Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 Jerusalem, ·praise [celebrate] the Lord;
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], praise your God.
13 He ·makes your city gates strong [L strengthens the bars of your gates]
and blesses your children ·inside [L within you].
14 He ·brings [sets] peace to your ·country [L boundaries]
and ·fills [satisfies; satiates] you with the finest ·grain [wheat].
15 He ·gives a command [L sends forth his word] to the earth,
and ·it quickly obeys him [L his word quickly runs].
16 He ·spreads [L gives] the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like ·rocks [L morsels; bits; pieces].
No one can stand ·the cold he sends [L before his cold].
18 Then he ·gives a command [L sends forth his word], and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He ·gave [announced] his word to Jacob [C another name for Israel],
his laws [statutes; requirements; ordinances] and ·demands [judgments] to Israel [Ex. 19–24].
20 He didn’t do this for ·any other [L all the] nation.
They don’t know his ·laws [judgments].
Praise the Lord!
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
8 Solomon answered, “You have ·been very kind [shown/demonstrated loyalty/unfailing love] to my father David, and you have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, ·may your promise to my father David come true [or your promise to my father David has been fulfilled]. You have made me king of a ·people [nation] ·who are as many [as numerous] as the dust of the earth [Gen. 1:16]. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge so I can lead these people, ·because no one can rule them without your help [for who can rule/govern this great people/nation of yours?].”
11 God said to Solomon, “You have not asked for wealth or riches or ·honor [fame], or for the ·death of your enemies [L life of those who hate you], or for a long life. ·But since [Because] you have asked for wisdom and knowledge to ·lead [rule; govern] my people, over whom I have made you king, 12 I will give you wisdom and knowledge. I will also give you more wealth, riches, and ·honor [fame] than any king who has lived before you or any who will live after you.”
13 Then Solomon left the ·place of worship [L high place], the ·Meeting Tent [Tabernacle], at Gibeon and went back to Jerusalem. There King Solomon ·ruled [reigned] over Israel.
32 “No one knows when that day or ·time [hour] will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. 33 ·Be careful [Watch out; Be on guard]! Always be ·ready[a] [alert; watching], because you don’t know when that [appointed] time will be. 34 It is like a man who goes on a ·trip [journey]. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it, giving each one ·a special job [his own work] to do. The man tells the servant guarding the door always to be watchful. 35 So ·always be ready [stay alert; keep watching], because you don’t know when the ·owner [master; lord] of the house will come back. It might be in the evening, or at midnight, or ·in the morning while it is still dark [L when the rooster crows], or when the sun rises. 36 Always be ready. Otherwise he might come back suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ·ready [alert; watchful]!’”
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