¹⁸ And Moses went away and, returning to Jethro his father-in-law, said to him, Let me go back, I pray you, to my relatives in Egypt to see whether they are still alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses in Midian, Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life [for killing the Egyptian] are dead.^(A)

²⁰ And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on donkeys, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, When you return into Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all those miracles and wonders which I have put in your hand; but I will make him stubborn and harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

²² And you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is My son, even My firstborn.

²³ And I say to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, your firstborn.

²⁴ Along the way at a [resting-] place, the Lord met [Moses] and sought to kill him [made him acutely and almost fatally ill].

²⁵ [Now apparently he had ^[a]failed to circumcise one of his sons, his wife being opposed to it; but seeing his life in such danger] Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it to touch [Moses’] feet, and said, Surely a husband of blood you are to me!

²⁶ When He let [Moses] alone [to recover], Zipporah said, A husband of blood are you because of the circumcision.

6 And 480 years after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the second month, Ziv, he began to build the Lord’s house.

² The length of the house Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits, its breadth twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

³ The length of the vestibule in front of the temple was twenty cubits, equal to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits.

⁴ For the house he made narrow [latticed] windows.

⁵ Against the wall of the house he built chambers running round the walls of the house both of the Holy Place and of the Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around.

⁶ The first story’s side chambers were five cubits wide, those of the middle story six cubits wide, and of the third story seven cubits wide; for around the outside of the wall of the house he made offsets in order that the supporting beams should not be thrust into the walls of the house.

⁷ When the house was being built, its stone was made ready at the quarry, and no hammer, ax, or tool of iron was heard in the house while it was in building.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and one went up winding stairs into the middle chamber and from the middle into the third.

⁹ So Solomon built the temple building and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar.

¹⁰ Then he built the stories of chambers [the lean-to] against all the house, each [story] five cubits high; and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

¹² Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My precepts, and keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will fulfill to you My promises which I made to David your father.

¹³ And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not forsake My people Israel.

¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it.

¹⁰ In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].

¹¹ Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

¹² For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

¹³ Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].

¹⁴ Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,

¹⁵ And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the ^[a]firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness ^[b]produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.^(A)

¹⁶ Lift up over all the [covering] shield of ^[c]saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit ^[d]wields, which is the Word of God.

¹⁸ Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).

¹⁹ And [pray] also for me, that [freedom of] utterance may be given me, that I may open my mouth to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news (the Gospel),

²⁰ For which I am an ambassador in a coupling chain [in prison. Pray] that I may declare it boldly and courageously, as I ought to do.

²¹ Now that you may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord [and His service], 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 ^[e]console and cheer and encourage and strengthen your hearts.

²³ Peace be to the brethren, and love joined with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

²⁴ Grace (God’s undeserved favor) be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying and incorruptible [love]. Amen (so let it be).