Chapter 6 contains the great prayer of King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. Following praise and thanksgiving, Solomon sets forth a series of supplications for various circumstances in which Israel will need heavenly mercy - an oath in a court of law, defeat in war, drought, famine and plague, the prayer of a foreigner, going out to battle, and exile - and for all of these, he asks that the Holy One, Blessed be He, hear from heaven and answer. In this section, we will examine the text from the verse discussing an oath between a person and his fellow through the end of the chapter.
אִם יֶחֱטָא אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ וְנָשָׁא בוֹ אָלָה לְהַאֲלֹתוֹ וּבָא אָלָה לִפְנֵי מִזְבַּחֲךָ בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה׃ - If a man sins against his fellow, and an oath is imposed upon him to make him swear, and the oath comes before Your altar in this House:
This refers to a person who becomes obligated to take an oath to his fellow: his fellow claims against him, "You stole from me," or any case where Halachah requires an oath, such as the oath of bailees (shomrim) and the like. "And an oath is imposed upon him [venasa vo alah]" - from the root of a creditor (nosheh), like a creditor claiming a debt; here, he brings a claim against him and demands that he take an oath, which is the alah. "And the oath comes before Your altar" - and he comes and swears before the altar of Hashem in this House.
וְאַתָּה תִּשְׁמַע מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וְעָשִׂיתָ וְשָׁפַטְתָּ אֶת עֲבָדֶיךָ לְהָשִׁיב לְרָשָׁע לָתֵת דַּרְכּוֹ בְּרֹאשׁוֹ וּלְהַצְדִּיק צַדִּיק לָתֶת לוֹ כְּצִדְקָתוֹ׃ - Then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, requiting the wicked by bringing his way upon his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.
There are two possibilities here: either the person taking the oath is swearing falsely, or he is swearing truthfully and the one demanding the oath is acting improperly - knowing full well that there is no justification to impose an oath, yet forcing it upon him anyway; such a person is termed wicked. Therefore Solomon asks: "Then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants" - that justice be carried out immediately, requiting the wicked according to his way and vindicating the righteous according to his righteousness.
The reason for requesting immediate punishment is to instill awe and reverence for this House. When punishment is not seen close to the transgression, there is no fear; even if retribution eventually comes later, who among us knows how to calculate the ways of Providence and recognize, a decade later, for which sin one is now paying the price? People do not realize this, and consequently they will not internalize the proper reverence and will lack fear of the word of Hashem. But when punishment occurs immediately in this House, awe will take hold and people will fear Him, Blessed be He - and all of this is for the honor of Hashem. Similarly, the Holy One, Blessed be He, commanded that there be reverence for the House of Hashem, as the Radak notes, citing the verse: "And you shall revere My Sanctuary" - meaning that a person must enter the Temple with awe and dread.
וְאִם יִנָּגֵף עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי אוֹיֵב כִּי יֶחֶטְאוּ לָךְ וְשָׁבוּ וְהוֹדוּ אֶת שְׁמֶךָ וְהִתְפַּלְלוּ וְהִתְחַנְּנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה׃ - And if Your people Israel are struck down before an enemy because they sin against You, and they return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this House:
If the people of Israel are struck down before an enemy, it is not because the hand of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is too short to save; rather, the verse immediately explains: "Because they sin against You." If we are defeated before an enemy, it is solely due to iniquities. So long as the sin of Achan in trespassing against the banned property (cherem) had not occurred, Israel was victorious in every battle; the moment Achan transgressed and took from the devoted items, they fell at Ai. From this you learn: sin is the cause. "And they return and confess Your name" - they will confess their iniquity, praise His Name, acknowledge their sin, repent from it, and plead and pray in this House.
וְאַתָּה תִּשְׁמַע מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וְסָלַחְתָּ לְחַטַּאת עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַהֲשֵׁיבוֹתָם אֶל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לָהֶם וְלַאֲבֹתֵיהֶם׃ - Then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land that You gave to them and to their fathers.
