Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 O Jerusalem, praise the Eternal!
O Zion, praise your God!
13 For His divine power reinforces your city gates,
blesses your children in the womb.
14 He establishes peace within your borders,
fills your markets with hearty golden wheat.
15 His command ripples across the earth;
His word runs out on swift feet.
16 He blankets the earth in wooly snow,
scattering frost like ashes over the land.
17 He throws down hail like stones falling from a mountain.
Can any withstand His wintry blast?
18 But He dispatches His word, and the thaw begins;
at His command, the spring winds blow, gently stirring the waters back to life.
19 He brings Jacob in on His plan, declaring His word—
His statutes and His teachings to Israel.
20 He has not treated any other nation in such a way;
they live unaware of His commands.
Praise the Eternal!
Before Israel united as one nation under David, the countryside was inhabited by people who worship other gods. As Solomon prepares to build the temple and centralize worship of the one God—the Lord—in one place—Jerusalem—he finds it necessary to visit the former shrines of local gods and convert them to shrines to God. While this may have worked in the short term by introducing the people outside of Jerusalem to the worship practices of the Eternal, those shrines, called “high places,” will be the undoing of the entire country. By allowing people to worship at local shrines instead of only in Jerusalem, where the priests meticulously follow God’s laws, Solomon and future kings are opening the door to the blending of God worship and pagan worship.
5 The Eternal revealed Himself to Solomon in a dream while he was still in Gibeon.
Eternal One: Tell me, what is your request of Me?
Solomon: 6 You have already revealed Your loyal love to my father, David, for he lived by Your truth and righteousness and honor during the days of his life. You have continued to show this loyal love to him by giving him a son who now reigns upon his throne. 7 Eternal One, my God, You have allowed me to serve as my father David served, but I am still young and inexperienced. I don’t know much about anything, 8 yet I am supposed to lead Your chosen people who are innumerable and even uncountable. 9 Please give Your servant a listening heart for judging Your people and for knowing the difference between what is good and what is evil. Who is capable of judging Your chosen ones, a great people?
10 The Lord was delighted by Solomon’s request.
Eternal One: 11 Since you have asked for wisdom and not for an extended lifetime or for personal wealth or for the annihilation of your enemies, since you have instead asked for the ability to understand justice, 12 I will honor your request. I have planted the deepest human wisdom into your heart. There has never been nor will there ever be a man like you.
13 I have also given you the things for which you have not asked—wealth and an honorable reputation. There will be no other kings like you for as long as you live. 14 If you live a life devoted to Me, if you remain loyal to My laws and commands just as your father David did, then I will add days to your life.
12 On another occasion, Jesus spoke to the crowds again.
Jesus: I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.
Pharisees: 13 Jesus, what You are claiming about Yourself cannot possibly be true. The only person bearing witness is You.
Jesus: 14 Even if I am making bold claims about Myself—who I am, what I have come to do—I am speaking the truth. You see, I know where I came from and where I will go when I am done here. You know neither where I come from nor where I will go. 15 You spend your time judging by the wrong criteria, by human standards; but I am not here to judge anyone. 16 If I were to judge, then My judgment would be based on truth; but I would not judge anyone alone. I act in harmony with the One who sent Me. 17 Your law states that if the testimonies of two witnesses agree, their testimony is true. 18 Well, I testify about Myself, and so does the Father who sent Me here.
Pharisees: 19 Where is the Father who testifies on Your behalf?
Jesus: You don’t know the Father or Me. If you knew Me, then you would also know the Father.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.