Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (A)bars of your gates;
He has (B)blessed your sons within you.
14 He (C)makes [a]peace in your borders;
He (D)satisfies you with (E)the [b]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His (F)command to the earth;
His (G)word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives (H)snow like wool;
He scatters the (I)frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His (J)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (K)cold?
18 He (L)sends forth His word and melts them;
He (M)causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19 He (N)declares His words to Jacob,
His (O)statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20 He (P)has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have (Q)not known them.
[c]Praise [d]the Lord!
David’s Address about the Temple
28 Now (A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and (B)the mighty men, even all the valiant men. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I (C)had [a]intended to build a [b]permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for (D)the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘(E)You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel (G)forever. For (H)He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and (I)in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 (J)Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), (K)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Your son (L)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever (M)if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as [c]is done now.’ 8 So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever.
9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and (N)serve Him with [d]a whole heart and a willing [e]mind; (O)for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. (P)If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; (Q)be courageous and act.”
10 According to (A)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder (B)I laid a foundation, and (C)another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a (D)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, [a]precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 (E)each man’s work will become evident; for (F)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test [b]the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will (G)receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet (H)so as through fire.
16 (I)Do you not know that (J)you are a [c]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the [d]temple of God, God will destroy him, for the [e]temple of God is holy, and [f]that is what you are.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.