The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸ Now ^(A)the angel of the Lord had commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

22 Then David said, ^(A)“Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

David Prepares for Temple Building

² David commanded to gather together the ^(B)resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he ^(C)set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. ³ David also provided great quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, ^(D)as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing, ⁴ and cedar timbers without number, ^(E)for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David. ⁵ For David said, ^(F)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.

Solomon Charged to Build the Temple

⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, ^(G)I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(H)‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. ⁹ Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. ^(I)I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. ^(J)For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ^10 (K)He shall build a house for my name. ^(L)He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’

¹¹ “Now, my son, ^(M)the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. ^12 (N)Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (O)Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. ^(P)Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed. ¹⁴ With great pains I have provided for the house of the Lord ^(Q)100,000 talents^[a] of gold, a million talents of silver, and ^(R)bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided. To these you must add. ¹⁵ You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working ¹⁶ gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! ^(S)The Lord be with you!”

¹⁷ David also commanded ^(T)all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? And ^(U)has he not given you peace^[b] on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Now ^(V)set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, ^(W)so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built ^(X)for the name of the Lord.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (A)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(B)as he was teaching, and said, ^(C)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, ^(D)from where did it come? ^(E)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(F)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(G)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(H)a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (I)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(J)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(K)changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(L)the tax collectors and ^(M)the prostitutes go into ^(N)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(O)in the way of righteousness, and ^(P)you did not believe him, but ^(Q)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(R)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (S)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(T)a vineyard ^(U)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(V)leased it to tenants, and ^(W)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[a] to the tenants ^(X)to get his fruit. ^35 (Y)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(Z)stoned another. ^36 (AA)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^(AB)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(AC)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(AD)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (AE)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(AF)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(AG)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(AH)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^(AJ)will be taken away from you and given to a people ^(AK)producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And ^(AL)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^(AM)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[c]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And ^(AN)although they were seeking to arrest him, ^(AO)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^(AP)a prophet.