Old/New Testament
The Glory of God Fills the Temple(A)
7 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire descended from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. 2 The priests could not enter into the Temple because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s Temple. 3 When all of the Israelis saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord resting[a] on the Temple, they bowed down with their faces[b] to the ground on the pavement, worshipped, and gave thanks to the Lord,
“Because he is good;
because his gracious love is eternal.”
4 Then the king and all the people kept on offering sacrifices in the presence of the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep, which is how[c] the king and all of the people dedicated God’s Temple. 6 The priests stood in waiting at their assigned places, along with the descendants of Levi who carried musical instruments used in service to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—because his gracious love is eternal—whenever David, accompanied by priests[d] sounding trumpets, offered praises while all of Israel stood in the assembly.[e]
7 Solomon also dedicated the middle of the court in front of the Lord’s Temple by offering there burnt offerings and fat from peace offerings because the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not contain the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat portion offerings. 8 At that time Solomon also held a week-long festival attended by all of Israel. The assembly was very large, and included people from as far away as Lebo-hamath[f] to the Wadi[g] of Egypt.[h] 9 On the day after the festival ended,[i] they convened a solemn assembly, because they had been dedicating the altar for seven days and observing the festival for seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, King Solomon[j] sent the people back home,[k] and they returned[l] rejoicing and in good spirits because of the goodness that the Lord had shown to David, to Solomon, and to his people Israel. 11 And so Solomon completed the Lord’s Temple, bringing to completion everything that he had planned on doing for the Lord’s Temple and for his own palace.
God Appears to Solomon(B)
12 Later, the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night and told him:
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for a sacrificial temple to me. 13 Whenever I close the skies so there is no rain, or whenever I command locusts to lay waste to the land, or whenever I send epidemics among my people, 14 when my people humble themselves—the ones who are called by my name—and pray, seek me,[m] and turn away from their evil practices, I myself will listen from heaven, I will pardon their sins, and I will restore their land.
15 “Now therefore my eyes will remain open and my ears will remain listening to the prayers that are offered in this place. 16 Furthermore, I have chosen and have set apart for myself[n] this Temple, intending my name to reside there forever. My eyes and my heart will reside there every day. 17 Now as for you, if you commune with me like your father did, doing everything that I have commanded you, including obeying my statutes and my legal decisions, 18 then I will make your royal throne secure, just as I agreed to do for your father David when I said, ‘You are to not lack a man to rule over Israel.’[o]
19 “But if you[p] turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have given you, and if you[q] walk away to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will tear them up by the roots from the ground that I had given them! And as for this Temple that I have set apart for my name, I will throw it out of my sight and make it the butt of jokes[r] and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!
21 “Furthermore, even though this Temple seems so exalted, everyone who passes by it will be so astounded that they will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and to this Temple?’ 22 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, who brought them from the land of Egypt, adopted other gods, worshipped them, and served them, therefore the Lord[s] has brought all of this disaster on them.’”
Solomon’s Accomplishments(C)
8 It took Solomon 20 years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own palace. 2 During this time, he also rebuilt the towns that Hiram had restored to him, and he settled Israelis in them. 3 After this, Solomon traveled to Hamath-zobah and captured it. 4 Then he rebuilt Tadmor in the desert, along with supply centers[t] that he had built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper and lower Beth-horon as fortified cities, installing[u] walls, gates, and bars, 6 and he rebuilt Baalath and its supply centers[v] that belonged to Solomon, along with all the cities that he utilized to garrison his chariots and cavalry forces. Solomon was pleased also to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in every territory[w] that he controlled.
Conscripted Laborers
7 All of the survivors who remained living in the land but who were not Israelis (including Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) 8 were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not eliminated. Solomon put them to work as conscripted laborers, which they continue to do[x] to this day. 9 However, Solomon never made conscripted laborers from among the Israelis, but they did serve as his army, as his chief captains, and as commanders in charge of his chariots and cavalry. 10 King Solomon appointed 250 chief officers to command his army.[y] 11 Later, Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to the palace that he had constructed to house her, because he reasoned, “My wife isn’t going to live in the palace where King David of Israel lived, because wherever the ark of the Lord entered is holy.”
12 Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar that he had built in front of the porch of the Temple,[z] 13 acting[aa] in compliance with the daily rule by offering them in conformity to commands issued by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three annual festivals (the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Tents). 14 Following proscriptions laid down by his father David, Solomon[ab] appointed divisions of priests for their service as well as descendants of Levi for duties of praise and ministry before the priests consistent with the daily rules. Furthermore, because David, the man of God, had commanded it, Solomon[ac] also appointed gatekeepers to serve by divisions at every gate of the Temple.[ad] 15 They scrupulously adhered to[ae] the orders issued by the king to the priests and descendants of Levi in everything, including matters pertaining to operation of[af] the treasuries.
