Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a song that David wrote.
The great King[a]
24 The whole earth belongs to the Lord.
Everybody who lives in the world
and all the things in it belong to him.
2 The Lord built the foundation of the earth.
He built it on the seas and the rivers.[b]
3 Who may climb up the hill of the Lord?[c]
Who can stand in his holy place?[d]
4 Only the person who does what is right,
and who has pure thoughts.
He does not worship idols
and he does not make false promises.
5 The Lord will bless people who are like that.
God will save them.
He will say that they are not guilty of wrong things.
6 People like that come to God.
They want to please him.
They like to pray to the God of Jacob.
Selah.
7 Old gates of the city, wake up!
Open now, to leave a wide path!
Then the great king will come in.
8 Who is this great king?
He is the Lord,
who is strong and powerful.
He is the Lord,
who wins against his enemies.
9 Be ready, you old gates of the city!
Be ready to open wide!
Then the great king will come in.
10 Who is this great king?
He is the Almighty Lord.
Yes, he is the great king!
Selah.
The Covenant Box
10 The Israelites must use acacia wood to make a big box. It must be 1 metre long, 75 centimetres wide and 75 centimetres high. 11 Cover the wood with gold, both inside and outside. Build up the edges of the box with gold. 12 Make four gold rings and fix them to the four feet of the box. Fix two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Then use acacia wood to make two poles. Cover them with gold too. 14 Push the poles through the rings on the sides of the box. You will use the poles to carry the box. 15 The poles must remain along the side of the box, in the rings. Never remove them. 16 Then put into the box the two flat stones with the words of the covenant on them. I will give those to you.
17 Use pure gold to make a lid for the box. Make the lid 1 metre long and 75 centimetres wide. 18 Use gold to make images of two cherubs. Use a hammer to make them the right shape. They will stand at the two ends of the lid. 19 One cherub will stand at one end of the lid, and one cherub will stand at the other end. The two cherubs and the lid must be one piece of gold. 20 The cherubs must look towards each other and watch over the lid. Their wings must touch each other over the top of the lid. 21 Then put the lid on the top of the box. Put the flat stones with the words of the covenant into the box. I will give those to you.
22 I will meet with you there, between the two cherubs that are above the lid. They watch over the Covenant Box. In that place I will give you all my commands for the Israelites.
2 I want you to know that I am doing a difficult work on your behalf. I am also working to help the people at Laodicea and other people who have never met me. 2 I want all the believers to become strong in their spirits. I want them to help each other because they love one another. Then God will bless them very much, because they understand God's secret message very well. They will be completely sure of it. And they will know Christ himself, who is God's secret. 3 Christ is the one who holds everything that makes people wise. He helps people to know the true message that God had hidden.
4 I am telling you these things so that false teachers will not deceive you. They may teach ideas that seem good, but do not listen to them. 5 My body is not there with you, but I think about you a lot. I hear that you are living and working well together. I also hear that you continue to trust Christ strongly. That makes me very happy.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.