1 Kings 9
1 Now it happened when Solomon had finished building the house (temple) of the Lord and the king’s house (palace), and all else which he was pleased to do, 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, just as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord told him, “I have heard your prayer and supplication which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My Name and My Presence there forever. My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually. 4 As for you, if you walk (live your life) before Me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My precepts, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised your father David, saying, ‘You shall not be without a man (descendant) on the throne of Israel.’
6 “But if you or your sons turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and I will cast out of My sight the house which I have consecrated for My Name and Presence. Then Israel will become a proverb (a saying) and a byword (object of ridicule) among all the peoples. 8 This house (temple) will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be appalled and sneer and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’ 9 And they [who know] will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they have chosen other gods and have worshiped and served them; that is the reason the Lord has brought on them all this adversity.’”
10 Now at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the temple of the Lord and the palace of the king 11 (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress timber [from Lebanon] and gold as he desired), at that time King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee (northern Israel). 12 So Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him. 13 He said, “What are these cities [good for] which you have given me, my brother?” So they have been called the land of Cabul (like nothing, unproductive) to this day. 14 And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo (fortification), the wall of Jerusalem, [and the fortress cities of] Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, burned it with fire and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt [and fortified] Gezer and Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities [for surplus provisions] which Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen, and whatever it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule. 20 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the sons (descendants) of Israel, 21 their children who were left after them in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to completely destroy, from them Solomon levied (conscripted) forced laborers, even to this day (the date of this writing). 22 But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war (soldiers), his servants, his officers, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people doing the work.
24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, then he built the Millo (fortification).
25 Three times a year [during the major annual festivals] Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built to the Lord, and he burned incense with them before the Lord. So he finished the house [of the Lord].
26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram [king of Tyre] sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 They came to Ophir and took four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
Ephesians 6
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord [that is, accept their guidance and discipline as His representatives], for this is right [for obedience teaches wisdom and self-discipline]. 2 Honor [esteem, value as precious] your father and your mother [and be respectful to them]—this is the first commandment with a promise— 3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may have a long life on the earth.
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to the point of resentment with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by showing favoritism or indifference to any of them], but bring them up [tenderly, with lovingkindness] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with respect for authority, and with a sincere heart [seeking to please them], as [service] to Christ— 6 not in the way of eye-service [working only when someone is watching you and only] to please men, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart; 7 rendering service with goodwill, as to the Lord, and not [only] to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether [he is] slave or free.
9 You masters, do the same [showing goodwill] toward them, and give up threatening and abusive words, knowing that [He who is] both their true Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with Him [regardless of one’s earthly status].
10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. 11 Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. 13 Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. 14 So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), 15 and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. 16 Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people. 19 And pray for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation], 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.
21 Now, so that you may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are, and that he may comfort and encourage and strengthen your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers and sisters, and love joined with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying and incorruptible love.
Ezekiel 39
1 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince (ruler) of Meshech and Tubal; 2 and I will turn you around and lead you along, and bring you up from the remotest parts of the north, and I will bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 You will fall [dead] on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the nations who are with you. I will give you to every kind of predatory bird and animal of the field as food. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. 6 “I will also send fire on Magog and on those who live securely in the coastlands; and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.
7 “I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore; and the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be done,” says the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.
9 And [when you, Gog, no longer exist] those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both the [large] shields and the bucklers (small shields), the bows and the arrows, the war clubs and the spears; and for seven years they will burn them. 10 They will not take any wood from the field or cut down and gather [any] firewood from the forests, because they will make their fires using the weapons. And they will take the spoil from those who despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” says the Lord God.
11 “And on that day I will give Gog a place for burial there in Israel, the valley of those who pass through east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass through. So they will bury Gog there with all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog (the multitude of Gog). 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 Yes, all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My glory and brilliance,” says the Lord God. 14 “They will elect men who will constantly go through the land, [men commissioned] to bury those who were passing through, those bodies that lie unburied on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will do a search. 15 As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it, until the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. In this manner they shall cleanse the land.”’
17 “As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Say to every kind of bird and to every animal of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice that I am slaughtering for you, as a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan [east of the Jordan]. 19 So you will eat fat until you are filled and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast which I have prepared for you. 20 You will eat your fill at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men, and with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.
21 “And I will bring [and manifest] My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment and justice [in the punishment] which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 So the house of Israel will know [with absolute confidence] that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 And the nations will know [without any doubt] that the house of Israel went into exile for their great sin, because they acted treacherously against Me; and I hid My face (favor, blessing) from them. So I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell [into captivity or were killed] by [the power of] the sword. 24 I dealt with them in accordance with their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid My face from them.”’”
25 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob (Israel) and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine]. 26 They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery (unfaithfulness) which they perpetuated against Me, when they live securely in their own land and there is no one who makes them afraid. 27 When I bring them back from the nations and gather them out of their enemies’ lands, then I shall show Myself holy [and My justice and holiness will be vindicated] through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them there [among the nations] any longer. 29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, because I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” says the Lord God.
Psalms 90
1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place [our refuge, our sanctuary, our stability] in all generations.
2
Before the mountains were born
Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.
3
You turn man back to dust,
And say, “Return [to the earth], O children of [mortal] men!”
4
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
Or as a watch in the night.
5
You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep [forgotten as soon as they are gone];
In the morning they are like grass which grows anew—
6
In the morning it flourishes and springs up;
In the evening it wilts and withers away.
7
For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been terrified.
8
You have placed our wickedness before you,
Our secret sins [which we tried to conceal, You have placed] in the [revealing] light of Your presence.
9
For all our days pass away in Your wrath;
We have finished our years like a whispered sigh.
10
The days of our life are seventy years—
Or even, if because of strength, eighty years;
Yet their pride [in additional years] is only labor and sorrow,
For it is soon gone and we fly away.
11
Who understands the power of Your anger? [Who connects this brevity of life among us with Your judgment of sin?]
And Your wrath, [who connects it] with the [reverent] fear that is due You?
12
So teach us to number our days,
That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.
13
Turn, O Lord [from Your fierce anger]; how long will it be?
Be compassionate toward Your servants—revoke Your sentence.
14
O satisfy us with Your lovingkindness in the morning [now, before we grow older],
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad in proportion to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have suffered evil.
16
Let Your work [the signs of Your power] be revealed to Your servants
And Your [glorious] majesty to their children.
17
And let the [gracious] favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Confirm for us the work of our hands—
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.
