1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
3 Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. 4 The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height twenty; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. 5 He overlaid the main room with juniper wood and overlaid it with fine gold; and he ornamented it with palm trees and chains. 6 Further, he overlaid the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. 7 He also overlaid the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.
8 Then he made the room of the Most Holy Place: its length across the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.
10 Then he made two sculptured cherubim in the room of the Most Holy Place and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits; the wing of one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 The wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing, of five cubits, was attached to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they stood on their feet facing the main room. 14 He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he worked cherubim into it.
15 He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital on the top of each was five cubits. 16 He made chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains. 17 He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz.
1 Then he made a bronze altar, twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and ten cubits in height. 2 He also made the Sea of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits and its circumference thirty cubits. 3 Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the Sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece. 4 It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inward. 5 It was a hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold three thousand baths. 6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.
7 Then he made the ten golden lampstands in the way prescribed for them, and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred golden bowls. 9 Then he made the courtyard of the priests and the great courtyard, and doors for the courtyard, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 He put the Sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.
11 Huram also made the pails, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars. 14 He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands, 15 and the one Sea with the twelve oxen under it. 16 The pails, the shovels, the forks, and all its utensils, Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord. 17 On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 So Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.
19 Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables with the bread of the Presence on them, 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, that is, of purest gold; 22 and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons, and the firepans of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Most Holy Place and the doors of the house, that is, of the main room, of gold.
1 See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in Him sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.
11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we are to love one another; 12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And for what reason did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. 16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. 17 But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? 18 Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will set our heart at ease before Him, 20 that if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1 The one who scatters has come up against you.
Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;
Bind up your waist, summon all your strength.
2 For the Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob
Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though destroyers have laid waste to them
And ruined their vines.
3 The shields of his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in scarlet,
The chariots are fitted with flashing steel
When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper spears are brandished.
4 The chariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.
5 He remembers his officers;
They stumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the mantelet is set up.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace sways back and forth.
7 It is set:
She is stripped, she is led away,
And her slave women are sobbing like the sound of doves,
Beating their breasts.
8 Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
“Stop, stop,”
But no one turns back.
9 Plunder the silver,
Plunder the gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in the entire body,
And all their faces have become pale!
11 Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub went
With nothing to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough for his cubs,
Killed enough prey for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.
13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord of armies. “I will burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will eliminate your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.”
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person. 3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person, 5 yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
9 Now He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
15 Now they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for the little ones, saying, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” 22 Now when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God!” 26 Those who heard Him said, “And so who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
28 Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.” 29 And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times as much at this time, and in the age to come, eternal life.”
31 Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, 33 and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” 34 The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
35 Now as Jesus was approaching Jericho, a man who was blind was sitting by the road, begging. 36 But when he heard a crowd going by, he began inquiring what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.