"May You hear from heaven" - as we have seen, the intention is not that He hears from this house, but rather from heaven. "And forgive the sin of Your people Israel" - pardon their iniquity. "And return them to the land" - for in the wake of war they will also come to exile; when they are struck down and fall before their enemies, the enemies take them captive and carry them off to another land. Therefore he asks: when they cry out to You, bring them back to their land. And as for mentioning "to them and to their fathers" - perhaps because even if they are not truly worthy, seeing that they sinned and were exiled as a consequence, nonetheless the land was promised to their fathers, and from that aspect it is fitting that this promise be fulfilled.
בְּהֵעָצֵר הַשָּׁמַיִם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה מָטָר כִּי יֶחֶטְאוּ לָךְ וְהִתְפַּלְלוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְהוֹדוּ אֶת שְׁמֶךָ מֵחַטָּאתָם יְשׁוּבוּן כִּי תַעֲנֵם׃ - When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your Name, and turn from their sin so that You may answer them.
When the heavens are shut up, it is the result of sin, as it is written: "And He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain." It is not global warming, nor any variety of strange causes, not ozone problems and not barometric pressure - all of these are vanity. Scripture tells you: "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You," period. Sin is the cause.
Notice that Scripture always ties Hashem's response to prayer to repentance: this House is not a magical place where you simply come, pray, and receive. "And they pray toward this place and confess Your Name, and turn from their sin so that You may answer them" - in order for You to answer them, they must turn from their sin; without that, it does not work. And the Metzudat David emphasizes here: they turned from their sin "so that You may answer them" - in order that You rescue them. In other words, this is not repentance for its own sake, nor is there a genuine recognition of the fault; rather, a person currently needs salvation, and therefore he makes his request. Even so, Shlomo asks that even in such a state, where their repentance is incomplete, the Holy One, blessed be He, should still answer them.
וְאַתָּה תִּשְׁמַע הַשָּׁמַיִם וְסָלַחְתָּ לְחַטַּאת עֲבָדֶיךָ וְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי תוֹרֵם אֶל הַדֶּרֶךְ הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר יֵלְכוּ בָהּ וְנָתַתָּה מָטָר עַל אַרְצְךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לְעַמְּךָ לְנַחֲלָה׃ - Then may You hear from heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, when You teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.
This is a remarkable request: even though they did not repent whole-heartedly and not out of love, Shlomo asks that Hashem hear from heaven. And why? "When You teach them the good way in which they should walk" - by this, You teach them to walk in the good way and to act out of love; when they see Hashem's kindness toward them, it will bring them to complete repentance, to repentance out of love. And then, "and grant rain upon Your land" - You will also be able to fulfill their request and grant rain upon Your land, which You have given as an inheritance.
The Radak explains "when You teach them the good way" differently: make known to them for which sin the heavens were shut up. As the commentary attributed to Rashi explains, just as occurred in the days of David, when there was a famine for three years, and they inquired and investigated why this happened, and the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "It is for Shaul and for his blood-stained house." So too Shlomo asks: when distress strikes, instruct them as to why it has come, so that they may rectify it and thereby remove the affliction.
רָעָב כִּי יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ דֶּבֶר כִּי יִהְיֶה שִׁדָּפוֹן וְיֵרָקוֹן אַרְבֶּה וְחָסִיל כִּי יִהְיֶה כִּי יָצַר לוֹ אֹיְבָיו בְּאֶרֶץ שְׁעָרָיו כָּל נֶגַע וְכָל מַחֲלָה׃ - If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague or whatever sickness there be.
Here he prays regarding all manner of afflictions: famine; pestilence - epidemic; blight (shidafon) - when the seeds of grain are damaged before their ripening is complete; mildew (yerakon) - when the grain turns pale and takes on a yellowish-green appearance, which is also a type of curse and deterioration; locust and caterpillar (arbeh ve-chasil) - types of locusts that come and destroy the grain in the land; "if their enemies besiege them" - that enemies come and besiege us in the land, "in the land of their gates," meaning at your gates, having already reached the gates of the land; as well as "whatever plague or whatever sickness there be." The Radak explains: although I have enumerated here many instances of Israel's troubles, he is praying in general for whatever plague or sickness may occur, that for all of them - when they lift up prayer and supplication - the Holy One, blessed be He, will answer them and have mercy on them.
