Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(By Solomon.)
A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King
1 Please help the king
to be honest and fair
just like you, our God.
2 Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
especially the poor.
3 Let peace and justice rule
every mountain and hill.
4 Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless, and crush
everyone who hurts them.
5 Let the king live[a] forever
like the sun and the moon.
6 Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
and the ground.
7 Let the king be fair
with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
falls from the sky.
8 (A) Let his kingdom reach
from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
across all the earth.
9 Force the desert tribes
to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
crawl in the dirt.
10 Force the rulers of Tarshish[b]
and of the islands
to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
and of Seba[c] bring gifts.
11 Make other rulers bow down
and all nations serve him.
12 Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
who is poor and in need.
13 The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
and protects those in need.
14 He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
and violent deaths.
15 Long live the king!
Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
and praise him each day.
16 Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
prosper like wild flowers.
17 May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
and learn to praise him.
18 Lord God of Israel,
we praise you.
Only you can work miracles.
19 We will always praise
your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers
of David, the son of Jesse.
14 Solomon received almost 23 tons of gold a year. 15 The merchants and traders, as well as the kings of Arabia and rulers from Israel, also gave him gold.
16 Solomon made 200 gold shields and used almost seven kilograms of gold for each one. 17 He also made 300 smaller gold shields, using almost two kilograms for each one, and he put the shields in his palace in Forest Hall.
18 His throne was made of ivory and covered with pure gold. 19-20 The back of the throne was rounded at the top, and it had armrests on each side. There was a statue of a lion on both sides of the throne, and there was a statue of a lion at both ends of each of the six steps leading up to the throne. No other throne in the world was like Solomon's.
21 Since silver was almost worthless in those days, everything was made of gold, even the cups and dishes used in Forest Hall.
22 Solomon had a lot of seagoing ships.[a] Every three years he sent them out with Hiram's ships to bring back gold, silver, and ivory, as well as monkeys and peacocks.[b]
23 He was the richest and wisest king in the world. 24 People from every nation wanted to hear the wisdom God had given him. 25 Year after year people came and brought gifts of silver and gold, as well as clothes, weapons, spices, horses, or mules.
7 Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us.
11 Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, 12 so his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. 13 This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.[a]
14 We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. 15 Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16 (A) of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.