Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 96
Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment
1 O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(A)
2 Sing to the Lord; bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.(B)
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.(C)
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.(D)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(E)
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.(F)
The Furnishings of the Temple
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.(A) 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house; the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one was touching the one wall and a wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; their other wings toward the center of the house were touching wing to wing.(B) 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 He carved the walls of the house all around about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, in the inner and outer rooms.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.[a] 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, four-sided each, 34 and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.(C) 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, overlaying them with gold evenly applied upon the carved work. 36 He built the inner court with three courses of dressed stone to one course of cedar beams.(D)
37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv.(E) 38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.(A) 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.(B) 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.(C) 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.(D) 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[a] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,[b] we no longer know him in that way.(E) 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there[c] is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.