Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 ^aSolomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, ^band the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the ^ccommanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses. 3 And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ^dthe high place that was at Gibeon, ^efor ^fthe tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. 4 ^g(But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) 5 Moreover, ^hthe bronze altar that ⁱBezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly ^jsought it¹ out. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, ^kand offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

7 ^lIn that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” 8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, ^mand have made me king in his place. 9 O Lord God, ⁿlet your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous ^oas the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to ^pgo out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” 11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for ^qpossessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you ^qriches, possessions, and honor, ^rsuch as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” 13 So Solomon came from² the ^shigh place at Gibeon, from before ^tthe tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon Given Wealth

14 ^uSolomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. ^vHe had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed ^win the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 16 And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders would buy them from Kue for a price. 17 They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 shekels³ of silver, and a horse for 150. Likewise through them these were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A ^fPrayer of David.

Laborers in the Vineyard

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius¹ a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And ^gabout the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And ^hwhen evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ⁱforeman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^jthe scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ^k‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take ^lwhat belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 ^mAm I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ⁿdo you begrudge my generosity?’² 16 So ^othe last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

17 ^pAnd as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, ^qwe are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^rcondemn him to death 19 and ^sdeliver him over to the Gentiles ^tto be mocked and flogged and ^ucrucified, and he will be raised on ^vthe third day.”

A Mother’s Request

20 ^wThen ^xthe mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^ykneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine ^zare to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^ain your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, ^b“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^cto drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, ^d“You will drink ^emy cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^fbut it is for those for whom it has been ^gprepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, ^h“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles ⁱlord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 ^jIt shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,³ 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,⁴ 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but ^kto serve, and ^lto give his life as a ransom for ^mmany.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

29 ⁿAnd as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,⁵ have mercy on us, ^oSon of David!” 31 The crowd ^prebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.