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The Lord Gives Solomon Wisdom
1 Solomon son of David solidified his royal authority,[a] for[b] the Lord his God was with him and magnified him greatly.
2 Solomon addressed all Israel, including those who commanded units of a thousand and a hundred, the judges, and all the leaders of all Israel who were heads of families. 3 Solomon and the entire assembly went to the worship center[c] in Gibeon, for the tent where they met God[d] was located there, which Moses the Lord’s servant had made in the wilderness. 4 (Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, was in front of the Lord’s tabernacle.[e] Solomon and the entire assembly prayed to him[f] there.) 6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord which was at the meeting tent, and he offered up 1,000 burnt sacrifices.
7 That night God appeared[g] to Solomon and said to him, “Tell me[h] what I should give you.” 8 Solomon replied to God, “You demonstrated[i] great loyalty to my father David and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, may your promise[j] to my father David be realized,[k] for you have made me king over a great nation as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now give me wisdom and discernment so[l] I can effectively lead this nation.[m] Otherwise[n] no one is able[o] to make judicial decisions for[p] this great nation of yours.”[q]
11 God said to Solomon, “Because you desire this,[r] and did not ask for riches, wealth, and honor, or for vengeance on your enemies,[s] and because you did not ask for long life,[t] but requested wisdom and discernment so you can make judicial decisions for my people over whom I have made you king, 12 you are granted wisdom and discernment.[u] Furthermore I am giving you riches, wealth, and honor surpassing that of any king before or after you.”[v]
13 Solomon left the meeting tent at the worship center in Gibeon and went to Jerusalem, where he reigned over Israel.[w]
Solomon’s Wealth
14 Solomon accumulated[x] chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses . He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem.[y] 15 The king made silver and gold as plentiful[z] in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was[aa] as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the foothills.[ab] 16 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt[ac] and from Que; the king’s traders purchased them from Que. 17 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt, and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.[ad]
Solomon Gathers Building Materials for the Temple
2 (1:18)[ae] Solomon ordered a temple to be built to honor the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.[af] 2 (2:1) Solomon had[ag] 70,000 common laborers[ah] and 80,000 stonecutters[ai] in the hills, in addition to 3,600 supervisors.[aj]
3 Solomon sent a message to King Huram[ak] of Tyre: “Help me[al] as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs[am] for the construction of his palace.[an] 4 Look, I am ready to build a temple to honor[ao] the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him in order to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed,[ap] and to offer burnt sacrifices each morning and evening, and on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other times appointed by the Lord our God. This is something Israel must do on a permanent basis.[aq] 5 I will build a great temple, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky[ar] and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him.[as]
7 “Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple-, crimson-, and blue-colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem and Judah, whom my father David provided. 8 Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum[at] trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept[au] at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants 9 to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple. 10 Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 cors[av] of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 120,000 gallons[aw] of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”
11 King Huram[ax] of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.” 12 Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given King David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.[ay] 13 Now I am sending you Huram Abi,[az] a skilled and capable man, 14 whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian.[ba] He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, blue, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father. 15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised; 16 we will get all the timber you need from Lebanon[bb] and bring it[bc] in raft-like bundles[bd] by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon took a census of[be] all the male resident foreigners[bf] in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. 18 He designated[bg] 70,000 as common laborers,[bh] 80,000 as stonecutters[bi] in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work.[bj]
The Building of the Temple
3 Solomon began building the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord[bk] had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan[bl] the Jebusite. 2 He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.[bm]
3 Solomon laid the foundation for God’s temple;[bn] its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.[bo] 4 The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple,[bp] and its height was 30 feet.[bq] He plated the inside with pure gold. 5 He paneled[br] the main hall[bs] with boards made from evergreen trees[bt] and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains.[bu] 6 He decorated the temple with precious stones; the gold he used came from Parvaim.[bv] 7 He overlaid the temple’s rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.
8 He made the Most Holy Place;[bw] its length was 30 feet,[bx] corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet.[by] He plated it with 600 talents[bz] of fine gold. 9 The gold nails weighed 50 shekels; he also plated the upper areas with gold. 10 In the Most Holy Place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold. 11 The combined wing span of the cherubim was 30 feet.[ca] One of the first cherub’s wings was 7½ long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ long and touched one of the second cherub’s wings.[cb] 12 Likewise one of the second cherub’s wings was 7½ long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ long and touched one of the first cherub’s wings.[cc] 13 The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet.[cd] They stood upright, facing inward.[ce] 14 He made the curtain out of blue, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.
15 In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length[cf] of 52½ feet,[cg] with each having a plated capital 7½ high.[ch] 16 He made ornamental chains[ci] and put them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains. 17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right side and the other on the left.[cj] He named the one on the right Yakin,[ck] and the one on the left Boaz.[cl]
The Believer’s Freedom from Sin’s Domination
6 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.[a]
5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.[b] 6 We know that[c] our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us,[d] so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)[e]
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know[f] that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die[g] again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you too consider yourselves[h] dead to sin, but[i] alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments[j] to be used for unrighteousness,[k] but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments[l] to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
The Believer’s Enslavement to God’s Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves[m] as obedient slaves,[n] you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?[o] 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed[p] from the heart that pattern[q] of teaching you were entrusted to, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.)[r] For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
21 So what benefit[s] did you then reap[t] from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, freed[u] from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit[v] leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the payoff[w] of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
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