Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord—a Safe Place
11 In the Lord I am safe. How can you say to me, “Fly away as a bird to your mountain? 2 For look, the sinful raise their bow. They make their arrow ready on the string to shoot in the dark against the pure in heart. 3 If the base of the building is destroyed, what can those who are right with God do?”
4 The Lord is in His holy house. The Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes see as He tests the sons of men. 5 The Lord tests and proves those who are right and good and those who are sinful. And His soul hates the one who loves to hurt others. 6 He will send down fire upon the sinful. Fire and sulphur and burning wind will be the cup they will drink. 7 For the Lord is right and good. He loves what is right and good. And those who are right with Him will see His face.
15 He built the walls of the house on the inside with pieces of cedar wood. He put wood over the inside walls from the floor of the house to the roof. And he put pieces of cypress wood over the floor of the house. 16 An inside room called the most holy place was built in the back part of the house with pieces of cedar wood, from the floor to the roof and as wide as ten long steps. 17 The rest of the house, the center room in front of the most holy place, was as long as twenty long steps. 18 There was cedar on the house within, cut to look like gourds and open flowers. It was all cedar. No stone was seen. 19 Then he built the most holy place inside the house, in which to put the special box of the agreement. 20 The most holy place was as long as ten long steps, as wide as ten long steps, and more than five times taller than a man. He covered it with pure gold. And he covered the altar with cedar. 21 Solomon covered the inside of the house with pure gold. He crossed the front of the most holy place with chains of gold, and he covered it with gold. 22 He covered the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. And he covered the whole altar by the most holy place with gold.
23 In the most holy place he made two cherubim of olive wood. Each one was almost three times taller than a man. 24 One wing of the cherub was as long as three steps. And the other wing of the cherub was as long as three steps. It was as far as five long steps from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing. 25 It was as much as five long steps between the ends of the wings of the other cherub also. Both the cherubim were the same height, length and width, and they looked alike. 26 Each of the cherubim was almost three times taller than a man. 27 He put the cherubim in the most holy place of the house. The wings of the cherubim were spread out. The wing of the one cherub was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. So their wings were touching each other in the center of the house. 28 He covered the cherubim with gold.
29 Then he cut pictures in all the walls around the house to look like cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, in the center room and the most holy place. 30 He covered the floor of the house with gold, in the center room and the most holy place. 31 He made doors of olive wood for the most holy place. The top and sides of the door had five sides. 32 He cut pictures in the two doors of olive wood, to look like cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and covered them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 For the doorway of the center room he made four-sided side pieces of olive wood 34 and two doors of cypress wood. Each door had two moving parts. 35 On them he cut pictures of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. And he covered the pictures with an even covering of gold. 36 He built the inside place with three rows of cut stone and one row of large pieces of cedar wood.
37 In the fourth year the base of the house was laid in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, all the parts of the house were finished just as all the plans had been made. Solomon took seven years to build it.
16 You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you. I have set you apart for the work of bringing in fruit. Your fruit should last. And whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you.
The Christian and the World
17 “This is what I tell you to do: Love each other. 18 If the world hates you, you know it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. You do not belong to the world. I have chosen you out of the world and the world hates you. 20 Remember I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his owner.’ If they made it very hard for Me, they will make it very hard for you also. If they obeyed My teachings, they will obey your teachings also. 21 They will do all these things to you because you belong to Me. They do not know My Father Who sent Me.
22 “I have come and have spoken to them so they are guilty of sin. But now they have no reason to give for keeping their sin any longer. 23 Whoever hates Me, hates My Father also. 24 I have done things among them which no one else has done so they are guilty of sin. But now they have seen these things and have hated Me and My Father. 25 This happened as their Law said it would happen, ‘They hated Me without a reason.’
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.