How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

The Lord Reigns

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

²² Then Solomon ^(A)stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and ^(B)spread out his hands toward heaven, ²³ and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^(C)there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(D)keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; ²⁴ you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. ^(E)You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. ²⁵ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ^(F)‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ ^26 (G)Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(H)heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! ²⁸ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, ^29 (I)that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^(J)‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ³⁰ And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

³¹ “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take ^(K)an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, ^(L)condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

^33 (M)“When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and ^(N)if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

^35 (O)“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when ^(P)you teach them ^(Q)the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

^37 (R)“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates,^[a] whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, ³⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (^(S)for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), ⁴⁰ that they may fear you ^(T)all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake ⁴² (for they shall hear of your great name ^(U)and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order ^(V)that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and ^(W)fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

⁴⁴ “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord ^(X)toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “If they sin against you—^(Y)for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive ^(Z)to the land of the enemy, far off or near, ⁴⁷ yet ^(AA)if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ^(AB)‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ ^48 (AC)if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you ^(AD)toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, ⁴⁹ then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause ⁵⁰ and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and ^(AE)grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹ (^(AF)for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, ^(AG)from the midst of the iron furnace). ^52 (AH)Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. ⁵³ For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, ^(AI)as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon's Benediction

^54 (AJ)Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had ^(AK)knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. ⁵⁵ And he stood and ^(AL)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^(AM)Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. ⁵⁷ The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. ^(AN)May he not leave us or forsake us, ⁵⁸ that he may ^(AO)incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, ⁶⁰ that ^(AP)all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(AQ)the Lord is God; there is no other. ^61 (AR)Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon's Sacrifices

^62 (AS)Then ^(AT)the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because ^(AU)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So Solomon held ^(AV)the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from ^(AW)Lebo-hamath to ^(AX)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.^{[b] 66} On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

The Crucifixion

^26 (A)And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were ^(B)mourning and lamenting for him. ²⁸ But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, ^(C)the days are coming when they will say, ^(D)‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ^30 (E)Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For ^(F)if they do these things when ^(G)the wood is green, what will happen ^(H)when it is dry?”

^32 (I)Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ^33 (J)And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, ^(K)one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, ^(L)forgive them, ^(M)for they know not what they do.”^[a] And they cast lots ^(N)to divide his garments. ³⁵ And ^(O)the people stood by, watching, ^(P)but ^(Q)the rulers ^(R)scoffed at him, saying, ^(S)“He saved others; ^(T)let him save himself, ^(U)if he is ^(V)the Christ of God, ^(W)his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and ^(X)offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, ^(Y)“If you are ^(Z)the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ^38 (AA)There was also an inscription over him,^[b] “This is ^(AB)the King of the Jews.”

^39 (AC)One of the criminals who were hanged ^(AD)railed at him,^[c] saying, “Are you not ^(AE)the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me ^(AF)when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in ^(AG)paradise.”

The Death of Jesus

^44 (AH)It was now about the sixth hour,^[d] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,^{[e] 45} while the sun's light failed. And ^(AI)the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, ^(AJ)calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, ^(AK)into your hands I ^(AL)commit my spirit!” And having said this ^(AM)he breathed his last. ⁴⁷ Now ^(AN)when the centurion saw what had taken place, ^(AO)he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ^(AP)beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all ^(AQ)his acquaintances and ^(AR)the women who had followed him from Galilee ^(AS)stood at a distance watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

^50 (AT)Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action; and he ^(AU)was looking for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and ^(AV)laid him in a tomb cut in stone, ^(AW)where no one had ever yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was the day of ^(AX)Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.^{[f] 55 (AY)}The women ^(AZ)who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(BA)prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested ^(BB)according to the commandment.