Solomon Builds the Temple^(A)

6 And ^(B)it came to pass in the four hundred and ^[a]eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of ^[b]Ziv, which is the second month, ^(C)that he began to build the house of the Lord. ² Now ^(D)the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. ³ The vestibule in front of the ^[c]sanctuary of the house was ^[d]twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of ^[e]the vestibule extended ^[f]ten cubits from the front of the house. ⁴ And he made for the house ^(E)windows with beveled frames.

⁵ Against the wall of the ^[g]temple he built ^(F)chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary ^(G)and the ^[h]inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. ⁶ The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the ^[i]temple. ⁷ And ^(H)the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. ⁸ The doorway for the ^[j]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

^9 (I)So he built the ^[k]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. ¹⁰ And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

¹¹ Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: ¹² “Concerning this ^[l]temple which you are building, ^(J)if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My ^[m]word with you, ^(K)which I spoke to your father David. ¹³ And ^(L)I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not ^(M)forsake My people Israel.”

¹⁴ So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

The New Birth

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ^2 (A)This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for ^(B)no one can do these signs that You do unless ^(C)God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(D)unless one is born ^[a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(E)unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is ^(F)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ^8 (G)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ^(H)“How can these things be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ^11 (I)Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and ^(J)you do not receive Our witness. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (K)No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ^[b]who is in heaven. ^14 (L)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so ^(M)must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever ^(N)believes in Him should ^[c]not perish but ^(O)have eternal life.

Miraculous Signs for Pharaoh

4 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”

² So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

He said, “A rod.”

³ And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), ⁵ “that they may ^(A)believe that the ^(B)Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

⁶ Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, ^(C)like snow. ⁷ And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, ^(D)it was restored like his other flesh. ⁸ “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the ^(E)first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. ⁹ And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from ^[a]the river and pour it on the dry land. ^(F)The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but ^(G)I am slow of speech and ^[b]slow of tongue.”

¹¹ So the Lord said to him, ^(H)“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be ^(I)with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

¹³ But he said, “O my Lord, ^(J)please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

¹⁴ So ^(K)the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your ^(L)brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, ^(M)he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ Now ^(N)you shall speak to him and ^(O)put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and ^(P)I will teach you what you shall do. ¹⁶ So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and ^(Q)you shall be to him as God. ¹⁷ And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses Goes to Egypt

¹⁸ So Moses went and returned to ^(R)Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.”

And Jethro said to Moses, ^(S)“Go in peace.”