Making the Court

^9 (A)And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; ¹⁰ their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. ¹¹ And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. ¹² And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. ¹³ And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. ¹⁴ The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. ¹⁵ And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. ¹⁶ All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen. ¹⁷ And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. ¹⁸ And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. ¹⁹ And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. ²⁰ And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

²² Then Solomon ^(A)stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and ^(B)spread out his hands toward heaven, ²³ and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^(C)there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(D)keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; ²⁴ you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. ^(E)You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. ²⁵ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ^(F)‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ ^26 (G)Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(H)heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! ²⁸ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, ^29 (I)that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^(J)‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ³⁰ And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

³¹ “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take ^(K)an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, ^(L)condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

^33 (M)“When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and ^(N)if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

^35 (O)“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when ^(P)you teach them ^(Q)the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

^37 (R)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates,^[a] whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, ³⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (^(S)for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), ⁴⁰ that they may fear you ^(T)all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake ⁴² (for they shall hear of your great name ^(U)and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order ^(V)that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and ^(W)fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

⁴⁴ “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord ^(X)toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “If they sin against you—^(Y)for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive ^(Z)to the land of the enemy, far off or near, ⁴⁷ yet ^(AA)if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ^(AB)‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ ^48 (AC)if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you ^(AD)toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, ⁴⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause ⁵⁰ and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and ^(AE)grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹ (^(AF)for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, ^(AG)from the midst of the iron furnace). ^52 (AH)Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. ⁵³ For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, ^(AI)as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Judgment on Edom

⁷ Concerning ^(A)Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

¹² For thus says the Lord: ^(Q)“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, ^(R)will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. ^13 (S)For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that ^(T)Bozrah shall become ^(U)a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

^17 (Y)“Edom shall become a horror. ^(Z)Everyone who passes by it will be horrified ^(AA)and will hiss because of all its disasters. ^18 (AB)As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ^(AC)neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, ^(AD)no man shall dwell there, ^(AE)no man shall sojourn in her. ^19 (AF)Behold, ^(AG)like a lion coming up from ^(AH)the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him^[b] run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. ^(AI)For who is like me? ^(AJ)Who will summon me? ^(AK)What shepherd can stand before me? ²⁰ Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against ^(AL)Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of ^(AM)Teman: ^(AN)Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. ²¹ At the sound of their fall ^(AO)the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. ²² Behold, ^(AP)one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against ^(AQ)Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart ^(AR)of a woman in her birth pains.”

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

The Death of Jesus

³³ And when the sixth hour^[a] had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.^{[b] 34} And at the ninth hour Jesus ^(A)cried with a loud voice, ^(B)“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with ^(C)sour wine, put it on a reed ^(D)and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus ^(E)uttered a loud cry and ^(F)breathed his last. ³⁸ And ^(G)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ^39 (H)And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he^[c] breathed his last, he said, ^(I)“Truly this man was the Son^[d] of God!”

⁴⁰ There were also ^(J)women looking on ^(K)from a distance, among whom were ^(L)Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and ^(M)Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ^(N)ministered to him, and there were also many other women who ^(O)came up with him to Jerusalem.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is ^(A)folly to ^(B)those who are perishing, but to us ^(C)who are being saved it is ^(D)the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

^20 (F)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(G)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[a] to save those who believe. ²² For ^(H)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ ^(I)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(J)the power of God and ^(K)the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: ^(L)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[b] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But ^(M)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(N)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(O)things that are not, to ^(P)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(Q)that no human being^[c] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[d] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(R)wisdom from God, ^(S)righteousness and ^(T)sanctification and ^(U)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(V)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”