Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord is king.
Let the peoples shake with fear.
He sits between the gold creatures with wings.
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in Jerusalem is great;
he is supreme over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your name;
it is great, holy and to be feared.
4 The King is powerful and loves justice.
Lord, you made things fair;
you have done what is fair and right
for the people of Jacob.
5 Praise the Lord our God,
and worship at the Temple, his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among his worshipers.
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept the rules and laws he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you punished them for their wrongs.
9 Praise the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
54 Solomon prayed this prayer to the Lord, kneeling in front of the altar with his arms raised toward heaven. When he finished praying, he got up. 55 Then, in a loud voice, he stood and blessed all the people of Israel, saying: 56 “Praise the Lord! He promised he would give rest to his people Israel, and he has given us rest. The Lord has kept all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us, 58 and may he turn us to himself so we will follow him. Let us obey all the laws and commands he gave our ancestors. 59 May the Lord our God remember this prayer day and night and do what is right for his servant and his people Israel day by day. 60 Then all the people of the world will know the Lord is the only true God. 61 You must fully obey the Lord our God and follow all his laws and commands. Continue to obey in the future as you do now.”
Sacrifices Are Offered
62 Then King Solomon and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon killed twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep as fellowship offerings. So the king and all the people gave the Temple to the Lord.
64 On that day King Solomon made holy the middle part of the courtyard which is in front of the Temple of the Lord. There he offered whole burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings. He offered them in the courtyard, because the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings.
65 Solomon and all the Israelites celebrated the other festival that came at that time. People came from as far away as Lebo Hamath and the brook of Egypt. A great many people celebrated before the Lord for seven days, then seven more days, for a total of fourteen days.
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 “The One who comes from above is greater than all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. 33 Whoever accepts what he says has proven that God is true. 34 The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit fully. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. 36 Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.