Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

148 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise him from the skies! ² Praise him, all his angels, all the armies of heaven. ³ Praise him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars. ⁴ Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds.

⁵ Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; ⁶ he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.

⁷ And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. ⁸ Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind, and weather all obey. ⁹ Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, ¹⁰ the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, ¹¹ the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, ¹² young men and maidens, old men and children— ¹³ all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. ¹⁴ He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—the people of Israel, the people closest to him.

Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!

⁵ The Lord appeared to him in a dream that night and told him to ask for anything he wanted, and it would be given to him!

⁶ Solomon replied, “You were wonderfully kind to my father David because he was honest and true and faithful to you, and obeyed your commands. And you have continued your kindness to him by giving him a son to succeed him. ⁷ O Lord my God, now you have made me the king instead of my father David, but I am as a little child who doesn’t know his way around. ⁸ And here I am among your own chosen people, a nation so great that there are almost too many people to count! ⁹ Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. For who by himself is able to carry such a heavy responsibility?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased with his reply and was glad that Solomon had asked for wisdom. ¹¹ So he replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people and haven’t asked for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the defeat of your enemies— ¹² yes, I’ll give you what you asked for! I will give you a wiser mind than anyone else has ever had or ever will have! ¹³ And I will also give you what you didn’t ask for—riches and honor! And no one in all the world will be as rich and famous as you for the rest of your life! ¹⁴ And I will give you a long life if you follow me and obey my laws as your father David did.”

¹² Later, in one of his talks, Jesus said to the people, “I am the Light of the world. So if you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path.”

¹³ The Pharisees replied, “You are boasting—and lying!”

¹⁴ Jesus told them, “These claims are true even though I make them concerning myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. ¹⁵ You pass judgment on me without knowing the facts. I am not judging you now; ¹⁶ but if I were, it would be an absolutely correct judgment in every respect, for I have with me the Father who sent me. ¹⁷ Your laws say that if two men agree on something that has happened, their witness is accepted as fact. ¹⁸ Well, I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

¹⁹ “Where is your father?” they asked.

Jesus answered, “You don’t know who I am, so you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know him too.”