David Prepares for Temple Building

22 Then David said, “^(A)This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

² So David ^[a]gave orders to gather ^(B)the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and ^(C)he set stonecutters to cut out stones to build the house of God. ³ And David ^(D)prepared large quantities of iron ^[b]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more ^(E)bronze than could be weighed; ⁴ and timbers of cedar beyond number, for ^(F)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. ⁵ David said, “My son ^(G)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and glorious throughout the lands. Therefore I now will make preparations for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Commanded to Build the Temple

⁶ Then ^(H)he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “^(I)My son, ^[c]I had intended to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘^(J)You have shed much blood and have ^[d]waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. ⁹ Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest, and ^(K)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for ^(L)his name will be ^[e]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ^10 (M)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, ^(N)the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. ^12 (O)Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel, so that you may ^(P)keep the Law of the Lord your God. ^13 (Q)Then you will prosper, if you are careful to ^[f]follow the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. ^(R)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now behold, ^[g]with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord ^(S)a hundred thousand ^[h]talents of gold and a million talents of silver, and ^(T)bronze and iron beyond measure, for ^[i]they are in great quantity; I have also prepared timber and stone, and you may add to that. ¹⁵ Moreover there are many workmen with you, stonecutters, masons of stone, and carpenters; and all of them are skillful in every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of the gold, silver, bronze, and iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may ^(U)the Lord be with you.”

^17 (V)David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, ¹⁸ “Is the Lord your God not with you? And ^(W)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has handed over to me the inhabitants of the land, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹ Now ^(X)set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; then arise, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, ^(Y)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built ^(Z)for the name of the Lord.”

Godly Living

3 ^(A)In the same way, you wives, ^(B)be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be ^(C)won over without a word by the behavior of their wives, ² as they observe your pure ^[a]and respectful behavior. ^3 (D)Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; ⁴ but it should be ^(E)the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. ⁵ For in this way the holy women of former times, ^(F)who hoped in God, also used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands, ⁶ just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^(G)calling him lord; and you have proved to be her children if you do what is right ^[b](H)without being frightened by any fear.

^7 (I)You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with ^[c](J)someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

^8 [d]To sum up, ^(K)all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, ^[e](L)loving, ^(M)compassionate, and ^(N)humble; ^9 (O)not returning evil for evil or ^(P)insult for insult, but giving a ^(Q)blessing instead; for ^(R)you were called for the very purpose that you would ^(S)inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

^13 (W)And who is ^[f]there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should ^(X)suffer for the sake of righteousness, ^(Y)you ^[g]are blessed. ^(Z)And do not fear their ^[h]intimidation, and do not be in dread, ¹⁵ but ^[i]sanctify ^(AA)Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready ^(AB)to make a ^[j]defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the ^(AC)hope that is in you, but ^(AD)with gentleness and ^(AE)respect; ^16 [k]and keep a ^(AF)good conscience so that in the thing in which ^(AG)you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. ¹⁷ For ^(AH)it is better, ^(AI)if ^[l]God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. ¹⁸ For ^(AJ)Christ also ^[m]suffered for sins ^(AK)once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might ^(AL)bring us to God, having been put to death ^(AM)in the flesh, but made alive ^(AN)in the ^[n]spirit; ¹⁹ in ^[o]which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who once were disobedient when the ^(AO)patience of God ^(AP)kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of ^(AQ)the ark, in which a few, that is, ^(AR)eight ^(AS)persons, were brought safely through the water. ^21 (AT)Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—^(AU)not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God ^[p]for a ^(AV)good conscience—through ^(AW)the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ^22 (AX)who is at the right hand of God, ^(AY)having gone into heaven, ^(AZ)after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

Destruction in Israel and Judah

1 The ^(A)word of the Lord which came to ^(B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of ^(C)Jotham, ^(D)Ahaz, and ^(E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and which he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem.

The Seventy-two Sent Out

10 Now after this ^(A)the Lord appointed ^[a]seventy-two ^(B)others, and sent them ^(C)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go; ^(E)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (F)Carry no money belt, no ^[b]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. ⁵ And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a ^[c]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[d]that house, eating and drinking ^[e]what they provide; for ^(G)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(H)eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(I)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(J)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[f]be sure of this, that ^(K)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(L)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(M)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(N)Woe to you, ^(O)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(P)Bethsaida! For if the ^[g]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(Q)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[h](R)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(S)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(T)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(U)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(V)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[i]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(W)the demons are subject to us ^[j]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(X)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(Y)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[k]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(Z)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (AA)At that very ^[l]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[m]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (AB)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(AC)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”

^23 (AD)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”

^25 (AE)And behold, a ^[n](AF)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? ^[o]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(AG)You shall love the Lord your God ^[p]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(AH)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(AI)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(AJ)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and ^[q]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. ³¹ And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(AK)Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, ³⁴ and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day he took out two ^[r]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think ^[s]proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” ³⁷ And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do ^[t]the same.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named ^(AL)Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(AM)Mary, who was also ^(AN)seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But ^(AO)Martha was distracted with ^[u]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving ^[v]by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “^(AP)Martha, Martha, you are ^(AQ)worried and distracted by many things; ^42 (AR)but only one thing is necessary; for ^(AS)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”