Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

Solomon dedicates the temple

8 Then Solomon assembled Israel’s elders, all the tribal leaders, and the chiefs of Israel’s clans at Jerusalem to bring up the chest containing the Lord’s covenant from David’s City Zion. ² Everyone in Israel assembled before King Solomon in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim,^[a] during the festival. ³ When all of Israel’s elders had arrived, the priests picked up the chest. ⁴ They brought the Lord’s chest, the meeting tent, and all the holy equipment that was in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up, ⁵ while King Solomon and the entire Israelite assembly that had joined him before the chest sacrificed countless sheep and oxen. ⁶ The priests brought the chest containing the Lord’s covenant to its designated spot beneath the wings of the winged creatures in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the most holy place. ⁷ The winged creatures spread their wings over the place where the chest rested, covering the chest and its carrying poles. ⁸ The carrying poles were so long that their tips could be seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, though they weren’t visible from outside. They are still there today. ⁹ Nothing was in the chest except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there while at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they left Egypt. ¹⁰ When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple, ¹¹ and the priests were unable to carry out their duties due to the cloud because the Lord’s glory filled the Lord’s temple.

¹² Then Solomon said, “The Lord said that he would live in a dark cloud, ¹³ but I have indeed built you a lofty temple as a place where you can live forever.” ¹⁴ The king turned around, and while the entire assembly of Israel was standing there, he blessed them, ¹⁵ saying, “Bless Israel’s God, the Lord, who spoke directly to my father David and now has kept his promise: ¹⁶ ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt I haven’t selected a city from any Israelite tribe as a site for the building of a temple for my name. But now I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ ¹⁷ My father David wanted to build a temple for the name of the Lord, Israel’s God.

¹⁸ “But the Lord said to my father David, ‘It is very good that you thought to build a temple for my name. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, you yourself won’t build that temple. Instead, your very own son will build the temple for my name.’ ²⁰ The Lord has kept his promise—I have succeeded my father David on Israel’s throne just as the Lord said, and I have built the temple for the name of the Lord, Israel’s God. ²¹ There I’ve placed the chest that contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Understanding about the bread

¹⁴ Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.”

¹⁶ The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.”

¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? ¹⁸ Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Twelve.”

²⁰ “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”