Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁰ Then David died and was buried in the City of David. ¹¹ David ruled Israel 40 years. He ruled seven years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem.

Solomon and Adonijah

¹² Now Solomon was king. He sat on the throne of his father David and was in complete control of his kingdom.

³ Solomon showed that he loved the Lord by obeying everything his father David told him to do, except that Solomon continued to go to the high places to offer sacrifices and to burn incense.

⁴ King Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice because that was the most important high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ While Solomon was at Gibeon, the Lord came to him at night in a dream. God said, “Solomon, ask me what you want me to give you.”

⁶ Solomon answered, “You were very kind and loyal to your servant, my father David. He was faithful to you and lived a good, honest life. And you showed him the greatest kindness when you let his son take his place as king. ⁷ Lord my God, you have made me the king in my father’s place, but I am like a small child. I don’t have the wisdom I need to do what I must do. ⁸ I am your servant here among your chosen people. There are so many that they cannot be counted. ⁹ So I ask you to give me the wisdom to rule and judge them well and to help me know the difference between right and wrong. Without such great wisdom, it would be impossible to rule this great nation.”

¹⁰ The Lord was happy that Solomon asked for wisdom. ¹¹ So God said to him, “You did not ask for long life and riches for yourself. You did not ask for the death of your enemies. You asked for the wisdom to listen and make the right decisions. ¹² So I will give you what you asked for. I will make you wise and intelligent. I will make you wiser than anyone who ever lived or ever will live. ¹³ And I will also give you what you did not ask for. You will have riches and honor all your life. There will be no other king in the world as great as you. ¹⁴ And I will give you a long life if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did.”

¹⁵ So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. ¹⁶ I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times. ¹⁷ So don’t be foolish with your lives, but learn what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life, but be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹ Encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord. ²⁰ Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my body. I will give my body so that the people in the world can have life.”

⁵² Then the Jews began to argue among themselves. They said, “How can this man give us his body to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that you must eat the body of the Son of Man, and you must drink his blood. If you don’t do this, you have no real life. ⁵⁴ Those who eat my body and drink my blood have eternal life. I will raise them up on the last day. ⁵⁵ My body is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Those who eat my body and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.

⁵⁷ “The Father sent me. He lives, and I live because of him. So everyone who eats me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ I am not like the bread that your ancestors ate. They ate that bread, but they still died. I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”