M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

7 Shlomo built a palace for himself, taking thirteen years to finish it. ² For he built the House of the L’vanon Forest 175 feet long, eighty-seven-and-a-half feet wide and fifty-two-and-a-half feet high, on four rows of cedar posts, with cedar beams on the posts. ³ It had a roof made of cedar and supported by beams lying on forty-five posts, fifteen in a row. ⁴ There were three rows of window openings, placed so that the windows on facing walls were opposite each other at all three levels. ⁵ All the doors and doorways were rectangular and opposite each other at all three levels.

⁶ He made the columned hall eighty-seven-and-a-half feet long and fifty-two-and-a-half feet wide, with a columned, corniced porch in front of it.

⁷ He made the Hall of the Throne his place for dispensing justice, that is, the Hall of Judgment; it was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.

⁸ His own living quarters, in the other courtyard, set back from the Hall, were similarly designed. He also made a house like this Hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Shlomo had taken as his wife.

⁹ All these buildings were made of expensive stone blocks, cut to measure and finished by saws on the inner surfaces as well as the outer ones. These stones were used from the foundation to the eaves and outward from the buildings all the way to the Great Courtyard. ¹⁰ The foundation was of expensive stone blocks, very large ones — stones fourteen to eighteen feet long. ¹¹ Above these were costly stones, cut to measure, and cedar-wood. ¹² The surrounding Great Courtyard had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams like the inner courtyard of the house of Adonai and the courtyard by the hall of the house.

¹³ King Shlomo sent for Hiram and brought him from Tzor. ¹⁴ He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naftali, but his father was from Tzor, a bronze-worker filled with wisdom, understanding and skill for all kinds of bronze craftsmanship. He came to King Shlomo and did all his bronzework. ¹⁵ He made the two bronze columns, each one thirty-one-and-a-half feet high and twenty-one feet in circumference. ¹⁶ He made two capitals of melted bronze to set on the tops of the columns; each capital was eight-and-three-quarters feet high; ¹⁷ he also made checker-work nets and chained wreaths, seven for the top of each capital. ¹⁸ When he made the columns, he made two rows of pomegranates to put at the top of each column around the netting covering its capital. ¹⁹ The capitals on the columns in the hall had shapes like lilies and were seven feet high. ²⁰ As for the capitals on the two columns, there were 200 pomegranates in rows around each capital near the molding by the netting. ²¹ He erected the columns in the hall of the temple; on erecting the right column he gave it the name “Yakhin,” and on erecting the left column he named it “Bo‘az.” ²² On the tops of the columns were shapes like lilies; thus the work of the columns was finished.

²³ He made the cast metal “Sea” circular, seventeen-and-a-half feet from rim to rim, eight-and-three quarter feet high and fifty-two-and-a-half feet in circumference. ²⁴ Under its rim, three hundred gourds encircled it in two rows; they were cast when the Sea was cast. ²⁵ It rested on twelve oxen, three looking north, three looking west, three looking south and three looking east, all with their hindquarters toward the center. The Sea was set on top of them. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; and its capacity was 11,000 gallons.

²⁷ He made ten bronze trolleys, each one seven feet long, seven feet wide, and five-and-a-quarter feet high. ²⁸ They were designed with panels that were set between the corner-posts, ²⁹ and on the panels between the corner-posts were lions, oxen and k’ruvim. The corner-posts above were similarly designed. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hammered work. ³⁰ Every trolley had four bronze wheels and bronze axles, and its four legs each had cast supports which were under the basin, with wreaths next to each. ³¹ The opening of the stand into which the basin was inserted was eighteen inches high; the stand was round, resembling a pedestal, and it was two-and-a-half feet in diameter. On the stand were carvings, and the outside was square, not round. ³² The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles for the wheels were attached to the trolleys; each wheel was two-and-a-half feet. ³³ The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all cast metal. ³⁴ There were four supports at the four corners of each trolley; the supports were attached to the trolley itself. ³⁵ In the top of the trolley was a circular support ten-and-a-half inches high, and the trolley’s corner-posts and panels were attached to its top. ³⁶ On the sides of the panels and on its corners he carved k’ruvim, lions and palm trees, according to the amount of space each required, with wreaths surrounding. ³⁷ According to this design he made the ten trolleys; all of them were cast from a single mold, so that they had the same size and shape.

³⁸ He made ten bronze basins; each basin’s capacity was 220 gallons and had a diameter of seven feet; there was a basin for each of the ten trolleys. ³⁹ He arranged five of the trolleys on the right side of the house and five on the left side. The Sea he placed on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.

⁴⁰ Hiram made the ash pots, shovels and sprinkling basins. With that, Hiram completed all the work he had done for King Shlomo in the house of Adonai — ⁴¹ the two columns, the two moldings of the capitals on top of the columns, the two nettings covering the two moldings of the capitals atop the columns, ⁴² the 400 pomegranates for the two nettings, two rows of pomegranates for each netting, to cover the two moldings of the capitals atop the columns, ⁴³ the ten trolleys, the ten basins on the trolleys, ⁴⁴ the one Sea, the twelve oxen under the Sea, ⁴⁵ the ash pots, the shovels and the sprinkling basins. All these articles that Hiram made for King Shlomo in the house of Adonai were of burnished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king cast them in the plain of the Yarden, in the clay ground between Sukkot and Tzartan. ⁴⁷ Shlomo did not weigh any of these objects, because there were so many of them; thus the total weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸ Shlomo made all the objects that were inside the house of Adonai: the gold altar; the table of gold on which the showbread was displayed; ⁴⁹ the menorahs — five on the right and five on the left in front of the sanctuary — of pure gold; the flowers, lamps and tongs of gold; ⁵⁰ the cups, snuffers, basins, incense pans and fire pans of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both those for the doors of the inner house, the Especially Holy Place, and those for the doors of the house, that is, of the temple.