כָּל תְּפִלָּה כָל תְּחִנָּה אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לְכָל הָאָדָם וּלְכֹל עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יֵדְעוּ אִישׁ נִגְעוֹ וּמַכְאֹבוֹ וּפָרַשׂ כַּפָּיו אֶל הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה׃ - Whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by any person or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own affliction and his own pain, and spreads out his hands toward this house.
"By any person" - individuals; "or by all Your people Israel" - the public. That is to say, even when the Holy One, blessed be He, responds, He can respond to each and every individual with an exact knowledge of what he is lacking. "Who know, each man his affliction and his pain" - individually, each one with his own personal affliction and pain, "and spread out his hands toward this house."
וְאַתָּה תִּשְׁמַע מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם מְכוֹן שִׁבְתֶּךָ וְסָלַחְתָּ וְנָתַתָּה לָאִישׁ כְּכָל דְּרָכָיו אֲשֶׁר תֵּדַע אֶת לְבָבוֹ כִּי אַתָּה לְבַדְּךָ יָדַעְתָּ אֶת לְבַב בְּנֵי הָאָדָם׃ - Then hear from heaven, the place of Your dwelling, and forgive, and render to each man according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of the children of men.
"And render to each man according to all his ways" - the commentary attributed to Rashi explains: to the wicked give according to his wickedness, and to the righteous according to his righteousness. For if He does not repay the wicked person according to his evil deeds, he will speak insolently toward Heaven and claim that Hashem does not see into his heart: "Behold, I came and prayed and 'deceived' Heaven, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, saw how I prayed with all my heart and granted my request, not knowing what I do in secret." He will then conclude that God does not know his heart, and there will also be a desecration of God's Name - as others see how this wicked person succeeds, enjoying every good thing while Hashem grants him all that he asks for, making it appear as though Hashem is unaware of what is happening with him. In contrast, act toward the righteous person according to his righteousness when he prays before You. As we will see further on, regarding a non-Jew the matter is different; Shlomo requests that even if he is completely unworthy, the Holy One, blessed be He, should answer him in any case.
לְמַעַן יִירָאוּךָ לָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכֶיךָ כָּל הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר הֵם חַיִּים עַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ׃ - So that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways, all the days that they live upon the face of the land that You gave to our fathers.
"So that they may fear You" - so that the wicked person will turn from his way; therefore, I pray to You to render to each man according to his ways, so that when he sees that the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the depths of his heart, he will mend his ways. Radak explains: when they see that You forgive them when they return to You and pray in this House, they will realize that because of our sins the rains were withheld, because of our sins we fell into captivity, and because of our sins the enemies, the locusts, and the caterpillars came - everything was due to our iniquities. Through this, they will return in complete repentance before You and fear You, and the fear of Heaven will dwell within them.
And this is the meaning of what is stated, "For with You is forgiveness, that You may be feared": forgiveness comes from Hashem, and through it comes awe of Him. But if a person does not turn to Hashem, may He be blessed, and does not ask Him for pardon, from where would he gain awe? He would feel that he can commit any wrongdoing and the Holy One, blessed be He, will bestow good upon him in any event. On the contrary, when he sees that when he does wickedness he experiences no good, and when he repents Hashem forgives him - this is "that You may be feared," and through this there will be awe of Hashem.
וְגַם אֶל הַנָּכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא מֵעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא וּבָא מֵאֶרֶץ רְחוֹקָה לְמַעַן שִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל וְיָדְךָ הַחֲזָקָה וּזְרוֹעֲךָ הַנְּטוּיָה וּבָאוּ וְהִתְפַּלְלוּ אֶל הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה׃ - Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, but comes from a distant land for the sake of Your great Name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm, and they come and pray toward this house.
"For the sake of Your great Name" - since the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, has become renown throughout the world, the foreigner comes from a distant land to pray in the House of Hashem; he heard of Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm, and he comes and prays toward this House.
