Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹³ King Solomon forced men from all over Israel to work hard for him. There were 30,000 of them. ¹⁴ He sent them off to Lebanon in groups of 10,000 each month. They spent one month in Lebanon. Then they spent two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. ¹⁵ Solomon had 70,000 people who carried things. He had 80,000 who cut stones in the hills. ¹⁶ He had 3,300 men in charge of the project. They also directed the workers. ¹⁷ The people did what the king commanded. They removed large blocks of the best quality stone from a rock pit. They used them to provide a foundation for the temple. ¹⁸ The skilled workers of Solomon and Hiram cut and prepared the logs and stones. They would later be used in building the temple. Workers from Byblos also helped.

Teachings for Christian Families

²¹ Follow the lead of one another because of your respect for Christ.

²² Wives, follow the lead of your own husbands as you follow the Lord. ²³ The husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. The church is Christ’s body. He is its Savior. ²⁴ The church follows the lead of Christ. In the same way, wives should follow the lead of their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives. Love them just as Christ loved the church. He gave himself up for her. ²⁶ He did it to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her with water and the word. ²⁷ He did it to bring her to himself as a brightly shining church. He wants a church that has no stain or wrinkle or any other flaw. He wants a church that is holy and without blame. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands should love their wives. They should love them as they love their own bodies. Any man who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body. Instead, they feed and care for their body. And this is what Christ does for the church. ³⁰ We are parts of his body. ³¹ Scripture says, “That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two will become one.” (Genesis 2:24) ³² That is a deep mystery. But I’m talking about Christ and the church. ³³ A husband also must love his wife. He must love her just as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.

6 Children, obey your parents as believers in the Lord. Obey them because it’s the right thing to do. ² Scripture says, “Honor your father and mother.” That is the first commandment that has a promise. ³ “Then things will go well with you. You will live a long time on the earth.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)

⁴ Fathers, don’t make your children angry. Instead, instruct them and teach them the ways of the Lord as you raise them.

⁵ Slaves, obey your masters here on earth. Respect them and honor them with a heart that is true. Obey them just as you would obey Christ. ⁶ Don’t obey them only to please them when they are watching. Do it because you are slaves of Christ. Be sure your heart does what God wants. ⁷ Serve your masters with all your heart. Work as serving the Lord and not as serving people. ⁸ You know that the Lord will give each person a reward. He will give it to them in keeping with the good they do. It doesn’t matter whether they are a slave or not.

⁹ Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. When you warn them, don’t be too hard on them. You know that the God who is their Master and yours is in heaven. And he treats everyone the same.