מלכים א ח׳:י״ב-כ״א

אז אמר שלמה. כשראה הענן, אמר: עתה רואה אני שהשכינה שורה בבית שבניתי, שהרי כך הבטיח לבוא ולשכון בו מתוך ענן וערפל, והיכן אמר, (ויקרא טז ב): כי בענן אראה על הכפורת כך שנויה בספרי:

Then Shlomo declared. When he saw the cloud, he said, “Now I see that the Divine Presence is in the house which I built, for thus did He promise to come and dwell in it from the midst of a cloud and thick darkness.” And where did He say [this promise]? “For in the cloud will I appear upon the Ark cover.”¹²Vayikra 16:2. Thus is this taught in Sifri.

לשבתך עולמים. שמשנבחרה, לא הותרו הבמות, ולא שרתה שכינה במקום אחר:

A dwelling place for You forever. From when it was chosen it would no longer be permissible [to offer sacrifices] on improvised altars, and the Divine Presence no longer dwelled in any other place.

אשר דבר בפיו. שיתן לו בן שיבנה בית:

Who spoke with His mouth. That He would grant him a son who would build the Beis [Hamikdosh].¹³“With His mouth,” refers to the “voice” of prophecy which was given through Noson, the prophet, and repeated directly to Dovid. See II Shmuel 7:12-17.

ובידו מלא. קיים את דברו בידו הטובה:

And fulfilled it with His hand. He has fulfilled His word with His good power.¹⁴The literal meaning of ובידו מלא is, “and fulfilled with His hand.” Here it refers to God’s omnipotence, that He alone is able to fulfill any promise He makes, the hand symbolizing strength.—Radak

מן היום וגו'. את זה דבר אל דוד אבי:

Since the day, etc. This is what He spoke to my father Dovid.