וְאַתָּה תִּשְׁמַע מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם מִמְּכוֹן שִׁבְתֶּךָ וְעָשִׂיתָ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא אֵלֶיךָ הַנָּכְרִי לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ כָל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ אֶת שְׁמֶךָ וּלְיִרְאָה אֹתְךָ כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלָדַעַת כִּי שִׁמְךָ נִקְרָא עַל הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר בָּנִיתִי׃ - Then hear from heaven, from the place of Your dwelling, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to You for, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your Name and fear You, as does Your people Israel, and know that Your Name is called upon this house which I have built.
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: concerning an Israelite, I pray that You give him according to his ways - if he is deserving, grant it to him; if he is not deserving, do not grant it to him. But for idolaters - "according to all that he calls to You." And why? Because an Israelite recognizes the Holy One, blessed be He, and knows that the power is in His hand to act, and if his prayer is not heard, he attributes it to himself and his sins, and examines his actions: "I corrupted my deeds and ruined my livelihood" - he knows that it is because of his iniquity, and he takes responsibility. An idolater, however, protests and complains, saying: "I heard of His renown throughout the world, and I toiled on long journeys until I arrived - do you know how much the ticket cost me? How many months I was tossed at sea to get here? And here I arrived, I prayed, and I was not answered; I prayed in this place and found no substance in it, just like all the other deities." Therefore, "and do according to all that the foreigner calls to You" - Shlomo asks that even if he is unworthy and undeserving, it should be done for him, so that he does not protest and cause a desecration of God's Name.
And we have previously explained what it means to "protest and complain." Our Sages say that one who gives a coin to charity saying, "On condition that my son may live" - even if his son ultimately dies, this is still considered complete charity, because he gives wholeheartedly and his heart is directed toward Heaven; his goal and intention are for the sake of Heaven, even though he said, "in order that my son may live." But with a non-Jew, this is not the case; rather, he protests: if Hashem did not heal his son, he has complaints against the Holy One, blessed be He - "I paid, why did You not deliver?"
There is also another explanation that has been brought previously: "קורא תגר" (*koreh tegar*, to dispute or complain) shares the root of *tagra*, commerce and bargaining. The gentile feels he is striking business deals with the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, take ten thousand dollars and give me the child. He believes he has closed a transaction, and if the Holy One, blessed be He, does not fulfill His side - he has a complaint, for Hashem did not keep to the agreement. In his eyes, the Holy One, blessed be He, is a merchant of sorts: "I prayed to You, I gave to You, now give to me." He has no concept of *leshem Shamayim* (for the sake of Heaven), no submission to Divine will, no self-nullification. An entire discourse was once dedicated to this theme: this is what is written regarding Pharaoh, that the wicked stand above their gods - it is not the god who dictates their agenda, but they who dictate the agenda to their god; they make conditions with the Master of the Universe, and if He fails to meet their conditions - they "fire" Him. Therefore, Shlomo asks that there be no desecration of Hashem's Name, and that You grant the gentile's request even if he is unworthy; whereas regarding Your people Israel, who acknowledge Hashem and know that all power is in His hands, if their prayer is not heard, they attribute it to themselves and their sins, and examine their deeds.
כִּי יֵצֵא עַמְּךָ לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל אֹיְבָיו בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁלָחֵם וְהִתְפַּלְלוּ אֵלֶיךָ דֶּרֶךְ הָעִיר הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתָּ בָּהּ וְהַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר בָּנִיתִי לִשְׁמֶךָ׃ - When Your people go out to battle against their enemies on the way in which You send them, and they pray to You toward this city that You have chosen and the House that I have built for Your Name.
"On the way in which You send them" - the Metzudat David explains that they would never go out to war without first inquiring of Hashem through the Urim VeTumim, and thus it is You Who send them to battle. Note as well: they cannot pray in the Temple, for they are away at war outside the Land of Israel. Therefore, "and they pray to You toward this city" - turning their faces toward Jerusalem, as noted in the commentary attributed to Rashi.
