Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²³ For the Most Holy Room Solomon made a pair of cherubim. He made them out of olive wood. Each cherub was 15 feet high. ²⁴ One wing of the first cherub was seven and a half feet long. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. So the wings measured 15 feet from tip to tip. ²⁵ The second cherub’s wings also measured 15 feet from tip to tip. The two cherubim had the same size and shape. ²⁶ Each cherub was 15 feet high. ²⁷ Solomon placed the cherubim inside the Most Holy Room in the temple. Their wings were spread out. The wing tip of one cherub touched one wall. The wing tip of the other touched the other wall. The tips of their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. ²⁸ Solomon covered the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ On the walls all around the temple he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He carved them on the walls of the Most Holy Room and the main hall. ³⁰ He also covered the floors of those two rooms with gold.

³¹ For the entrance to the Most Holy Room he made two doors out of olive wood. Each door was one-fifth of the width of the Most Holy Room. ³² On the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He covered the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. ³³ In the same way he made olive wood doorposts for the entrance to the main hall. Each doorpost was one-fourth of the width of the hall. ³⁴ He also made two doors out of juniper wood. Each door had two parts. They turned in bases shaped like cups. ³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on the doors. He covered the doors with gold. He hammered the gold evenly over the carvings.

³⁶ He used blocks of stone to build a wall around the inside courtyard. The first three layers of the wall were made out of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood.

³⁷ The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year. It was in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ The temple was finished in his 11th year. It was in the month of Bul. That was the eighth month. Everything was finished just as the plans required. Solomon had spent seven years building the temple.

Christ Brings Us Back to God

¹¹ We know what it means to have respect for the Lord. So we try to help other people to understand it. What we are is plain to God. I hope it is also plain to your way of thinking. ¹² We are not trying to make an appeal to you again. But we are giving you a chance to take pride in us. Some people take pride in their looks rather than what’s in their hearts. If you take pride in us, you will be able to answer them. ¹³ Are we “out of our minds,” as some people say? If so, it is because we want to serve God. Does what we say make sense? If so, it is because we want to serve you. ¹⁴ Christ’s love controls us. We are sure that one person died for everyone. And so everyone died. ¹⁵ Christ died for everyone. He died so that those who live should not live for themselves anymore. They should live for Christ. He died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶ So from now on we don’t look at anyone the way the world does. At one time we looked at Christ in that way. But we don’t anymore. ¹⁷ When anyone lives in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone! The new is here!