1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives, who were princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. 5 For Solomon became a follower of Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
14 Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal line in Edom. 15 For it came about, when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed in battle, and had struck and killed every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel stayed there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. 18 They set out from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. 19 Now Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David lay down with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, so that I may go to my own country.” 22 However, Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you are here, requesting to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go.”
23 God also raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer, king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, after David killed those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad inflicted; and he felt disgust for Israel and reigned over Aram.
26 Then Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king. 27 Now this was the reason why he rebelled against the king: Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he appointed him over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to tear the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes 32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have abandoned Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. 34 Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My statutes; 35 but I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you; that is, ten tribes. 36 But to his son I will give one tribe, so that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 37 However I will take you, and you shall reign over all that you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 So I will oppress the descendants of David for this, but not always.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam set out and fled to Egypt to Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 So the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 Then Solomon lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining or arguments; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
19 But I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know of his proven character, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need, 26 because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29 Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold people like him in high regard, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to compensate for your absence in your service to me.
1 Then he brought me to the sanctuary, and he measured the side pillars: six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar. 2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured the length of the sanctuary, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. 3 Then he went inside and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. 4 And he measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the house on every side. 6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above another, and thirty in each story; and the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on their inward side all around, so that they could be attached, but not be attached to the wall of the temple itself. 7 And the side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story. Because the structure surrounding the temple went upward by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the second story. 8 I saw also that the house had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full rod of six long cubits in height. 9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple 10 and the outer chambers was twenty cubits in width around the temple on every side. 11 The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space consisted of one doorway toward the north, and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around.
12 The building that was in front of the separate area at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.
13 Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area with the building and its walls were also a hundred cubits long. 14 Also the width of the front of the temple and that of the separate areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits.
15 And he measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches of the courtyard. 16 The thresholds, the latticed windows, and the galleries all around their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), 17 over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. 18 It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces: 19 a human face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. 20 From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the sanctuary.
21 The doorposts of the sanctuary were square; as for the front of the inner sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. 22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; its corners, its base, and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 23 The sanctuary and the inner sanctuary each had a double door. 24 Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. 25 Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the main room, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. 26 And there were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; the same were on the side chambers of the house and the thresholds.
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord
And to sing praises to Your name, Most High;
2 To declare Your goodness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,
With resounding music on the lyre.
4 For You, Lord, have made me joyful by what You have done,
I will sing for joy over the works of Your hands.
5 How great are Your works, Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep.
6 A stupid person has no knowledge,
Nor does a foolish person understand this:
7 When the wicked sprouted up like grass
And all who did injustice flourished,
It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, Lord, are on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, Lord,
For, behold, Your enemies will perish;
All who do injustice will be scattered.
10 But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
I have been anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has looked at my enemies,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still yield fruit in advanced age;
They will be full of sap and very green,
15 To declare that the Lord is just;
He is my rock, and there is no malice in Him.
1 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength.
Indeed, the world is firmly established; it will not be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
You are from eternity.
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4 More than the sounds of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord on high is mighty.
5 Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
Holiness is pleasing to Your house,
Lord, forevermore.