The Queen of Sheba

1 ^fNow when ^gthe queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2 And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. 3 And when ^gthe queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the¹ reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7 Happy are your wives!² Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you ^hand set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! ⁱBecause your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 talents³ of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, ^jwho brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made from the algum wood ^ksupports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked ^lbesides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth

13 ^mNow the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. ⁿAnd all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels⁴ of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; ^o300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 19 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to ^pTarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.⁵

22 Thus King Solomon ^qexcelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 24 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,⁶ spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. 25 And Solomon had ^r4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 ^sAnd he ruled over all the kings ^tfrom the Euphrates⁷ to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 27 ^uAnd the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 ^vAnd horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon’s Death

29 ^wNow the rest of the acts of Solomon, from ^xfirst to last, are they not written in the history of ^yNathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of ^zAhijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^aIddo ^bthe seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in ^cthe city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Greeting

1 Jude, a servant¹ of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

^aTo those who are called, ^bbeloved in God the Father and ^ckept for² Jesus Christ:

2 May ^dmercy, ^epeace, and love be multiplied to you.

Judgment on False Teachers

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our ^fcommon salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you ^gto contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For ^hcertain people ⁱhave crept in unnoticed ^jwho long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert ^kthe grace of our God into sensuality and ^ldeny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I want ^mto remind you, although you once fully knew it, that ⁿJesus, who saved³ a people out of the land of Egypt, ^oafterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And ^pthe angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as ^qSodom and Gomorrah and ^rthe surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and ^spursued unnatural desire,⁴ serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and ^tblaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when ^uthe archangel ^vMichael, contending with the devil, was disputing ^wabout the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ^x“The Lord rebuke you.” 10 ^yBut these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in ^zthe way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain ^ato Balaam’s error and ^bperished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs^{5 c}at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, ^dshepherds feeding themselves; ^ewaterless clouds, ^fswept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, ^guprooted; 13 ^hwild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of ⁱtheir own shame; ^jwandering stars, ^kfor whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

14 It was also about these that Enoch, ^lthe seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ^m“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 ⁿto execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have ^ocommitted in such an ungodly way, and of all ^pthe harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, ^qfollowing their own sinful desires; ^rthey are loud-mouthed boasters, ^sshowing favoritism to gain advantage.

A Call to Persevere

17 But you must ^tremember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They⁶ said to you, ^u“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, ^vdevoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, ^wbuilding yourselves up in your most holy faith and ^xpraying in the Holy Spirit, 21 ^ykeep yourselves in the love of God, ^zwaiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by ^asnatching them out of ^bthe fire; to others show mercy ^cwith fear, hating even ^dthe garment⁷ stained by the flesh.

Doxology

24 ^eNow to him who is able ^fto keep you from stumbling and ^gto present you ^hblameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to ⁱthe only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, ^jbe glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time⁸ and now and forever. Amen.

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, ^ain the days of ^bJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

The Day of the Lord Is Near

Jesus Before Pilate

1 ^cThen the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man ^dmisleading our nation and ^eforbidding us to give tribute to ^fCaesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, ^ga king.” 3 ^hAnd Pilate asked him, ⁱ“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, ^j“You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ^k“I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, ^lfrom Galilee even to this place.”

Jesus Before Herod

6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to ^mHerod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, ⁿfor he had long desired to see him, ^obecause he had heard about him, and he was hoping ^pto see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers ^qtreated him with contempt and ^rmocked him. Then, ^sarraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And ^tHerod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and ^uthe rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man ^vas one who was misleading the people. And ^wafter examining him before you, behold, I ^xdid not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for ^yhe sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 ^zI will therefore punish and release him.”¹

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

18 ^aBut they all cried out together, ^b“Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and ^cfor murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? ^dWhat evil has he done? ^eI have found in him no guilt deserving death. ^fI will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison ^gfor insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, ^hbut he delivered Jesus over to their will.

The Crucifixion

26 ⁱAnd as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were ^jmourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, ^kthe days are coming when they will say, ^l‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 ^mThen they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For ⁿif they do these things when ^othe wood is green, what will happen ^owhen it is dry?”

32 ^pTwo others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 ^qAnd when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, ^pone on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, ^rforgive them, ^sfor they know not what they do.”² And they cast lots ^tto divide his garments. 35 And ^uthe people stood by, watching, ^vbut ^wthe rulers ^xscoffed at him, saying, ^y“He saved others; ^zlet him save himself, ^aif he is ^bthe Christ of God, ^chis Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and ^doffering him sour wine 37 and saying, ^e“If you are ^fthe King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 ^gThere was also an inscription over him,³ “This is ^fthe King of the Jews.”

39 ^hOne of the criminals who were hanged ⁱrailed at him,⁴ saying, “Are you not ^jthe Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me ^kwhen you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in ^lparadise.”

The Death of Jesus

44 ^mIt was now about the sixth hour,⁵ and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,⁶ 45 while the sun’s light failed. And ⁿthe curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, ^ocalling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, ^pinto your hands I ^qcommit my spirit!” And having said this ^rhe breathed his last. 47 Now ^swhen the centurion saw what had taken place, ^the praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ^ubeating their breasts. 49 And all ^vhis acquaintances and ^wthe women who had followed him from Galilee ^xstood at a distance watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

50 ^yNow there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he ^zwas looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and ^alaid him in a tomb cut in stone, ^bwhere no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of ^cPreparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.⁷ 55 ^dThe women ^ewho had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and ^fprepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested ^gaccording to the commandment.