Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the choir director; on the gittith; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
84 Your dwelling place is lovely, O Lord of Armies!
2 My soul longs and yearns
for the Lord’s courtyards.
My whole body shouts for joy to the living God.
3 Even sparrows find a home,
and swallows find a nest for themselves.
There they hatch their young
near your altars, O Lord of Armies, my king and my God.
4 Blessed are those who live in your house.
They are always praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those who find strength in you.
Their hearts are on the road ⌞that leads to you⌟.
6 As they pass through a valley where balsam trees grow,[a]
they make it a place of springs.
The early rains cover it with blessings.[b]
7 Their strength grows as they go along
until each one of them appears
in front of God in Zion.
8 O Lord God, commander of armies, hear my prayer.
Open your ears, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look at our shield, O God.
Look with favor on the face of your anointed one.
10 One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand ⌞anywhere else⌟.
I would rather stand in the entrance to my God’s house
than live inside wicked people’s homes.
11 The Lord God is a sun and shield.
The Lord grants favor and honor.
He does not hold back any blessing
from those who live innocently.
12 O Lord of Armies, blessed is the person who trusts you.
King Darius Finds King Cyrus’ Memorandum
6 Then King Darius gave the order to search the library where the archives were stored in Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the palace of Ecbatana, which is in the province of Media. This was written on it:
MEMORANDUM
3 Date: Cyrus’ first year as king
From: King Cyrus
Subject: God’s temple in Jerusalem
The temple should be rebuilt as a place to offer sacrifices. Its foundation should be laid. It should be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide 4 with three rows of large stones and a row of wood. The king’s palace will pay for it. 5 In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) They should be returned to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. You should put each one in God’s temple.
6 Governor Tattenai ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and those of your group (the Persians west of the river):
You must stay away from there. 7 Don’t interfere with the work on God’s temple. Let the governor of the Jews and the leaders of Judah rebuild God’s temple on its ⌞original⌟ foundation. 8 I am issuing this decree about how you must help the Jewish leaders rebuild God’s temple:
The cost ⌞for this⌟ should be paid out of the king’s own money from the taxes ⌞on the province⌟ west of the Euphrates. Full payment should be made to these men so that the work is not interrupted. 9 Also, whatever the priests in Jerusalem need for burnt offerings to the God of heaven—young bulls, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil—should be provided for them each day. Make sure that nothing is omitted. 10 Then they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11 I am also issuing a decree that if anyone tampers with my orders, that person should be impaled on a beam torn from his own house and his house should be turned into a pile of rubble. 12 May the God whose name is worshiped there cause the downfall of each king and nation who tries to tamper with my orders or tries to destroy the temple of the God in Jerusalem.
I, Darius, have issued a decree. It’s to be carried out exactly as ordered.
13 Then Governor Tattenai ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group did exactly what King Darius had ordered. 14 So the Jewish leaders continued to make progress because of the message from the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo. They finished building as the God of Israel had ordered and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (the kings of Persia) had ordered. 15 This temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of King Darius’ reign.
The Temple Is Completed and Dedicated
16 Then the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the others who had returned from exile celebrated at the dedication of God’s temple.
Jesus Throws Out the Moneychangers(A)
15 When they came to Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. 16 He would not let anyone carry anything across the temple courtyard.
17 Then he taught them by saying, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves.”
18 When the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings heard him, they looked for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him because he amazed all the crowds with his teaching.
19 (Every evening Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.)
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