Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director: On the gittith. A song of praise from the Korah family.
84 Lord All-Powerful, the place where you live is so beautiful!
2 Lord, I cannot wait to enter your Temple.
I am so excited!
Every part of me cries out to be with the Living God.
3 Lord All-Powerful, my King, my God,
even the birds have found a home in your Temple.
They make their nests near your altar,
and there they have their babies.
4 Great blessings belong to those who live at your Temple!
They continue to praise you. Selah
5 Great blessings belong to those who depend on you for strength!
Their heart’s desire is to make the trip to your Temple.
6 They travel through Baca Valley,
which God has made into a place of springs.
Autumn rains form pools of water there.
7 The people travel from town to town[a]
on their way to Zion, where they will meet with God.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, listen to my prayer.
God of Jacob, listen to me. Selah
9 God, watch over the king, our protector.[b]
Be kind to him, the one you have chosen.
10 One day in your Temple is better
than a thousand days anywhere else.
Serving as a guard at the gate of my God’s house is better
than living in the homes of the wicked.
11 The Lord God is our protector and glorious king.[c]
He blesses us with kindness and honor.
The Lord freely gives every good thing
to those who do what is right.
12 Lord All-Powerful,
great blessings belong to those who trust in you!
Solomon Builds the Temple
6 So in the month of Ziv, the second month of the year, during Solomon’s fourth year as king, he began work on the Temple. This was 480 years after the Israelites left Egypt.[a] 2 The Temple was 60 cubits[b] long, 20 cubits[c] wide, and 30 cubits[d] high. 3 The porch of the Temple was 20 cubits long and 10 cubits[e] wide. The porch ran along the front of the main part of the Temple itself. Its length was equal to the width of the Temple. 4 There were narrow windows in the Temple. These windows were smaller on the inside of the wall than on the outside.[f]
21 He covered the inside of the Temple with pure gold and wrapped gold chains around it. 22 The inside of the Temple was covered with gold, and the altar in front of the Most Holy Place was covered with gold.
10 Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Other people are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how they build. 11 The foundation that has already been built is Jesus Christ, and no one can build any other foundation. 12 People 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 will make it plain. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test everyone’s work. 14 If the building they put on the foundation still stands, they will get their reward. 15 But if their building is burned up, they will suffer loss. They will be saved, but it will be like someone escaping from a fire.
16 You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple.[a] God’s Spirit lives in you. 17 If you destroy God’s temple, God will destroy you, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.
18 Don’t fool yourselves. Whoever thinks they are wise in this world should become a fool. That’s the only way they can be wise. 19 I say this because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He catches those who think they are wise in their own clever traps.”[b] 20 The Scriptures also say, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise. He knows that their thoughts are worth nothing.”[c] 21 So there is not a person on earth that any of you should be boasting about. Everything is yours: 22 Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these are yours. 23 And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International