First Encounter with Pharaoh

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may ^[a]hold ^(A)a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ”

² And Pharaoh said, ^(B)“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, ^(C)nor will I let Israel go.”

³ So they said, ^(D)“The God of the Hebrews has ^(E)met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with ^(F)pestilence or with the sword.”

⁴ Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your ^(G)labor.” ⁵ And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are ^(H)many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

⁶ So the same day Pharaoh commanded the ^(I)taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, ⁷ “You shall no longer give the people straw to make ^(J)brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸ And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”

¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw. ¹¹ Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ” ¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. ¹³ And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.” ¹⁴ Also the ^(K)officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were ^(L)beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”

The Ark Brought into the Temple^(A)

8 Now ^(B)Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(C)that they might bring ^(D)up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. ² Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the ^(E)feast in the month of ^[a]Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³ So all the elders of Israel came, ^(F)and the priests took up the ark. ⁴ Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(G)the ^[b]tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, ^(H)sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. ⁶ Then the priests ^(I)brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to ^(J)its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, ^(K)under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. ⁸ The poles ^(L)extended so that the ^[c]ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. ^9 (M)Nothing was in the ark ^(N)except the two tablets of stone which Moses ^(O)put there at Horeb, ^(P)when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud ^(Q)filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the ^(R)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

^12 (S)Then Solomon spoke:

Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work^(W)

¹⁴ Then the king turned around and ^(X)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ And he said: ^(Y)“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who ^(Z)spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that ^(AA)My name might be there; but I chose ^(AB)David to be over My people Israel.’ ¹⁷ Now ^(AC)it was in the heart of my father David to build a ^[d]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ^18 (AD)But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. ¹⁹ Nevertheless ^(AE)you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ ²⁰ So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have ^[e]filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, ^(AF)as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is ^(AG)the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Introduction and Benediction

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, ^(A)which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must ^[a]shortly take place. And ^(B)He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, ^2 (C)who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things ^(D)that he saw. ^3 (E)Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for ^(F)the time is near.

Greeting the Seven Churches

⁴ John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him ^(G)who is and ^(H)who was and who is to come, ^(I)and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(J)the faithful ^(K)witness, the ^(L)firstborn from the dead, and ^(M)the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him ^(N)who ^[b]loved us ^(O)and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has ^(P)made us ^[c]kings and priests to His God and Father, ^(Q)to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Behold, He is coming with ^(R)clouds, and every eye will see Him, even ^(S)they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

^8 (T)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^[d]the Beginning and the End,” says the ^[e]Lord, ^(U)“who is and who was and who is to come, the ^(V)Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, ^[f]both your brother and ^(W)companion in the tribulation and ^(X)kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. ^10 (Y)I was in the Spirit on ^(Z)the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me ^(AA)a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, ^[g]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches ^[h]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned ^(AB)I saw seven golden lampstands, ^13 (AC)and in the midst of the seven lampstands ^(AD)One like the Son of Man, ^(AE)clothed with a garment down to the feet and ^(AF)girded about the chest with a golden band. ¹⁴ His head and ^(AG)hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and ^(AH)His eyes like a flame of fire; ^15 (AI)His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and ^(AJ)His voice as the sound of many waters; ^16 (AK)He had in His right hand seven stars, ^(AL)out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, ^(AM)and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ¹⁷ And ^(AN)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But ^(AO)He laid His right hand on me, saying ^[i]to me, “Do not be afraid; ^(AP)I am the First and the Last. ^18 (AQ)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, ^(AR)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And ^(AS)I have the keys of ^[j]Hades and of Death.