Solomon’s Benediction

^54 (A)When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and plea to the Lord, ^(B)he stood up from the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his ^[a]hands spread toward heaven. ⁵⁵ And he stood and ^(C)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel ^(D)in accordance with everything that He ^[b]promised; ^(E)not one word has ^[c]failed of all His good ^[d]promise, which He ^[e]promised through Moses His servant. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; ^(F)may He not leave us nor forsake us, ⁵⁸ so that ^(G)He may guide our hearts toward Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ And may these words of mine, with which I have implored the ^[f]favor of the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, so that He will maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, ^[g]as each day requires, ⁶⁰ so ^(H)that all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(I)the Lord is God; there is no one else. ^61 (J)Your hearts therefore shall be ^[h]wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Dedicatory Sacrifices

^62 (K)Then the king and all Israel with him ^(L)offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. ^(M)So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, because there he ^[i]offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings; for ^(N)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So ^(O)Solomon held the ^[j]feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly ^(P)from the entrance of Hamath ^(Q)to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, that is, fourteen days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had ^[k]shown to David His servant, and to Israel His people.

God’s Promise and Warning

9 ^(R)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and ^(S)the king’s house, and ^(T)all ^[l]that Solomon desired to do, ² that ^(U)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ And the Lord said to him, “^(V)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, ^(W)by putting My name there forever, and ^(X)My eyes and My heart will be there ^[m]always. ⁴ As for you, ^(Y)if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, ⁵ then ^(Z)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I ^[n]promised to your father David, saying, ‘^[o]You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “^(AA)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, ^7 (AB)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and ^(AC)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will ^[p]expel from My sight. So ^(AD)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. ⁸ And this house will become ^(AE)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and ^[q]hiss and say, ‘^(AF)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ ⁹ And they will say, ‘^(AG)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they ^[r]adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Instructions and Greetings

16 Now concerning ^(A)the collection for ^[a](B)the saints, as ^(C)I directed the churches of ^(D)Galatia, so you are to do as well. ² On ^(E)the first day of every week, each of you is to ^[b]put aside and save as he may prosper, so that ^(F)no collections need to be made when I come. ³ When I arrive, ^(G)whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem; ⁴ and if it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.

⁵ But I ^(H)will come to you after I go through ^(I)Macedonia; for I ^(J)am going through Macedonia, ⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^(K)send me on my way wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not want to see you now ^(L)just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, ^(M)if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will remain in ^(N)Ephesus until ^(O)Pentecost; ⁹ for a ^(P)wide door ^[c]for effective service has opened to me, and ^(Q)there are many adversaries.

¹⁰ Now if ^(R)Timothy comes, see that he ^[d]has no reason to be afraid while among you, for he is doing ^(S)the Lord’s work, as I also am. ^11 (T)So do not look down on him, anyone. But ^(U)send him on his way ^(V)in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brothers.

¹² Now concerning our brother ^(W)Apollos, I strongly encouraged him to come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has the opportunity.

^13 (X)Be on the alert, ^(Y)stand firm in the faith, ^(Z)act like men, ^(AA)be strong. ¹⁴ All that you do must be done ^(AB)in love.

¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters: you know the ^(AC)household of Stephanas, that ^[e]they are the ^(AD)first fruits of ^(AE)Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to ^(AF)ministry to ^(AG)the ^[f]saints; ¹⁶ I urge that ^(AH)you also be subject to such as these and to everyone who helps in the work and labors. ¹⁷ I rejoice over the ^[g](AI)coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they have ^[h]supplied ^(AJ)what was lacking on your part. ¹⁸ For they ^(AK)have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore ^(AL)acknowledge such men.

¹⁹ The churches of ^[i](AM)Asia greet you. ^(AN)Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with ^(AO)the church that is in their house. ²⁰ All the brothers and sisters greet you. ^(AP)Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ The greeting is in ^(AQ)my own hand—that of Paul. ²² If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be ^[j](AR)accursed. ^[k](AS)Maranatha! ^23 (AT)The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(A)Now when the ^(B)queen of ^(C)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the Lord, she came ^(D)to test him with riddles. ² So she came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels ^(E)carrying balsam oil and a very large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him about everything that was in her heart. ³ And Solomon ^[a]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, ⁵ and the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, ^[b]she was breathless. ⁶ Then she said to the king, “It was a true ^[c]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ But I did not believe the ^[d]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. ^8 (F)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! ^9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; ^(H)because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, ^(I)to do justice and righteousness.” ¹⁰ Then ^(J)she gave the king ^[e]120 talents of gold, and a very large amount of balsam oil and precious stones. Never again did such a large quantity of balsam oil come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

^11 (K)And the ships of Hiram as well, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. ^12 (L)The king made from the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day.

¹³ And King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she requested, besides what he gave her in proportion to ^[f]his royal bounty. Then she ^[g]departed and went to her own land ^[h]together with her servants.

Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom

^14 (M)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was ^[i]666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that from the traders, and the ^[j]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^(N)Arabs and the governors of the country. ^16 (O)King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, ^[k]using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield. ¹⁷ And he made ^(P)three hundred small shields of beaten gold, ^[l]using ^[m]three minas of gold on each shield; and ^(Q)the king put them in the house of the timber of Lebanon. ¹⁸ Moreover, the king made a large throne of ^(R)ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. ¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its back, and ^[n]armrests ^[o]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ^[p]armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for ^[q]any other kingdom. ²¹ Now all King Solomon’s drinking utensils were of gold, and all the utensils of the house of the timber of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered as amounting to anything in the days of Solomon. ²² For ^(S)the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

^23 (T)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. ²⁴ And all the earth was seeking the ^[r]attention of Solomon, ^(U)to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ And ^(V)they were bringing, everyone, ^[s]a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

^26 (W)Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he ^[t]stationed them in the ^(X)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^27 (Y)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ^[u]lowland. ^28 (Z)Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price. ²⁹ A chariot ^[v]was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ^[w]by the same means they exported them ^(AA)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.

Parables on Prayer

18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^(A)ought to pray and not ^(B)become discouraged, ² saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not ^(C)respect any person. ³ Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my ^[a]opponent.’ ⁴ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor ^(D)respect any person, ⁵ yet ^(E)because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise ^[b]by continually coming she will ^(F)wear me out.’” ⁶ And ^(G)the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; ⁷ now, will God not ^(H)bring about justice for His ^(I)elect who cry out to Him day ^[c]and night, and will He ^(J)delay long for them? ⁸ I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^(K)will He find ^[d]faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ Now He also told this parable to some people who ^(L)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^(M)viewed others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men ^(N)went up into the ^[e]temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee ^(O)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 ^(P)fast twice a week; I ^(Q)pay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, ^(R)standing some distance away, ^(S)was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but ^(T)was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be ^[f]merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; ^(U)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

^15 (V)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 ^[g]the little ones, saying, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not ^[h]forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I say to you, ^(W)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

The Rich Young Ruler

^18 (X)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 ^[i]good? No one is ^[j]good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments, ‘^(Y)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; ^(Z)sell all that you possess and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have ^(AA)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, “^(AB)How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For ^(AC)it is easier for a camel to ^[k]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, “^(AD)The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Behold, ^(AE)we have left ^[l]our own homes and followed You.” ²⁹ And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^(AF)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 ^(AG)the age to come, eternal life.”