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.
Help him decide what is right for the poor.
3 Let there be peace on the mountains
and goodness on the hills.
4 Help him be fair to the poor.
Help him save the needy
and punish those who hurt them.
5 Help him live as long as the sun shines.
Help him rule as long as the moon glows.
Let him be king from now on!
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.
Let all nations serve him.
12 He will help the poor when they cry for help.
He will help the needy when no one else will help them.
13 He will be kind to the weak and poor.
He will save their lives.
14 He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them.
Their lives are precious to him.
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba.
Let people always pray for him.
Let them bless him all day long.
16 Let the fields grow plenty of grain.
Let the hills be covered with crops.
Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon.
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.
Only he 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 50,000 pounds of gold. 15 Besides that he also received gold from the traders and merchants. And he received gold from the kings of Arabia and governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. Each shield contained about seven and one-half pounds of gold. 17 He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold. They each contained about three and three-fourths pounds of gold. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 Then King Solomon built a large throne of ivory. And he covered it with pure gold. 19 There were six steps leading up to the throne. The back of the throne was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the chair. And beside each armrest was a statue of a lion. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was 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 were made of gold. All of the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made from silver. In Solomon’s time people did not think silver was valuable.
22 King Solomon also had many trading ships at sea, along with Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ships returned. They brought 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. They wanted to hear the wisdom God had given him. 25 Every year everyone who came brought a gift. They brought things made of gold and silver, along with clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules.
7 Christ gave each one of us a special gift. Each one received what Christ wanted to give him.
11 And Christ gave gifts to men—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. He gave those gifts 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 about the Son of God. We must become like a mature person—we must grow until we become like Christ and have all 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 men who are trying to fool us. Those men make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path. 15 No! We will speak the truth with love. We will grow up in every way to be like 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 of the body does its own work. And this makes the whole body grow and be strong with love.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.