He burned down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem,

He burned down the Temple and the city, with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke down the city wall.

They looked like woodsmen cutting down trees with their axes.

They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire; they desecrated the place where you are worshiped.

He burned down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem;

The Lord rejected his altar and deserted his holy Temple; He allowed the enemy to tear down its walls. They shouted in victory where once we had worshiped in joy.

Once they were proud of their beautiful jewels, but they used them to make disgusting idols. That is why the LORD has made their wealth repulsive to them.

"I will let foreigners rob them," says the LORD, "and lawbreakers will take all their wealth and defile it.

to give you Israelites this message: You are proud of the strength of the Temple. You like to look at it and to visit it, but the LORD is going to profane it. And the younger members of your families who are left in Jerusalem will be killed in war.

The LORD said, "Now, mortal man, I will take away from them the strong Temple that was their pride and joy, which they liked to look at and to visit. And I will take away their sons and daughters.

"Yes," he said, "you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down."

As the people stood there, King Solomon turned to face them, and he asked God's blessing on them.

"Praise the LORD who has given his people peace, as he promised he would. He has kept all the generous promises he made through his servant Moses.

He said, "Praise the LORD God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David when he said to him,

When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love.

The priests stood in the places that were assigned to them, and facing them stood the Levites, praising the LORD with the musical instruments that King David had provided and singing the hymn, "His Love Is Eternal!" as they had been commissioned by David. The priests blew trumpets while all the people stood.

The king followed the instructions that the LORD had given to King David through Gad, the king's prophet, and through the prophet Nathan; he stationed Levites in the Temple, with harps and cymbals,

Hezekiah gave the order for the burnt offering to be presented; and as the offering began, the people sang praise to the LORD, and the musicians began to play the trumpets and all the other instruments.

Then King Hezekiah and all the people knelt down and worshiped God.

A lonely ruin now, Jerusalem recalls her ancient splendor. When she fell to the enemy, there was no one to help her; Her conquerors laughed at her downfall.

The enemies robbed her of all her treasures. She saw them enter the Temple itself, Where the LORD had forbidden Gentiles to go.

Her people groan as they look for something to eat; They exchange their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. "Look at me, LORD," the city cries; "see me in my misery."