Work on the Temple is Completed
16 And so Solomon completed all of the work, from the day that the foundation stone of the Lord’s Temple was laid[ag] until the Lord’s Temple was completely finished. 17 After this, Solomon visited Ezion-geber and Elath at the seashore in the land of Edom. 18 Hiram sent Solomon[ah] ships and servants who were expert mariners, and they sailed with Solomon’s servants to Ophir,[ai] where they brought back 450 talents[aj] of gold for Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba Visits Jerusalem(D)
9 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation, she traveled to Jerusalem and tested him[ak] with difficult questions. She brought along a large retinue, camels laden with spices, and lots of gold and precious stones. Upon her arrival, she spoke with Solomon about everything that was on her mind.[al] 2 Solomon answered all of her questions. Because nothing was hidden from Solomon, he hid nothing from her. 3 When the queen of Sheba had seen Solomon’s wisdom for herself, the palace that he had built, 4 the food set at his table, his servants who waited on him, his ministers in attendance and how they were dressed, his personal staff[am] and how they were dressed, and even his personal stairway by which he went up to the Lord’s Temple, she was breathless!
5 “Everything I heard about your wisdom and what you have to say is true!” she gasped, 6 “but I didn’t believe it at first! But then I came here and I’ve seen it for myself! It’s amazing! I wasn’t told half of what’s really great about your wisdom. You’re far better in person than what the reports have said about you! 7 How blessed are your staff! And how blessed are your employees,[an] who serve you continually and get to listen to your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who is delighted with you! He set you in place on his throne to be king for the Lord your God. He made you king over them so you could carry out justice and implement righteousness, because your God loves Israel and intends to establish them[ao] forever.”
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents[ap] of gold, a vast quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices comparable to those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants, who brought gold from Ophir,[aq] also presented algum wood[ar] and other precious stones. 11 The king used the algum wood[as] to have steps made for the Lord’s Temple and for the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the choir,[at] and nothing like that wood[au] had been seen before in the territory of Judah. 12 In return, King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and requested in addition to what she had brought for the king. Afterward, she returned to her own land, accompanied by her servants.
Solomon’s Wealth(E)
13 Solomon received in any given year about 666 talents[av] of gold, 14 not including revenue from traders and merchants. In addition, all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the nation brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, overlaying each shield with the gold from 600 gold pieces,[aw] 16 and 300 shields from beaten gold, overlaying each shield with the gold from 300 gold pieces.[ax] The king put them in his palace in the Lebanon forest. 17 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 Six steps led up to the throne. A golden footstool was attached to the throne, which had armrests on each side of the seat and two lions standing on either side of each armrest. 19 Twelve lions were placed on both sides of the six steps leading to the throne,[ay] and nothing comparable was made for any other[az] kingdom. 20 All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were made of[ba] gold, and all the vessels in his palace in the Lebanon forest were made of[bb] pure gold. Silver was never considered to be valuable during the lifetime of Solomon, 21 because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram’s servants. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 As a result, King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in regards to wealth and wisdom. 23 All the kings of the earth continued to seek audiences with Solomon so they could hear the wise things that God had put in his heart. 24 Everyone kept on bringing gifts on an annual basis, including items made of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules. 25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, along with 12,000 cavalry soldiers. He stationed them in various chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 King Solomon[bc] ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates[bd] River west[be] to the land of the Philistines and as far south as the boundary with Egypt.
27 The king made silver as common as[bf] stones in Jerusalem, and made cedar trees as abundant as sycamore trees in the Shephelah.[bg] 28 They also kept bringing horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all of the surrounding[bh] countries.
The Death of Solomon(F)
29 Now the rest of Solomon’s accomplishments, from first to last, are written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer pertaining to Nebat’s son Jeroboam, are they not? 30 Solomon reigned for 40 years in Jerusalem over all of Israel. 31 Then Solomon died, as had[bi] his ancestors, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
The Death of Lazarus
11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the woman who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was the one who was ill. 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus[a] and told him, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.”
4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness isn’t meant to end in death. It’s for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet, when he heard that Lazarus[b] was ill, he stayed where he was for two more days.
7 After this, he told the disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8 The disciples told him, “Rabbi,[c] the Jewish leaders[d] were just now trying to stone you to death, and you are going back there again?”
9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours in the day, aren’t there? If anyone walks during the day he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks at night he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 These were the things he said.
Then after this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m leaving to wake him up.”
12 So the disciples told him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about resting or sleeping.
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 For your sake I’m glad that I wasn’t there, so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
16 Then Thomas, who was called the Twin,[e] told his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too, so that we may die with him!”
Jesus the Resurrection and the Life
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus[f] had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia[g] away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.
21 Martha told Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, he[h] will give it to you.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha told him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[i] The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live. 26 Indeed, everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe that you are the Messiah,[j] the Son of God, the one who was to come into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went away and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you!”
29 As soon as Mary[k] heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
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