Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.
72 God, give the king your good judgment
and the king’s son your goodness.
2 Help him judge your people fairly
and decide what is right for the poor.
3 Let there be peace on the mountains
and goodness on the hills for the people.
4 Help him be fair to the poor
and save the needy
and punish those who hurt them.
5 May they respect you as long as the sun shines
and as long as the moon glows.
6 Let him be like rain on the grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Let goodness be plentiful while he lives.
Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
8 Let his kingdom go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the people of the desert bow down to him,
and make his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the faraway lands
bring him gifts.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring their presents to him.
11 Let all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him.
12 He will help the poor when they cry out
and will save the needy when no one else will help.
13 He will be kind to the weak and poor,
and he will save their lives.
14 He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them,
because their lives are precious to him.
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba.
Let people always pray for him
and bless him all day long.
16 Let the fields grow plenty of grain
and the hills be covered with crops.
Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon,
and let the cities grow like the grass in a field.
17 Let the king be famous forever;
let him be remembered as long as the sun shines.
Let the nations be blessed because of him,
and may they all bless him.
18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does such miracles.
19 Praise his glorious name forever.
Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
Solomon’s Wealth
14 Every year King Solomon received about fifty thousand pounds of gold. 15 Besides that, he also received gold from the traders and merchants, as well as from the kings of Arabia and governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about seven and one-half pounds of gold. 17 He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about four pounds of gold. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 The king built a large throne of ivory and covered it with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps on it, and its back was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the chair, and each armrest had a lion beside it. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All of Solomon’s drinking cups, as well as the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, were made of pure gold. Nothing was made from silver, because silver was not valuable in Solomon’s time.
22 King Solomon also had many trading ships at sea, along with Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ships returned, bringing back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.
23 So Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. 24 People everywhere wanted to see King Solomon and listen to the wisdom God had given him. 25 Every year those who came brought gifts of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.
7 Christ gave each one of us the special gift of grace, showing how generous he is.
11 And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. 12 Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection.
14 Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to fool us. They make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path. 15 No! Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head. 16 The whole body depends on Christ, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.