Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 My eyes have witnessed the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
13 [a]The righteous will flourish like the palm tree;
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
14 They are planted in the house of the Lord[b]
and will flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They still will bear fruit, in their old age,
and they will remain fresh and green,
26 Solomon’s Chariots and Horses. Solomon collected chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand, four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed them in cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem. Cedar became as common as the sycamore that abounds in the Shephelah.[a] 28 Solomon brought horses from Egypt and Cilicia. The king’s merchants bought them in Cilicia. 29 They imported chariots from Egypt that cost six hundred silver shekels and horses that cost one hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all of the Hittite and Aramean kings.
Chapter 11
Solomon’s Wives and Idolatry.[b] 1 But King Solomon loved many foreign wives. In addition to Pharaoh’s daughter, there were Moabite women, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 These were from the nations about which the Lord had said to the Israelites, “You are not to go to them, nor are they to come to you, for they will surely turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives perverted his heart.
4 When Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart to serve other gods. His heart did not rest in peace with the Lord, his God, as the heart of David, his father, had. 5 He followed Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not follow after the Lord completely as his father David had. 7 Solomon built a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and to Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites, on a hillside that lies to the east of Jerusalem. 8 He did the same thing for all of his foreign wives. He burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
The Faith of the Early Patriarchs.[a] 4 By faith Abel[b] offered to God a better sacrifice than that of Cain. Because of this he was attested as righteous, God himself bearing witness to his gifts. Although he is dead, he continues to speak through it.
5 By faith Enoch[c] was taken up so that he did not see death. He was found no more, because God had taken him, and before he was taken up he was attested to have pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah,[d] having been warned by God about things not yet seen, took heed and built an ark to save his household. Through his faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that derives from faith.
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