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 foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and ^(C)he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³ 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 logs 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 all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Charged with the Task

⁶ Then ^(H)he called for his son Solomon, and charged 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 to 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 shall 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 give you charge over 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 observe 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, ^[f]with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord ^(S)100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and ^(T)bronze and iron beyond weight, for ^[g]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the 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 not the Lord your God with you? And ^(W)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, 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; arise, therefore, 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.”

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. ^5 (N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ^6 (O)We are from God; ^(P)he who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

^7 (T)Beloved, let us ^(U)love one another, for love is from God; and ^(V)everyone who loves is ^[a](W)born of God and ^(X)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, for ^(Y)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was manifested ^[b](Z)in us, that ^(AA)God has sent His ^[c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(AB)not that we loved God, but that ^(AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(AD)the propitiation for our sins. ^11 (AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(AF)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (AG)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His ^(AH)love is perfected in us. ^13 (AI)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(AJ)testify that the Father has ^(AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (AL)Whoever confesses that ^(AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(AN)abides in him, and he in God. ^16 (AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[d](AP)for us. ^(AQ)God is love, and the one who ^(AR)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(AT)confidence in ^(AU)the day of judgment; because ^(AV)as He is, so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but ^(AW)perfect love casts out fear, because fear ^[e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(AX)perfected in love. ^19 (AY)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and ^(BA)hates his brother, he is a ^(BB)liar; for ^(BC)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^(BD)cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(BF)should love his brother also.