Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: A Davidic Song.[a]
Confident Trust in God
11 I take refuge in the Lord.
So how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains.”?
2 Look, the wicked have bent their bow
and placed their arrow[b] on the string,[c]
to shoot from the darkness[d] at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in his holy Temple;
the Lord’s throne is in the heavens.
His eyes see,
his glance[e] examines humanity.[f]
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked and those who love violence, he hates.
6 He rains on the wicked burning coals and sulfur;
a scorching wind is their destiny.[g]
7 Indeed, the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteousness;
the upright will see him face-to-face.
Conscripted Labor for the Building Program
13 King Solomon conscripted laborers from throughout Israel. The work force numbered 30,000 men. 14 He sent 10,000 men to Lebanon in shifts lasting one month. They worked one month in Lebanon for every two months they worked at home. Adoniram was placed in charge of the conscripted labor. 15 Solomon also employed 70,000 heavy-lift workers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country. 16 Solomon also employed 3,300 officials to supervise the work and to manage the people employed in the construction. 17 The king specified that large, expensive stones be quarried so the foundation of the Temple could be laid with cut stones. 18 As a result, Solomon’s builders worked with Hiram’s builders, accompanied by the Gebalites, to quarry the stone and to prepare the timber and other[a] stone for the Temple’s construction.
21 and you will submit to one another out of reverence for[a] the Messiah.[b]
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, submit yourselves[c] to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of his wife as the Messiah[d] is the head of the church. It is he who is the Savior of the body. 24 Indeed, just as the church is submissive to the Messiah,[e] so wives must be submissive[f] to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives as the Messiah[g] loved the church and gave himself for it, 26 so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word, 27 and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love[h] their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one has ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, as the Messiah[i] does[j] the church.
30 For we are parts of his body—of his flesh and of his bones.[k] 31 “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[l] 32 This is a great secret, but I am talking about the Messiah[m] and the church. 33 But each individual man among you must love his wife as he loves[n] himself; and may the wife fear her husband.
Advice for Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,[o] for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor your father and mother…”[p] (This is a very important commandment with a promise.) 3 “…so that it may go well for you, and that you may have a long life on the earth.”[q]
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up by training[r] and instructing them about the Lord.
Advice for Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear, trembling, and sincerity, as when you obey[s] the Messiah.[t] 6 Do not do this only while you’re being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah,[u] who are determined to obey God’s will. 7 Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people,[v] 8 because you know that everyone will receive a reward from the Lord for whatever good he has done, whether he is a slave or free.
9 Masters, treat your slaves[w] the same way. Do not threaten them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.