⁵¹ Thus all the work that King Shlomo did in the house of Adonai was finished. After this, Shlomo brought in the gifts which David his father had dedicated — the silver, the gold and the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of the house of Adonai.

4 Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

² Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, ³ and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. ⁵ And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, ⁶ and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.

⁷ Each one of us, however, has been given grace to be measured by the Messiah’s bounty. ⁸ This is why it says,

⁹ Now this phrase, “he went up,” what can it mean if not that he first went down into the lower parts, that is, the earth? ¹⁰ The one who went down is himself the one who also went up, far above all of heaven, in order to fill all things. ¹¹ Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers. ¹² Their task is to equip God’s people for the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah, ¹³ until we all arrive at the unity implied by trusting and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood, at the standard of maturity set by the Messiah’s perfection.

¹⁴ We will then no longer be infants tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in every respect grow up into him who is the head, the Messiah. ¹⁶ Under his control, the whole body is being fitted and held together by the support of every joint, with each part working to fulfill its function; this is how the body grows and builds itself up in love.

¹⁷ Therefore I say this — indeed, in union with the Lord I insist on it: do not live any longer as the pagans live, with their sterile ways of thinking. ¹⁸ Their intelligence has been shrouded in darkness, and they are estranged from the life of God, because of the ignorance in them, which in turn comes from resisting God’s will. ¹⁹ They have lost all feeling, so they have abandoned themselves to sensuality, practicing any kind of impurity and always greedy for more. ²⁰ But this is not the lesson you learned from the Messiah! ²¹ If you really listened to him and were instructed about him, then you learned that since what is in Yeshua is truth, ²² then, so far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature, because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires; ²³ and you must let your spirits and minds keep being renewed, ²⁴ and clothe yourselves with the new nature created to be godly, which expresses itself in the righteousness and holiness that flow from the truth.

²⁵ Therefore, stripping off falsehood, let everyone speak truth with his neighbor,^[b] because we are intimately related to each other as parts of a body. ²⁶ Be angry, but don’t sin^[c] — don’t let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; ²⁷ otherwise you leave room for the Adversary.

²⁸ The thief must stop stealing; instead, he should make an honest living by his own efforts. This way he will be able to share with those in need.

²⁹ Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them. ³⁰ Don’t cause grief to God’s Ruach HaKodesh, for he has stamped you as his property until the day of final redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.

37 With the hand of Adonai upon me, Adonai carried me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. ² He had me pass by all around them — there were so many bones lying in the valley, and they were so dry! ³ He asked me, “Human being, can these bones live?” I answered, “Adonai Elohim! Only you know that!” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones! Say to them, ‘Dry bones! Hear what Adonai has to say! ⁵ To these bones Adonai Elohim says, “I will make breath enter you, and you will live. ⁶ I will attach ligaments to you, make flesh grow on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you. You will live, and you will know that I am Adonai.”’”

⁷ So I prophesied as ordered; and while I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound; it was the bones coming together, each bone in its proper place. ⁸ As I watched, ligaments grew on them, flesh appeared and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Next he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, human being! Say to the breath that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Come from the four winds, breath; and breathe on these slain, so that they can live.’”

¹⁰ So I prophesied as ordered, and the breath came into them, and they were alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army! ¹¹ Then he said to me, “Human being! These bones are the whole house of Isra’el; and they are saying, ‘Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy; say to them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘My people! I will open your graves and make you get up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Isra’el. ¹³ Then you will know that I am Adonai — when I have opened your graves and made you get up out of your graves, my people! ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Adonai, have spoken, and that I have done it,’ says Adonai.”

¹⁵ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁶ “You, human being, take one stick and write on it, ‘For Y’hudah and those joined with him [among] the people of Isra’el.’ Next, take another stick and write on it, ‘For Yosef, the stick of Efrayim, and all the house of Isra’el who are joined with him.’ ¹⁷ Finally, bring them together into a single stick, so that they become one in your hand. ¹⁸ When your people ask you what all this means, ¹⁹ tell them that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I will take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Efrayim, together with the tribes of Isra’el who are joined with him, and put them together with the stick of Y’hudah and make them a single stick, so that they become one in my hand.’ ²⁰ The sticks on which you write are to be in your hand as they watch. ²¹ Then say to them that Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will take the people of Isra’el from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Isra’el; and one king will be king for all of them. They will no longer be two nations, and they will never again be divided into two kingdoms.

²³ “‘They will never again defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, or any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the places where they have been living and sinning; and I will cleanse them, so that they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ My servant David will be king over them, and all of them will have one shepherd; they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my regulations. ²⁵ They will live in the land I gave to Ya‘akov my servant, where your ancestors lived; they will live there — they, their children, and their grandchildren, forever; and David my servant will be their leader forever. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ The nations will know that I am Adonai, who sets Isra’el apart as holy, when my sanctuary is with them forever.’”