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.”

Solomon's Benediction

^54 (AJ)Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had ^(AK)knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. ⁵⁵ And he stood and ^(AL)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^(AM)Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. ⁵⁷ The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. ^(AN)May he not leave us or forsake us, ⁵⁸ that he may ^(AO)incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, ⁶⁰ that ^(AP)all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(AQ)the Lord is God; there is no other. ^61 (AR)Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon's Sacrifices

^62 (AS)Then ^(AT)the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because ^(AU)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So Solomon held ^(AV)the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from ^(AW)Lebo-hamath to ^(AX)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.^{[b] 66} On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, ^(A)a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ^(B)walk in a manner worthy of ^(C)the calling to which you have been called, ² with all ^(D)humility and ^(E)gentleness, with ^(F)patience, ^(G)bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ^(H)the bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(I)one body and ^(J)one Spirit—just as you were called to the one ^(K)hope that belongs to your call— ^5 (L)one Lord, ^(M)one faith, ^(N)one baptism, ^6 (O)one God and Father of all, ^(P)who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But ^(Q)grace was given ^(R)to each one of us ^(S)according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

⁹ (^(V)In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ^(W)the lower regions, the earth?^{[b] 10} He who descended is the one who also ^(X)ascended ^(Y)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(Z)fill all things.) ¹¹ And ^(AA)he gave the ^(AB)apostles, the prophets, the ^(AC)evangelists, the ^(AD)shepherds^[c] and teachers,^{[d] 12 (AE)}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(AF)building up ^(AG)the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to ^(AH)the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^(AI)to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of ^(AJ)the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^(AK)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(AL)deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, ^(AM)speaking the truth in love, we are to ^(AN)grow up in every way into him who is ^(AO)the head, into Christ, ^16 (AP)from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^(AQ)when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

¹⁷ Now this I say and ^(AR)testify in the Lord, ^(AS)that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^(AT)in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They ^(AU)are darkened in their understanding, ^(AV)alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ^(AW)their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They ^(AX)have become callous and ^(AY)have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you ^(AZ)learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that ^(BA)you have heard about him and ^(BB)were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to ^(BC)put off ^(BD)your old self,^[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^(BE)deceitful desires, ²³ and ^(BF)to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on ^(BG)the new self, ^(BH)created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^(BI)speak the truth with his neighbor, for ^(BJ)we are members one of another. ^26 (BK)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and ^(BL)give no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^(BM)let him labor, ^(BN)doing honest work with his own hands, so ^(BO)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ^29 (BP)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^(BQ)grace to those who hear. ³⁰ And ^(BR)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^(BS)by whom you were sealed for the day of ^(BT)redemption. ^31 (BU)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ^32 (BV)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^(BW)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Walk in Love

5 ^(BX)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And ^(BY)walk in love, ^(BZ)as Christ loved us and ^(CA)gave himself up for us, a ^(CB)fragrant ^(CC)offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But ^(CD)sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness ^(CE)must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be ^(CF)no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, ^(CG)which are out of place, but instead ^(CH)let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that ^(CI)everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (^(CJ)that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ^6 (CK)Let no one ^(CL)deceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^(CM)the wrath of God comes upon ^(CN)the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore ^(CO)do not become partners with them; ⁸ for ^(CP)at one time you were ^(CQ)darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. ^(CR)Walk as children of light ⁹ (for ^(CS)the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and ^(CT)try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ^11 (CU)Take no part in the ^(CV)unfruitful ^(CW)works of darkness, but instead ^(CX)expose them. ¹² For ^(CY)it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when ^(CZ)anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

^15 (DD)Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ^16 (DE)making the best use of the time, because ^(DF)the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what ^(DG)the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And ^(DH)do not get drunk with wine, for that is ^(DI)debauchery, but ^(DJ)be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in ^(DK)psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ^20 (DL)giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father ^(DM)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^21 (DN)submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

^22 (DO)Wives, ^(DP)submit to your own husbands, ^(DQ)as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(DR)the husband is the head of the wife even as ^(DS)Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is ^(DT)himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit ^(DU)in everything to their husbands.

^25 (DV)Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and ^(DW)gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ^(DX)the washing of water ^(DY)with the word, ²⁷ so ^(DZ)that he might present the church to himself in splendor, ^(EA)without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[g] 28} In the same way ^(EB)husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because ^(EC)we are members of his body. ^31 (ED)“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(EE)the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, ^(EF)let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(EG)respects her husband.

Children and Parents

6 ^(EH)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ^2 (EI)“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ^(EJ)but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

^5 (EK)Bondservants,^[h] obey your earthly masters^[i] with fear and trembling, ^(EL)with a sincere heart, ^(EM)as you would Christ, ⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as ^(EN)people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ^8 (EO)knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^(EP)whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹ Masters, do the same to them, ^(EQ)and stop your threatening, knowing that ^(ER)he who is both their Master^[j] and yours is in heaven, and that ^(ES)there is no partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, ^(ET)be strong in the Lord and in ^(EU)the strength of his might. ^11 (EV)Put on ^(EW)the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ^(EX)the schemes of the devil. ¹² For ^(EY)we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(EZ)the rulers, against the authorities, against ^(FA)the cosmic powers over ^(FB)this present darkness, against ^(FC)the spiritual forces of evil ^(FD)in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore ^(FE)take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in ^(FF)the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(FG)having fastened on the belt of truth, and ^(FH)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, ^(FI)as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up ^(FJ)the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all ^(FK)the flaming darts of ^(FL)the evil one; ¹⁷ and take ^(FM)the helmet of salvation, and ^(FN)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying ^(FO)at all times ^(FP)in the Spirit, ^(FQ)with all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^(FR)keep alert with all perseverance, making ^(FS)supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and ^(FT)also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth ^(FU)boldly to proclaim ^(FV)the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I ^(FW)am an ambassador ^(FX)in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Final Greetings

^21 (FY)So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, ^(FZ)Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may ^(GA)encourage your hearts.

^23 (GB)Peace be to the brothers,^[k] and ^(GC)love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace be with all who ^(GD)love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.