2 Chronicles 7:3

2Ch 7:3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, [saying], For [he is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever.

Ver. 3. Saw how the fire came down.] Though the Lord do not now thus sensibly answer prayers by fire from heaven, or by shaking the house, as Act 4:31, yet by faith we are assured, and by experience confirmed, that they are graciously accepted.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 7:3. The glory of the Lord upon the house — The cloud first came down upon the house, and then entered into the house, and was seen both within it by the priests, and without it by the people; who by this evident token of the divine presence, and the sudden and miraculous descent of the fire, were fully satisfied that it was God’s house, and that he would accept their sacrifices offered there, hear their prayers, and bestow his blessings upon them. They bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement — Fell prostrate upon the ground, thus expressing their awful dread of the divine majesty, their cheerful submission to the divine authority, and the sense they had of their utter unworthiness to enter into his presence. And worshipped and praised the Lord — As they had great reason to do, having seen such manifest tokens of his presence among them. Saying, For he is good, &c. — Thus using the same words in which the priests had just before praised him: a song never out of season, and for which our hearts and tongues should never be out of tune.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

all the children of Israel . . . bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement--This form of prostration (that of lying on one's knees with the forehead touching the earth), is the manner in which the Hebrews, and Orientals in general, express the most profound sentiments of reverence and humility. The courts of the temple were densely crowded on the occasion, and the immense multitude threw themselves on the ground. What led the Israelites suddenly to assume that prostrate attitude on the occasion referred to, was the spectacle of the symbolical cloud slowly and majestically descending upon the temple, and then entering it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(3) Upon the pavement.—Riçpâh; rendered by the LXX. τὸ λιθόστρωτον, which is the word used in Joh_19:13; Vulg., “pavimentum stratum lapide.” (Comp. Eze_40:17-18; Est_1:6, a tesselated pavement.)

And praised.—Gave thanks to Jehovah. The infinitive is here used for the finite form of the verb, as elsewhere.

For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.—See 1Ch_16:34-41; 1Ch_23:30; 2Ch_5:13; 2Ch_20:21. The Syriac and Arabic paraphrase, “and they said one to another: Give thanks to the Lord,” &c. There is hardly anything in the section, except this last phrase, which can be said to be characteristic of the style of the chronicler.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down] R.V. And all the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down.

praised the Lord] R.V. gave thanks unto the LORD; cp. 2Ch_5:13.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down,.... From heaven upon the sacrifice, and consumed it, which was all visible to the eye; or it may be this was a distinct fire from the former, since it seems to have come down upon the house, and so may denote a bright, shining, glorious light; the same with what follows:

and the glory of the Lord upon the house; for not only the house was filled with the glory, but there was a bright stream of light and glory over it, very dazzling and surprising:

they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement; of the great court, where they were assembled:

and worshipped and praised the Lord: worshipped him by praising him:

saying, for he is good; in his nature, promises, and blessings; is good, and does good:

for his mercy endureth for ever; this was the close of their song of praise.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Glory. The same word was before rendered majesty. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The cloud first came down upon the house, and then entered into the house, and was seen both within it by the priests, and without it by the people.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For he is good (so 2Ch_5:13; 1Ch_16:34)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With their faces - Thus expressing their awful dread of the Divine Majesty, their chearful submission to the Divine authority, and the sense they had of their utter unworthiness to enter into his presence. Upon - The cloud first came down upon the house, and then entered into the house, and was seen both within it by the priests, and without it by the people.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.