From here we derive the universal direction of prayer: one who stands at a distance, outside the Land of Israel, directs his heart toward the Land of Israel, toward Jerusalem, toward the Beit HaMikdash, toward the Holy of Holies, toward the Shechinah between the Keruvim, between the wings of the Keruvim. This is noted in the siddurim before the Shemoneh Esreh prayer - that one must have this intent in every prayer, conscious that he stands before the King, before the Holy One, blessed be He, directing his heart. Those of us in the Land of Israel do not need to direct our thoughts toward the Land, but directly toward Jerusalem, the Beit HaMikdash, the Chamber of the Holy of Holies, toward the Shechinah above the Ark, above the *kapporet* (Ark cover), between the Keruvim - that is the focus one must hold. Thus, they pray to You with the intention that their prayer ascend through this city, and then You will accept their prayer as well.
וְשָׁמַעְתָּ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם אֶת תְּפִלָּתָם וְאֶת תְּחִנָּתָם וְעָשִׂיתָ מִשְׁפָּטָם׃ - Then hear their prayer and their supplication from heaven, and uphold their cause.
"And uphold their cause" (*ve'asita mishpatam*) - that You execute judgment upon their enemies. Alternatively, as the commentary attributed to Rashi explains: *mishpatam* refers to their needs, as in the phrase "to execute the judgment of His servant" - meaning all the needs of His servant.
כִּי יֶחֶטְאוּ לָךְ כִּי אֵין אָדָם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֶחֱטָא וְאָנַפְתָּ בָם וּנְתַתָּם לִפְנֵי אוֹיֵב וְשָׁבוּם שׁוֹבֵיהֶם אֶל אֶרֶץ רְחוֹקָה אוֹ קְרוֹבָה׃ - If they sin against You - for there is no person who does not sin - and You become angry with them and deliver them before an enemy, and their captors take them captive to a distant or nearby land.
"For there is no person who does not sin" - an entirely sinless person is virtually nonexistent; only four people died solely due to the instigation of the primordial serpent, whereas all other human beings are susceptible to sin. "And You become angry with them" - You will show wrath toward them, delivering them before their enemies, and their captors will take them captive to a land far or near.
וְהֵשִׁיבוּ אֶל לְבָבָם בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבּוּ שָׁם וְשָׁבוּ וְהִתְחַנְּנוּ אֵלֶיךָ בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁבְיָם לֵאמֹר חָטָאנוּ הֶעֱוִינוּ וְרָשָׁעְנוּ׃ - And they take it to heart in the land where they were taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying: "We have sinned, we have iniquitously transgressed, and we have acted wickedly."
After the enemy takes them captive following their sin - "and they take it to heart" (*veheshivu el levavam*), an expression of returning to one's senses; "where they were taken captive" (*asher nishbu sham*), referring to captivity. "And repent" (*veshavu*) - now they turn back in genuine repentance and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity.
וְשָׁבוּ אֵלֶיךָ בְּכָל לִבָּם וּבְכָל נַפְשָׁם בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁבְיָם אֲשֶׁר שָׁבוּ אֹתָם וְהִתְפַּלְלוּ דֶּרֶךְ אַרְצָם אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה לַאֲבוֹתָם וְהָעִיר אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתָּ וְלַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר בָּנִיתִי לִשְׁמֶךָ׃ - "And they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity where they carried them captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, and the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your Name:"
It is not without reason that it says here, "with all their heart and with all their soul," for it is precisely when a person is in crisis that he repents with all his heart and with all his soul; as long as all is well with him, he does not awaken. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and also wept" - but we did not shed a single tear while we were still here. Therefore, in the land of their captivity they will truly repent with all their heart and with all their soul, and they will pray facing their land which You gave to their fathers - as we explained, directing themselves toward the Land of Israel and Jerusalem - and turn their intent toward the city that You have chosen and toward the House that I built for Your Name.
וְשָׁמַעְתָּ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם מִמְּכוֹן שִׁבְתְּךָ אֶת תְּפִלָּתָם וְאֶת תְּחִנֹּתֵיהֶם וְעָשִׂיתָ מִשְׁפָּטָם וְסָלַחְתָּ לְעַמְּךָ אֲשֶׁר חָטְאוּ לָךְ׃ - "Then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and champion their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You."
