Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God
To the Chief Musician. (A)On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 How (B)lovely [b]is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
2 (C)My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your (D)house;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley (E)of [c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with [d]pools.
7 They go (F)from strength to strength;
[e]Each one (G)appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 (H)O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your [f]anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather [g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (I)a sun and (J)shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
(K)No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
(L)Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
The Decree of Darius
6 Then King Darius issued a decree, (A)and a search was made in the [a]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at [b]Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of (B)Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a (C)decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 (D)with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the (E)expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let (F)the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—
6 (G)Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this [c]house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 (H)that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11 Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; (I)and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. 12 And may the God who causes His (J)name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this [d]house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
The Temple Completed and Dedicated
13 Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. 14 (K)So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the [e]command of (L)Cyrus, (M)Darius, and (N)Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated (O)the dedication of this [f]house of God with joy.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple(A)
15 (B)So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold (C)doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, (D)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a (E)‘den of thieves.’ ”
18 And (F)the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because (G)all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.