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22 1
David Prepares to Build the Temple
2 David gave orders to gather together the aliens who were residing in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God.(B) 3 David also provided great stores of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing,(C) 4 and cedar logs without number—for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David.(D) 5 For David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorified throughout all lands; I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.(E)
David’s Charge to Solomon and the Leaders
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had planned to build a house to the name of the Lord my God.(F) 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘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 in my sight on the earth.(G) 9 See, a son shall be born to you; he shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; indeed, his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace[a] and quiet to Israel in his days.(H) 10 He shall build a house for my name. He shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’(I) 11 Now, my son, 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.(J) 12 Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, so that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God.(K) 13 Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed.(L) 14 With great pains I have provided for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone also I have provided. To these you must add more.(M) 15 You have an abundance of workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of artisans without number, skilled in working 16 gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”(N)
17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying,(O) 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? Has he not given you rest 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.(P) 19 Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Go and build the sanctuary of the Lord God so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into the house built for the name of the Lord.”(Q)
Families of the Levites and Their Functions
23 When David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.(R)
2 David assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. 3 The Levites, thirty years old and up, were counted, and the total head count of men was thirty-eight thousand.(S) 4 “Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said, “shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, six thousand shall be officers and judges,(T) 5 four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.”(U) 6 And David organized them in divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.(V)
7 The sons of Gershon[b] were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of families of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were enrolled as a single family.
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.(W) 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things, so that he and his sons forever should make offerings before the Lord and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever,(X) 14 but as for Moses the man of God, his sons were to be reckoned among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The son of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.(Y) 17 The son of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief; Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. 18 The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.(Z) 22 Eleazar died having no sons but only daughters; their kindred, the sons of Kish, married them. 23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
24 These were the sons of Levi by their ancestral houses, the heads of families as they were enrolled according to the number of the names of the individuals from twenty years old and up who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord.(AA) 25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he resides in Jerusalem forever.(AB) 26 And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service”(AC)— 27 for according to the last words of David these were the number of the Levites from twenty years old and up— 28 “but their duty shall be to assist the descendants of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God; 29 to assist also with the rows of bread, the choice flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and all measures of quantity or size.(AD) 30 And they shall stand every morning thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and whenever burnt offerings are offered to the Lord on Sabbaths, new moons, and appointed festivals, according to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord.(AE) 32 Thus they shall keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary and shall attend the descendants of Aaron, their kindred, for the service of the house of the Lord.”(AF)
None Is Righteous
9 What then? Are we any better off?[a] No, not at all, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,(A) 10 as it is written:
“There is no one who is righteous, not even one;(B)
11 there is no one who has understanding;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness;
there is not even one.”
13 “Their throats are opened graves;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of vipers is under their lips.”(C)
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;(D)
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that, whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.(E) 20 For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.(F)
Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets,(G) 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ[b] for all who believe.[c] For there is no distinction,(H) 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;(I) 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,(J) 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement[d] by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;(K) 26 it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.[e]
27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? That of works? No, rather through the law of faith.(L) 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.(M) 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of gentiles also? Yes, of gentiles also, 30 since God is one, and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.(N) 31 Do we then overthrow the law through this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Psalm 12
Plea for Help in Evil Times
To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.(A)
2 They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a deceitful heart they speak.(B)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,(C)
4 those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.