Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Jerusalem, praise your God.
13 He makes your city gates strong.
He blesses the people inside.
14 He brings peace to your country.
He fills you with the finest grain.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys him.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like rocks.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives a command, and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He gave his word to Jacob.
He gave his laws and demands to Israel.
20 He didn’t do this for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
David’s Plans for the Temple
28 David commanded all the leaders of Israel to come to Jerusalem. There were the leaders of the tribes and the commanders of the divisions serving the king. There were the commanders of 1,000 men and of 100 men. There were the leaders who took care of the property and animals that belonged to the king and his sons. There were the men over the palace, the powerful men and all the brave warriors.
2 King David stood up and said, “Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a place to keep the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. I wanted it to be God’s footstool. And I made plans to build a temple for worship to God. 3 But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple for worship to me. You must not do that because you are a soldier. You have killed many men.’
4 “But the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family. He chose me to be king of Israel forever. The Lord chose the tribe of Judah to be a leader. And from the people of Judah, he chose my father’s family. And from that family God was pleased to make me king of Israel. 5 The Lord has given me many sons. And from those sons he has chosen Solomon. Solomon will be the new king of Israel. Israel is the Lord’s kingdom. 6 The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple. And he will build the area around it. This is because I have chosen Solomon to be my son. And I will be his father. 7 He is obeying my laws and commands now. If he continues to obey them, I will make his kingdom strong forever.’”
8 David said, “Now, in front of all Israel and God, I tell you these things: Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Then you may keep this good land. And you may pass it on to your descendants forever.
9 “And you, my son Solomon, accept the God of your father. Serve him completely. Be happy to serve him. Do this because the Lord knows what is in every person’s mind. He understands everything you think. If you go to him for help, you will get an answer. But if you turn away from the Lord, he will leave you forever. 10 Solomon, you must understand this. The Lord has chosen you to build the Temple as his holy place. Be strong and finish the job.”
10 Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Others are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how he builds. 11 The foundation has already been built. No one can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ. 12 Anyone can build on that foundation, using gold, silver, jewels, wood, grass, or straw. 13 But the work that each person does will be clearly seen, because the Day[a] will make it plain. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test every man’s work. 14 If the building that a man puts on the foundation still stands, he will get his reward. 15 But if his building is burned up, he will suffer loss. The man will be saved, but it will be as if he escaped from a fire.
16 You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple. God’s Spirit lives in you. 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.