Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 [a]Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Glorify your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.[b]
14 He brings peace to your borders
and fills you with the finest of wheat.[c]
15 He sends a command to the earth;
his word runs with utmost speed.
16 He gives the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.[d]
17 He hurls down his hail like crumbs;
who can withstand his cold?[e]
18 He sends his word, and the ice melts;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 [f]He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his decrees and his judgments to Israel.
20 He has not done this for the other nations;
they are not aware of his judgments.
Alleluia.
Chapter 28
Assembly at Jerusalem.[a] 1 David summoned all the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions for the service of the king, the captains of the thousands, the captains of the hundreds, the officials in charge of all the goods and possessions of the king and his sons, together with the other officials, the mighty men, and the brave warriors to Jerusalem. 2 King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren, my people. I had my heart set upon building a house to serve as a resting place for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the footstool of our God. I made preparations for building it, 3 but God said to me, ‘You will not build a house for my name for you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’
4 “Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, has chosen me from my father’s entire household to be the king over Israel forever, and from Judah he chose me as leader, from the house of Judah, the household of my father and the sons of my father. It pleased him to make me king over all of Israel. 5 From my sons, from my many sons whom the Lord has given me, the Lord has chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, will build my temple and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he carefully observes my commandments and my ordinances, as they are doing today.’
8 “Now therefore, in the sight of all of Israel and the assembly of the Lord and in the hearing of our God, I charge you to carefully observe all of the commandments of the Lord, your God, so that you might possess this good land and it might be an inheritance for your descendants forever.
9 “And you, Solomon, my son, know that God is your father. Serve him with all your heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart, and he understands the ponderings of every thought. If you seek him, you will find him, but if you abandon him, then he will cast you off forever. 10 Take heed, now, that the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
10 By the grace that God has given to me, I laid a foundation like a skilled master builder, and someone else is building on that foundation. But each one must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has already been laid, namely, Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and straw, 13 the work of each person will come to light. For the Day[a] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the worth of each person’s work 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will be rewarded. 15 If it burns down, that person will suffer loss. The person will be saved, though only by passing through fire.[b]
16 You Belong to Christ. Do you not realize that you are God’s temple, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.
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