Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
92 Lord, it is good to praise you.
Most High God, it is good to make music to honor you.
2 It is good to sing every morning about your love.
It is good to sing every night about how faithful you are.
3 I sing about it to the music of the lyre that has ten strings.
I sing about it to the music of the harp.
4 Lord, you make me glad by your deeds.
I sing for joy about what you have done.
12 Those who do what is right will grow like a palm tree.
They will grow strong like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
13 Their roots will be firm in the house of the Lord.
They will grow strong and healthy in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they get old, they will still bear fruit.
Like young trees they will stay fresh and strong.
15 They will say to everyone, “The Lord is honest.
He is my Rock, and there is no evil in him.”
26 Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept some of his horses and chariots in the chariot cities. He kept the others with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar wood as common there as sycamore-fig trees in the western hills. 28 Solomon got horses from Egypt and from Kue. The royal traders bought them from Kue at the current price. 29 They weighed out 15 pounds of silver for a chariot from Egypt. And they weighed out almost four pounds of silver for a horse. They also sold horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans.
Solomon’s Wives
11 King Solomon loved many women besides Pharaoh’s daughter. They were from other lands. They were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 The Lord had warned Israel about women from other nations. He had said, “You must not marry them. If you do, you can be sure they will turn your hearts toward their gods.” But Solomon continued to love them anyway. He wouldn’t give them up. 3 He had 700 wives who came from royal families. And he had 300 concubines. His wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew older, his wives turned his heart toward other gods. He didn’t follow the Lord his God with all his heart. So he wasn’t like his father David. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was the female god of the Sidonians. He also worshiped Molek. Molek was the god of the Ammonites. The Lord hated that god. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t completely obey the Lord. He didn’t do what his father David had done.
7 There is a hill east of Jerusalem. Solomon built a high place for worshiping Chemosh there. He built a high place for worshiping Molek there too. Chemosh was the god of Moab. Molek was the god of Ammon. The Lord hated both of those gods. 8 Solomon also built high places so that all his wives from other nations could worship their gods. Those women burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
4 Abel had faith. So he brought to God a better offering than Cain did. Because of his faith Abel was praised as a godly man. God said good things about his offerings. Because of his faith Abel still speaks. He speaks even though he is dead.
5 Enoch had faith. So he was taken from this life. He didn’t die. “He couldn’t be found, because God had taken him away.” (Genesis 5:24) Before God took him, Enoch was praised as one who pleased God. 6 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who come to God must believe that he exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to him.
7 Noah had faith. So he built an ark to save his family. He built it because of his great respect for God. God had warned him about things that could not yet be seen. Because of his faith Noah showed the world that it was guilty. Because of his faith he was considered right with God.
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