Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Korah's sons wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.

The journey to Zion

Solomon's kingdom

²⁰ The people in Judah and Israel were too many to count. There were as many of them as the sand on the shore of the sea. They had enough to eat and to drink and they were happy.

²¹ Solomon ruled over all the nations from the Euphrates river to the land of the Philistines, as far as Egypt's border. The people of these kingdoms paid taxes to Solomon. They served him all the days of his life.

²² This is the food that Solomon and the people in his palace ate each day:

²⁴ Solomon ruled all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates river, from Tiphsah as far as Gaza. There was peace in all these places. ²⁵ While Solomon was alive, Judah and Israel were safe from their enemies. In the whole country, from Dan to Beersheba, every family had a place to live and they could grow food to eat. ²⁶ Solomon had places to keep 4,000 horses that pulled his chariots.^[a] He also had 12,000 horses. ²⁷ The 12 officers in each region supplied food for King Solomon and for everybody that ate in his palace. Each region supplied food for one month each year so that there was enough for everyone. ²⁸ Each officer also supplied barley and straw for the king's horses. They took the right amount to the different places where the horses lived.

We must be ready for Jesus to return

5 Friends, we do not need to write anything to you about the dates and times when these things will happen. ² You know very well about how the great day of the Lord will happen. That day will surprise people very much, like when a robber comes in the night. ³ At that time, people will be saying, ‘We are safe and there is no trouble for us.’ But then, when they are not ready for it, great punishment will suddenly happen to them. It will be impossible for them to run away. Pain will suddenly come to them, like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.

⁴ But you, our Christian friends, know about these things. You are not like people who live in the dark. So when the great day of the Lord happens, it should not suddenly surprise you, like a robber might surprise you. ⁵ All of you are people who belong to the light and to the day. We who are believers do not belong to the night or to the dark. ⁶ So we must watch carefully. We should be like people who stay awake. We should not be like other people who are sleeping. ⁷ It is at night that people sleep. It is at night that people become drunk.

⁸ But we belong to the day, not to the night. So we should think clearly. We must prepare ourselves like a soldier who puts on his armour. We must continue to trust God and to love him. That will be like a metal shirt that keeps our body safe. We must also continue to hope that God will save us. That will be like a strong hat that keeps our head safe.

⁹ God did not choose us as his people so that he could be angry with us. He chose us so that he could save us because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. ¹⁰ Jesus died on our behalf so that we can live together with him. It does not matter whether we are alive or dead when he returns. We will all go to live with him. ¹¹ Because of that, you should help each other to become stronger as believers. I know that you are already doing that.