"From heaven, from Your dwelling place" - as we explained, the hearing comes from there, from Above. And through this You will forgive Your people who sinned against You. The commentary attributed to Rashi notes: through this Your Name will be magnified in the world, as all will see that the Holy One, blessed be He, hears the prayer of His people Israel wherever they may be. "And champion their cause" - take vengeance on their enemies, and then all will recognize that it is Hashem's will to do good for His people Israel.
עַתָּה אֱלֹהַי יִהְיוּ נָא עֵינֶיךָ פְּתֻחוֹת וְאָזְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁבוֹת לִתְפִלַּת הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - "Now, my God, let Your eyes, please, be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer of this place."
"Kashuvot" (attentive) - an expression of attentive listening and hearing.
וְעַתָּה קוּמָה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים לְנוּחֶךָ אַתָּה וַאֲרוֹן עֻזֶּךָ כֹּהֲנֶיךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים יִלְבְּשׁוּ תְשׁוּעָה וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יִשְׂמְחוּ בַטּוֹב׃ - "And now arise, Hashem God, to Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your strength; let Your priests, Hashem God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your pious ones rejoice in goodness."
"Arise, Hashem, to Your resting place" - now the Ark will wander no longer, as we saw it moved from Shiloh to Nov and from Nov to Giv'on; You and the Ark of Your strength are now permanently set here in this place. And why is it called "the Ark of Your strength"? Because through it, Hashem performed wonders and mighty deeds against the Philistines, from the word oz (strength), as in "Seek Hashem and His strength." Our Sages teach that the cows broke into song: "His right hand and His holy arm have wrought salvation for Him" - referring to the Ark, through which the Holy One, blessed be He, wrought miracles, signs, and wonders against their foes. "Be clothed with salvation" - for now they will no longer be shifted from place to place, as in "righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins." "And let Your pious ones rejoice in goodness" - from the abundance of bounty You will bestow upon them; and the commentary attributed to Rashi explains: from the tithes given to the Levites and from the reward for guarding the Ark. And this place will be a permanent resting place, so that the Ark will wander no more.
יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים אַל תָּשֵׁב פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ זָכְרָה לְחַסְדֵי דָּוִיד עַבְדֶּךָ׃ - "Hashem God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember the devotions of David Your servant."
With this, Shlomo concludes and seals his prayer: regarding all that I prayed before You, may my prayer be accepted before You. He is the anointed king, which is why he refers to himself as "Your anointed": do not turn me away empty-handed, and remember the pious deeds of David my father, and in the merit of those deeds do not turn me away. And as Chazal teach, through this very plea - "remember the devotions of David Your servant" - the gates of the Holy of Holies opened, and he was able to bring the Ark inside.
The Malbim explains that here Ezra abridged Shlomo's prayer: he did not copy the last three verses that appear there in Melachim, and instead copied what he found in other records, concluding with two verses from Shir HaMa'alot - Psalm 132 in Tehillim - which was recited concerning bringing in the Aron. Here it appears with slight variation, and the Malbim in Tehillim elaborates further on the differences between what is written here and what is written there; whoever wishes may hear this in the shiurim on Sefer Tehillim.
In this part of Shlomo's prayer, his petitions unfold for all situations of distress: an oath between a person and his fellow - where the request is that judgment be rendered immediately so that there will be awe of the Mikdash; defeat in war, withholding of rain, famine and pestilence, and every affliction and illness - and Scripture attributes all of these to sin: sin is the cause, and teshuvah is the prerequisite for being answered, although Shlomo asked that Hashem respond even to teshuvah that is not yet complete, since through it they will come to teshuvah out of love. Regarding Yisrael he asked, "and render to each man according to all his ways," whereas regarding the foreigner he asked, "according to all that he calls out to You" - so that he will not lodge complaints and there will be no Chillul Hashem. And for those going out to war and for the exiles, he requested that they pray facing the city and the House, which is the direction we focus upon in every prayer. And he concluded: "do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember the pious deeds of David Your servant" - and in that merit, the doors of the Kodesh HaKodashim opened.