Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for God’s Glory
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord and praise his name.
Every day tell how he saves us.
3 Tell the nations of his glory.
Tell all peoples the miracles he does.
4 The Lord is great; he should be praised.
He should be honored more than all the gods.
5 All the gods of the nations are only idols.
But the Lord made the skies.
6 The Lord has glory and majesty.
He has power and beauty in his Temple.
7 Praise the Lord, all nations on earth.
Praise the Lord’s glory and power.
8 Praise the glory of the Lord’s name.
Bring an offering and come into his Temple courtyards.
9 Worship the Lord because he is holy.
The whole earth should tremble before the Lord.
23 Solomon made two creatures with wings from olive wood. Each creature was 15 feet tall. They were put in the Most Holy Place. 24 Each creature had two wings. Each wing was 7½ feet long. So it was 15 feet from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing. 25 The creatures were the same size and shape. 26 And each was 15 feet tall. 27 These creatures were put beside each other in the Most Holy Place. Their wings were spread out. So one creature’s wing touched one wall. The other creature’s wing touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 The two creatures were covered with gold.
29 All the walls around the Temple were carved. They were carved with pictures of creatures with wings, palm trees and flowers. This was true for both the main room and the inner room. 30 The floors of both rooms were covered with gold.
31 Doors made from olive wood were put at the entrance to the Most Holy Place. The doors were made to fit into an area with five sides. 32 Creatures with wings, palm trees and flowers were carved on the two olive wood doors. Then the doors were covered with gold. And the creatures and the palm trees were covered with gold. 33 At the entrance to the main room there was a door frame. It was square and was made of olive wood. 34 Two doors were made from pine. Each door had two parts so that the doors folded. 35 The doors were covered with pictures of creatures with wings, palm trees and flowers. And all of the carvings were covered with gold. The gold was smoothed over the carvings.
36 The inner courtyard was built and enclosed with walls. The walls were made of three rows of cut stones and one row of cedar boards.
37 Work began on the Temple in Ziv, the second month. This was during the fourth year Solomon ruled over Israel. 38 The Temple was finished during the eleventh year Solomon ruled. It was finished in the eighth month, the month of Bul. It was finished exactly as it was planned. Solomon had worked seven years to build the Temple.
Becoming Friends with God
11 We know what it means to fear the Lord. So we try to help people accept the truth. God knows what we really are. And I hope that in your hearts you know, too. 12 We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again. But we are telling you about ourselves, so you will be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about things that can be seen. They do not care about what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our minds, it is for God. If we have our right mind, then it is for you. 14 The love of Christ controls us. Because we know that One died for all. So all have died. 15 Christ died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.
16 From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we no longer think of him in that way. 17 If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new!
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.