicles xxii. 8, note. ¹¹And there have I set the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with the children of Israel. =11.= _the covenant_] i.e. the two tables of stone, compare v. 10. _with the children of Israel_] In 1 Kings viii. 21, _with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt_. =12‒39= (= 1 Kings viii. 22‒50). SOLOMON’S PRAYER. The prayer is reproduced from 1 Kings with a few verbal changes and with the omission of verses 50b‒53. It is mainly a petition that future prayers made “in” or “toward this house” may be heard. The subjects of the different parts of the prayer are as follows:―― verses 14‒17. The promise made to David. 18‒21. Prayer made toward _this place_. 22, 23. The oath of ordeal taken in _this place_. 24, 25. Prayer under defeat. 26, 27. Prayer for rain. 28‒31. Prayer under divers afflictions. 32, 33. The stranger’s prayer. 34, 35. The prayer of the army at war abroad. 36‒39. The prayer of Israel in captivity. ¹²And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: ¹³(for Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, 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:) ¹⁴and he said, O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in the heaven, or in the earth; who keepest covenant and mercy with¹ thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart: ¹⁵who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. ¹ Or, _for_. =13.= _Solomon had made a brasen scaffold_] This “scaffold” is not mentioned in 1 Kings. The word used (_kiyyōr_) properly means a “laver” (so iv. 6), and perhaps the simple emendation _kiyyūn_ = “platform” should be adopted. ¹⁶Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee¹ a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as thou hast walked before me. ¹⁷Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David. ¹ Hebrew _There shall not be cut off unto thee a man from my sight._ =16.= _walk in my law_] In 1 Kings viii. 25, _walk before me_. The Chronicler characteristically introduces a reference to the Law of the Lord (the _tōrah_). In Samuel and Kings neither David nor Solomon ever mentions this.