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.

The Word of Life

1 ^aThat which was ^bfrom the beginning, ^cwhich we have heard, ^dwhich we have seen with our eyes, ^ewhich we looked upon and ^fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 ^gthe life ^hwas made manifest, and we have seen it, and ⁱtestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, ^awhich was with the Father and ^hwas made manifest to us— 3 ^cthat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed ^jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so ^kthat our¹ joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

5 ^lThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^mGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 ⁿIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and ^odo not practice the truth. 7 But ^pif we walk in the light, ^qas he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^rthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ^sIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ^tthe truth is not in us. 9 ^uIf we confess our sins, he is ^vfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and ^rto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, ^wwe make him a liar, and ^xhis word is not in us.

Wait for the God of Salvation

God’s Steadfast Love and Compassion

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ^ja manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your ^kmanagement, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures¹ of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures² of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his ^lshrewdness. For ^mthe sons of this world³ are ^lmore shrewd in dealing with their own generation than ⁿthe sons of light. 9 And I tell you, ^omake friends for yourselves by means of ^punrighteous wealth,⁴ so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 ^q“One who is ^rfaithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in ^sthat which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 ^pNo servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The Law and the Kingdom of God

14 ^tThe Pharisees, who were ^ulovers of money, heard all these things, and they ^vridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who ^wjustify yourselves before men, but ^xGod knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men ^yis an abomination in the sight of God.

16 ^z“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then ^athe good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and ^beveryone forces his way into it.⁵ 17 But ^cit is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Divorce and Remarriage

18 ^d“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in ^epurple and fine linen and ^fwho feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate ^gwas laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with ^hwhat fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by ⁱthe angels ^jto Abraham’s side.⁶ The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in ^kHades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^lsaw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^jat his side. 24 And he called out, ^m‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ⁿcool my tongue, for ^oI am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^pyou in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have ^qMoses and the Prophets; ^rlet them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, ^sfather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^qMoses and the Prophets, ^tneither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”