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Furnishing the Temple(A)
4 Solomon[a] also constructed a bronze[b] altar 20 cubits[c] long, 20 cubits[d] wide, and ten cubits[e] high. 2 He crafted a circular sea of cast metal 10 cubits[f] from rim to rim and five cubits[g] tall. A line 30 cubits[h] long surrounded it. 3 Underneath, figurines resembling oxen[i] encircled the circular sea[j] beneath it, ten oxen[k] every cubit,[l] and encircling the sea completely. The oxen were in two rows, cast all at the same time. 4 The sea stood on top of twelve oxen, three of which faced to the north, three of which faced to the west, three of which faced to the south, and three of which faced toward the east. The sea was placed on top of the oxen, with all of their hindquarters turned inwards. 5 It was a handbreadth[m] thick, with its brim fashioned like the brim of a cup. Similar in shape to a lily blossom, it could hold 3,000 baths.[n] 6 Solomon[o] also made ten wash basins, placing five on the right side and five on the left. The basins were intended for use to rinse burnt offerings, and the sea was intended for use by the priests to wash in.
7 Solomon[p] made ten gold lamp stands as he had been directed and set them in the Temple, five on the south side and five on the north side. 8 He also made ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left side. He also constructed 100 gold basins. 9 He made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, overlaying their doors with bronze. 10 He set the sea at the southeast corner of the Temple.
11 Hiram-abi[q] crafted the pots, shovels, and basins, thus completing the work that he did for King Solomon on the Temple of God; 12 that is, the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals on top of the pillars, the two lattice works that covered the two bowls for the capitals that were on top of the pillars; 13 the 400 pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework having two rows of ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of each pillar); 14 the ten[r] stands with their ten basins; 15 the large bronze basin called the Sea with the twelve oxen underneath, 16 along with its pots, shovels, forks, and all of its other implements that Hiram-abi made from polished bronze for King Solomon and the Lord’s Temple. 17 The king had them forged in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah in the Jordan plain. 18 Solomon made so many utensils in such great quantities that the weight of the bronze was never fully recorded.
19 Solomon also made these items for God’s Temple: the golden altar, the tables for the Bread of the Presence, 20 the lamp stands and their lamps made of pure gold to burn in front[s] of the inner sanctuary, as required, 21 the pure gold ornaments in the shape of flowers, the lamps, and the tongs (all made of the purest gold), 22 the gold trimming instruments, basins, pans, censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (that is, the Most Holy Place), and for the doors to the main hall of the Temple.
The Ark is Placed in the Temple(B)
5 As soon as Solomon had completed the Lord’s Temple, he installed the holy items that had belonged to his father David, including the silver, gold, and all the other items in the treasure rooms of God’s Temple. 2 Then Solomon called Israel’s elders together, including all the leaders of the tribes and families of Israel. They met in Jerusalem to transfer the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Zion, the City of David. 3 All the men of Israel assembled in front of the king during the Festival of Tents[t] that takes place in the seventh month[u] of the year.[v]
4 As soon as all of Israel’s elders had arrived, the descendants of Levi lifted the ark 5 and carried it, the tent where God met with his people,[w] and all of the sacred implements that belonged in the tent. The Levitical priests carried these up to the City of David.[x] 6 King Solomon and all the Israelis who had assembled together proceeded ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and oxen than could be counted or recorded due to the number of sacrifices.[y]
7 The priests transported the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the place created for it within the inner sanctuary of the Temple, into the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. 8 The wings of the cherubim extended over where the ark and its carrying poles[z] had been placed, 9 but the poles were long enough for their ends to extend to the front of the inner sanctuary, even though they could not be seen from outside. They remain there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets that Moses had placed there while Israel was encamped[aa] at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelis after he had brought them out of the land of Egypt.
11 After this, the priests vacated the Holy Place. (Meanwhile, all the priests who were participating consecrated themselves, irrespective of their Levitical divisions. 12 All the musicians who were descendants of Levi, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives wore linen and played cymbals and stringed instruments as they stood east of the altar. Accompanied by 120 priests who played trumpets, 13 the trumpeters and musicians played in union, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. They praised the Lord loudly and sang, “He is good, and his gracious love is eternal,” accompanied by the trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments.) As they did this,[ab] a cloud filled the Temple, that is, the Lord’s Temple, 14 and the priests were unable to complete their duties because of the cloud, since the glory of the Lord had filled God’s Temple.
