Deliver Me, O Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of ^(J)Ascents.

The Temple's Chambers

42 Then he led me out into ^(A)the outer court, ^(B)toward the north, and he brought me to ^(C)the chambers that were opposite ^(D)the separate yard and opposite ^(E)the building on the north. ² The length of the building whose door faced north was ^(F)a hundred cubits,^[a] and ^(G)the breadth fifty cubits. ³ Facing ^(H)the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing ^(I)the pavement that belonged to the outer court, was ^(J)gallery^[b] against gallery in three stories. ⁴ And ^(K)before the chambers was a passage inward, ten cubits wide and ^(L)a hundred cubits long,^[c] and ^(M)their doors were on the north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. ⁶ For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. ⁷ And ^(N)there was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, ^(O)fifty cubits long. ⁸ For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those opposite ^(P)the nave^[d] were ^(Q)a hundred cubits long. ⁹ Below these chambers was ^(R)an entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.

¹⁰ In the thickness of ^(S)the wall of the court, on the south^[e] also, opposite ^(T)the yard and opposite ^(U)the building, there were ^(V)chambers ¹¹ with ^(W)a passage in front of them. They were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and breadth, with the same exits^[f] and arrangements and ^(X)doors, ¹² as were the entrances of the chambers on the south. There was an entrance at the beginning of the passage, the passage before ^(Y)the corresponding wall on the east as one enters them.^[g]

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite ^(Z)the yard are the holy chambers, ^(AA)where the priests who approach the Lord ^(AB)shall eat the ^(AC)most holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings—^(AD)the grain offering, ^(AE)the sin offering, and ^(AF)the guilt offering—for the place is holy. ¹⁴ When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court ^(AG)without laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. ^(AH)They shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people.”

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by ^(AI)the gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with ^(AJ)the measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. ¹⁷ He measured the north side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around. ¹⁸ He measured the south side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. ¹⁹ Then he turned to the west side and measured, 500 cubits by the measuring reed. ²⁰ He measured it on the four sides. It had ^(AK)a wall around it, ^(AL)500 cubits long and ^(AM)500 cubits broad, ^(AN)to make a separation between the holy and the common.

The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

43 Then he led me to ^(AO)the gate, the gate facing east. ² And behold, ^(AP)the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And ^(AQ)the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and ^(AR)the earth shone with his glory. ³ And ^(AS)the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen ^(AT)when he^[h] came to destroy the city, and just like ^(AU)the vision that I had seen ^(AV)by the Chebar canal. And ^(AW)I fell on my face. ⁴ As ^(AX)the glory of the Lord ^(AY)entered the temple by the gate facing east, ^5 (AZ)the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into ^(BA)the inner court; and behold, ^(BB)the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

^6 (BC)While the man was standing beside me, ^(BD)I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, ⁷ and he said to me, ^(BE)“Son of man, this is ^(BF)the place of my throne and ^(BG)the place of the soles of my feet, ^(BH)where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more ^(BI)defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies^[i] of their kings at their high places,^{[j] 8} by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with ^(BJ)only a wall between me and them. They have ^(BK)defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. ⁹ Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, ^(BL)and I will dwell in their midst forever.

¹⁰ “As for you, ^(BM)son of man, ^(BN)describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, ^(BO)make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, ^(BP)its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down ^(BQ)in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. ¹² This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of ^(BR)the mountain ^(BS)all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

Do Not Be Anxious

^25 (A)“Therefore I tell you, ^(B)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ^26 (C)Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^(D)Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(E)span of life?^{[a] 28} And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, ^(F)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^(G)O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For ^(H)the Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^(I)your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But ^(J)seek first ^(K)the kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^(L)and all these things will be added to you.

^34 (M)“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Judging Others

7 ^(N)“Judge not, that you be not judged. ^2 (O)For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and ^(P)with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but ^(Q)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

^6 (R)“Do not give ^(S)dogs what is holy, and do not throw your ^(T)pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

^7 (U)“Ask, ^(V)and it will be given to you; ^(W)seek, and you will find; ^(X)knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for ^(Y)bread, will give him ^(Z)a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, ^(AA)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^(AB)your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule

¹² “So ^(AC)whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is ^(AD)the Law and the Prophets.

^13 (AE)“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy^[b] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and ^(AF)the way is hard that leads to life, and ^(AG)those who find it are few.