Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 11[a]
For the music director, by David.
11 In the Lord I have taken shelter.[b]
How can you say to me,[c]
“Flee to a mountain like a bird.[d]
2 For look, the wicked[e] prepare[f] their bows,[g]
they put their arrows on the strings,
to shoot in the darkness[h] at the morally upright.[i]
3 When the foundations[j] are destroyed,
what can the godly[k] accomplish?”[l]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;[m]
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.[n]
His eyes[o] watch;[p]
his eyes[q] examine[r] all people.[s]
5 The Lord approves of[t] the godly,[u]
but he[v] hates[w] the wicked and those who love to do violence.[x]
6 May he rain down[y] burning coals[z] and brimstone[aa] on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve.[ab]
7 Certainly[ac] the Lord is just;[ad]
he rewards godly deeds.[ae]
The upright will experience his favor.[af]
15 He constructed the walls inside the temple with cedar planks; he paneled the inside with wood from the floor of the temple to the rafters[a] of the ceiling. He covered the temple floor with boards made from the wood of evergreens. 16 He built a wall 30 feet in from the rear of the temple as a partition for an inner sanctuary that would be the Most Holy Place.[b] He paneled the wall with cedar planks from the floor to the rafters.[c] 17 The main hall in front of the inner sanctuary was 60 feet long.[d] 18 The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible.[e]
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord could be placed there. 20 The inner sanctuary was 30 feet[f] long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He plated it with gold,[g] as well as the cedar altar.[h] 21 Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold.[i] He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary[j] with gold. 22 He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary.[k]
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood; each stood 15 feet[l] high. 24 Each of the first cherub’s wings was 7½ feet long; its entire wingspan was 15 feet.[m] 25 The second cherub also had a wingspan of 15 feet; it was identical to the first in measurements and shape.[n] 26 Each cherub stood 15 feet high.[o] 27 He put the cherubim in the inner sanctuary of the temple.[p] Their wings were spread out. One of the first cherub’s wings touched one wall and one of the other cherub’s wings touched the opposite wall. The first cherub’s other wing touched the second cherub’s other wing in the middle of the room.[q] 28 He plated the cherubim with gold.
29 On all the walls around the temple, inside and out,[r] he carved[s] cherubim, palm trees, and flowers in bloom. 30 He plated the floor of the temple with gold, inside and out.[t] 31 He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided.[u] 32 On the two doors made of olive wood he carved[v] cherubim, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold.[w] He plated the cherubim and the palm trees with hammered gold.[x] 33 In the same way he made doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall, only with four-sided pillars.[y] 34 He also made[z] two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves.[aa] 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings. 36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of chiseled stones and a row of cedar beams.
37 In the month of Ziv[ab] in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign[ac] the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple. 38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul[ad] (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build.[ae]
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you[a] and appointed you to go and bear[b] fruit, fruit that remains,[c] so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 17 This[d] I command you—to love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, be aware[e] that it hated me first.[f] 19 If you belonged to the world,[g] the world would love you as its own.[h] However, because you do not belong to the world,[i] but I chose you out of the world, for this reason[j] the world hates you.[k] 20 Remember what[l] I told you, ‘A slave[m] is not greater than his master.’[n] If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed[o] my word, they will obey[p] yours too. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of[q] my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.[r] 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.[s] But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me hates my Father too. 24 If I had not performed[t] among them the miraculous deeds[u] that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.[v] But now they have seen the deeds[w] and have hated both me and my Father.[x] 25 Now this happened[y] to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’[z]
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