Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
11 In (A)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
2 For look! (B)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot [a]secretly at the upright in heart.
3 (C)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s (D)throne is in heaven;
(E)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (F)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
(G)Shall be [b]the portion of their cup.
Solomon Builds the Temple(A)
6 And (B)it came to pass in the four hundred and [a]eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of [b]Ziv, which is the second month, (C)that he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 Now (D)the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the [c]sanctuary of the house was [d]twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of [e]the vestibule extended [f]ten cubits from the front of the house. 4 And he made for the house (E)windows with beveled frames.
5 Against the wall of the [g]temple he built (F)chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary (G)and the [h]inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the [i]temple. 7 And (H)the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the [j]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.
9 (I)So he built the [k]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.
11 Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12 “Concerning this [l]temple which you are building, (J)if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My [m]word with you, (K)which I spoke to your father David. 13 And (L)I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not (M)forsake My people Israel.”
14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.
A Gracious Greeting
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, (A)Tychicus, a beloved brother and (B)faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 (C)whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may (D)comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.