Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song for going up to the Temple.
132 Lord, remember how David suffered.
2 He made a promise to you, Lord,
an oath to the Mighty God of Jacob.
3 He said, “I will not go into my house
or lie down on my bed.
4 I will not sleep
or let my eyes rest,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a tent for the Mighty God of Jacob!”
6 We heard about this in Ephrathah.[a]
We found the Box of the Agreement at Kiriath Jearim.[b]
7 Now, let’s go to the Lord’s house.
Let’s worship at his throne.[c]
8 Lord, get up[d] and go to your resting place;
go with the Box that shows your power.
9 May your priests be clothed in victory
and your loyal followers be filled with joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
don’t reject your chosen king.[e]
11 The Lord made a promise to David, an oath of loyalty to him:
“I will always put one of your descendants on your throne.
12 If your descendants obey my agreement and the laws I teach them,
then the king will always be someone from your family.”
13 The Lord has chosen Zion to be the place for his Temple,
the place he wanted for his home.
14 He said, “This will always be my place of rest.
This is where I want to sit on my throne.
15 I will bless this city with plenty of food.
Even the poor will have enough to eat.
16 I will clothe the priests with salvation,
and my followers will be filled with joy.
17 This is where I will make David’s family strong.
I will never let the lamp of my chosen king stop burning.
18 I will cover his enemies with shame,
and on his head will be a shining crown.”
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes to show he was sad and upset. 12 Then he gave a command to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant. 13 King Josiah said, “Go and ask the Lord what we should do. Ask for me, for the people, and for all Judah. Ask about the words of this book that was found. The Lord is angry with us, because our ancestors did not listen to the words of this book. They did not obey all the commands that were written for us.”
Josiah and Huldah the Prophetess
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the woman prophet. Huldah was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas. He took care of the priests’ clothes. Huldah was living in the second quarter in Jerusalem. They went and talked with Huldah.
15 Then Huldah said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me: 16 ‘The Lord says this: I am bringing trouble on this place and on the people who live here. These are the troubles that are mentioned in the book that the king of Judah read. 17 The people of Judah have left me and have burned incense to other gods. They made me very angry. They made many idols. That is why I will show my anger against this place. My anger will be like a fire that cannot be stopped!’
18-19 “King Josiah of Judah sent you to ask advice from the Lord. Tell Josiah that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You heard the words I spoke against this place and those who live here. And when you heard those things, your heart was soft, and you showed your sorrow before the Lord. I said that terrible things would happen to this place. So you tore your clothes to show your sadness, and you began to cry. That is why I heard you.’ This is what the Lord says. 20 ‘I will bring you to be with your ancestors. You will die and go to your grave in peace. So your eyes will not see all the trouble that I am bringing on this place.’”
Then Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah gave that message to the king.
20 But Christ really has been raised from death—the first one of all those who will be raised. 21 Death comes to people because of what one man did. But now there is resurrection from death because of another man. 22 I mean that in Adam all of us die. And in the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. 23 But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. Then, when Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life. 24 Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers. Then he will give the kingdom to God the Father.
25 Christ must rule until God puts all enemies under his control.[a] 26 The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 27 As the Scriptures say, “God put everything under his control.”[b] When it says that “everything” is put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself. God is the one putting everything under Christ’s control. 28 After everything has been put under Christ, then the Son himself will be put under God. God is the one who put everything under Christ. And Christ will be put under God so that God will be the complete ruler over everything.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International