Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Promise to Rule Well
A psalm of David.
101 I will sing of your ·love [loyalty] and ·fairness [justice; judgment];
Lord, I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to you.
2 I will ·be careful to live [lead; or study] ·an innocent life [the way that is blameless].
When will ·you [or it; C the “way that is blameless”] come to me?
I will ·live [go; walk] ·an innocent life [L in the blamelessness of my heart] in my house.
3 I will not ·look at [L set before my eyes] anything ·wicked [vile].
I hate those who ·turn against you [are crooked/transgressors];
they will not ·be found near [cling to] me.
4 Let those who ·want to do wrong [L have a perverse heart] stay away from me;
I ·will have nothing to do with [L do not know] evil.
5 If anyone secretly ·says things against [slanders] his neighbor,
I will ·stop [destroy; silence] him.
I will not allow people
to ·be proud [L have broad hearts] and ·look down on others [L haughty eyes; 131:1].
6 ·I will look for trustworthy people [L My eyes are on the faithful of the land]
so ·I can live with them [L they may dwell with me].
Only those who ·live innocent lives [L walk in the way of blamelessness]
will ·be my servants [L serve me].
7 No one who ·is dishonest [deceives] will live in my house;
no ·liars [L one who speaks falsehoods] will ·stay around me [L be established before my eyes].
8 Every morning I will ·destroy [silence] all the wicked in the land.
I will ·rid [cut off] the Lord’s city [C Jerusalem; 46:4] of people who do evil.
The Ark Is Brought into the Temple(A)
8 King Solomon ·called for [assembled; summoned] the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the ·families [ancestral houses] to come to him in Jerusalem. He wanted them to bring the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord from the ·older part of the city [L city of David, also known as Zion]. 2 So all the Israelites ·came together with [assembled before] King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.
3 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests ·lifted [picked; took] up the Ark. 4 They ·carried [brought] the Ark of the Lord, the Meeting Tent, and the holy ·utensils [vessels; items]; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 King Solomon and all the ·Israelites [congregation/community/assembly of Israel] gathered before the Ark and sacrificed so many sheep and ·cattle [oxen] no one could count or number them all. 6 Then the priests ·put [brought; carried] the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord ·in [to] its place inside the inner ·room [L sanctuary] in the ·Temple [L house], the ·Most Holy Place [T Holy of Holies], under the wings of the ·golden creatures [cherubim; 6:23]. 7 The wings of ·these creatures [the cherubim] were spread out over the place ·for [of] the Ark, ·covering [forming a canopy over] it and its carrying poles. 8 The carrying poles were so long that anyone standing in the Holy Place in front of the ·Most Holy Place [L inner sanctuary] could see the ends of the poles, but no one could see them from outside the Holy Place. The poles are still there today. 9 The only things inside the Ark were two stone tablets [C on which were the Ten Commandments] that Moses had put in the Ark at ·Mount Sinai [Horeb; Ex. 40:20]. That was where the Lord made his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the Israelites after they came out of [L the land of] Egypt.
10 When the priests ·left [came/withdrew from] the Holy Place, a cloud filled the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 11 The priests could not continue their ·work [service; duties], because the ·Temple [L house] was filled with the glory of the Lord.
Solomon Speaks to the People
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord said he would live in a ·dark [thick; dense] cloud. 13 Lord, I have truly built a ·wonderful [exalted; glorious; magnificent] ·Temple [L house] for you—a place for you to ·live [dwell] forever.”
14 While all the ·Israelites [congregation/community/assembly of Israel] were standing there, King Solomon turned to them and blessed them.
15 Then he said, “·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel. He has ·done [fulfilled] what he promised [L with his mouth] to my father David. The Lord said, 16 ‘Since the ·time [L day] I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel where a ·temple [L house] will be built ·for me [to honor my name; L for my name to be there]. But I have chosen David to ·lead [rule over] my people Israel.’
17 “My father David ·wanted [L had it in his heart/mind] to build a ·temple [L house] for the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘It was good that you ·wanted [L had it in your heart/mind] to build a ·temple [L house] for me. 19 But you are not the one to build it. Your son, who ·comes from your own body [will be born from you], is the one who will build my ·temple [L house] ·for my name [to honor my name; 2 Sam. 7:13].’
20 “Now the Lord has ·kept [fulfilled] his promise. I ·am the king now [L have risen] in place of David my father. Now I ·rule [L sit on the throne of] Israel as the Lord promised, and I have built the ·Temple [L house] ·for [to honor; L for the name of] the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have ·made [prepared; provided] a place there for the Ark, in which is the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; Ex. 25:10] the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
Guard Against Wrong Teachings(A)
14 His ·followers [disciples] had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more. 15 Jesus warned them, “·Be careful [Watch out]! Beware of the ·yeast [leaven] of the Pharisees and the ·yeast [leaven] of Herod [C yeast or leaven refers here to the dangerous permeating power of their influence].”
16 They discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we have no bread.”
17 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you ·talking [discussing; arguing] about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your ·minds closed [hearts hardened]? 18 ·You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen [Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2]. ·Remember [L Don’t you remember] when 19 I ·divided [broke] five loaves of bread for the five thousand? How many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Twelve.”
20 “And when I ·divided [broke] seven loaves of bread for the four thousand, how many [large] baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”
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