Solomon Dedicates the Temple(C)
6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives shrouded in darkness. 2 Now I have constructed a magnificent temple dedicated to you that will serve as a place for you to inhabit forever.”
3 Then the king turned to face the entire congregation of Israel while the congregation of Israel remained standing. 4 Then Solomon[ac] prayed:
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who made a commitment[ad] to my father David and then personally[ae] fulfilled what he had promised when he said:[af]
5 ‘From the day I brought out my people from the land of Egypt I never chose a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple where my name might reside. And I never chose any man to become Commander-in-Chief[ag] over my people Israel. 6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, where my name will reside. And I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
7 “My father David wanted to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 8 The Lord told my father David:
‘Therefore, since you determined[ah] to build a temple for my name, you acted well, because it was your choice[ai] to do so. 9 Nevertheless, you are not to build the Temple, but your son who will be born[aj] to you is to build a temple for my name.’
10 “The Lord has brought to fulfillment[ak] what he promised, and now here I stand,[al] having succeeded my father David to sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built the Temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 11 I have placed in it the ark in which the covenant that the Lord made with the Israelis is stored.”
Now We are Released from the Law
7 Don’t you realize, brothers—for I am speaking to people who know the Law—that the Law can press its claims over a person only as long as he is alive? 2 For a married woman is bound by the Law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the Law concerning her husband. 3 So while her husband is living, she will be called an adulterer if she lives with another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from this Law, so that she is not an adulterer if she marries another man.
4 In the same way, my brothers, through the Messiah’s[a] body you also died as far as the Law is concerned, so that you may belong to another person, the one who was raised from the dead, and may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living according to our human nature,[b] sinful passions were at work in our bodies[c] by means of the Law, to bear fruit resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law by dying to what enslaved us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit, not under the old writings.
The Law Shows Us What Sin Is
7 What should we say, then? Is the Law sinful? Of course not! In fact, I wouldn’t have become aware of sin if it had not been for the Law. I wouldn’t have known what it means to covet if the Law had not said, “You must not covet.”[d] 8 But sin seized the opportunity provided by this commandment and produced in me all kinds of sinful desires, since apart from the Law, sin is dead. 9 At one time I was alive without any connection to[e] the Law.[f] But when the rule was revealed, sin sprang to life, 10 and I died. I found that the very rule that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity provided by the rule, deceived me and used it to kill me. 12 So then, the Law[g] itself is holy, and the rule is holy, just, and good.
The Problem of the Sin that Lives in Us
13 Now, did something good bring me death? Of course not! But in order that sin might be recognized as being sin, it used something good to cause my death, so that through the rule, sin might become more exposed as being[h] sinful than ever before.
A Davidic Prayer.
A Cry for Justice
17 Lord, hear my just plea!
Pay attention to my cry!
Listen to my prayer,
since it does not come from lying lips.
2 Justice for me will come from your presence;
your eyes see what is right.
3 When you probe my heart,
and examine me at night;
when you refine me,
you will find nothing wrong,[a]
for I have determined that I will not transgress with my mouth.
4 As for the ways of mankind,
I have, according to the words of your lips,
avoided the ways of the violent.
5 Because my steps have held fast to your paths,
my footsteps have not faltered.
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, God.
Listen closely to me
and hear my prayer.
7 Show forth your gracious love,
save those who take refuge in you
from those who rebel against your sovereign power.[b]
8 Protect me as the most precious part of the eye;[c]
hide me under the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked[d] who have afflicted me,
from my enemies who have surrounded me.
10 They are imprisoned by their own prosperity,[e]
they have boasted proudly with their mouth.
11 Now they have encircled our paths[f]
and are determined[g] to cast us down to the ground.
12 Like a lion they desire to rip us to pieces,
like a young lion waiting in ambush.
13 Arise, Lord,
confront them,
bring them to their knees!
Deliver me from the wicked by your sword—
14 from men, Lord, by your hand—
from men who belong to this world,
whose reward is only[h] in this[i] life.
But as for your treasured ones,
may their stomachs be full,
may their children have an abundance,
and may they leave wealth to their offspring.
15 But as for me, justified, I will behold your face;
when I awake, your presence[j] will satisfy me.
22 Human beings long for grace,
and it’s better to be poor than a man of deceit.
23 The fear of the Lord leads[a] to life;
whoever is satisfied with it will rest,
untouched by evil.
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