2 Chronicles 7–9
1 And when Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the heavens and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests were not able to enter into the house of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. 3 And all the sons of Israel saw when the fire came down and the glory of the Lord came on the temple, and they bowed their faces low to the ground on the pavement, and they worshipped confessing,
“The Lord is good,
and His mercy endures forever.”
4 Then the king and all the people were making sacrifices before the Lord. 5 King Solomon sacrificed twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their positions, with the Levites and all their instruments of music for the Lord that King David had made to praise the Lord—for His mercy endures forever—when David gave praise by their ministry, and the priests sounded trumpets opposite the Levites, and all Israel stood.
7 And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord because there he made burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings (because the bronze altar that Solomon made was surely not able to contain the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat offerings).
8 And at the appointed time, Solomon made a feast for seven days, and all Israel—as a very great assembly—was with him, from the entrance of Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south. 9 Then on the eighth day they made a solemn assembly because they had made a consecration of the altar for seven days and then the feast for seven days more. 10 Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people away to their homes. They were joyful and good of heart because of what the Lord had done for David, Solomon, and His people Israel.
11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. And Solomon successfully accomplished everything that came into his heart to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house.
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night, and He said to Solomon,
“I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen for Myself in this place a house of sacrifice.
13 “When I shut up the heaven and there is no rain, or when I command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence on My people, 14 if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer of this place. 16 So now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name be there continually. My eyes and heart will be there for all days.
17 “And you, if you walk before Me as David your father did to do everything that I command you to do, and you keep My statutes and judgments, 18 then I will set the throne of your kingdom as I made a covenant with David your father saying, ‘You will not lack a man to rule Israel.’
19 “But if the people turn aside and abandon My statutes and commandments that I have given to you, and you walk after and serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot them from My land that I have given to them; and the house that I have consecrated for My name, I will throw it from before Me and set it as a proverb and taunt among the peoples. 21 And even though this house was majestic, it will lie desolate before all who pass by it, and they will say, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them up from the land of Egypt, and they took hold of other gods and worshipped and served them; therefore He has brought on them all this disaster.’”
Chapter 8
1 It came that after twenty years, Solomon built the house of the Lord and his royal house, 2 and Solomon even rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and he settled the sons of Israel in them. 3 Then Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. 4 He also built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. 5 He also built the Upper and Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, 6 and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, the cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7 And all the people who remained from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were not from Israel, 8 and from their descendants who remained from these peoples in the land and whom the sons of Israel did not finish destroying, Solomon brought them up to be forced labor, even to this day. 9 But from the sons of Israel Solomon did not make servants for his work. These were his soldiers, officers, commanders of his chariots, and horsemen. 10 And these were the two hundred and fifty chief officers for King Solomon who governed the people.
11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the City of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, “My wife will not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord have been are holy.”
12 At that time Solomon offered up burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord that he built before the vestibule, 13 according to the daily duty to offer up as the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual festivals: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. 14 According to the ruling of David his father, he set the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their function to praise and serve before the priests according to the daily duty, and even the gatekeepers for their divisions at each gate, for this was the commandment of David the man of God. 15 And they did not turn from the commandment of the king, whether the priests or Levites, concerning any matter and concerning the treasury.
16 So all the work of Solomon was established from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord and until its completion; and the house of the Lord was complete.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath at the shore of the sea in Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, who knew the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.
Chapter 9
1 The queen of Sheba heard a report of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem with a very impressive retinue—with camels carrying spices, an abundance of gold, and precious stones—to test Solomon with riddles. When she came to Solomon she shared with him everything that was on her heart. 2 Solomon declared to her everything that she asked, and there was not any matter concealed from Solomon that he did not declare to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba had observed the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his valets, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit left in her.
5 Then she said to the king, “True was the report that I heard in my land concerning your words and wisdom. 6 But I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes saw; and indeed, half the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You have exceeded the report that I heard. 7 How happy your men must be! How happy these servants, those who are continually before you listening to your wisdom. 8 May the Lord your God be blessed, who has delighted in you, to set you as king on the throne of the Lord your God. Your God has loved Israel to establish them continually and has set you as king over them to perform justice and righteousness.”
9 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a great abundance of spices and precious stones. And there were no spices like those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover, the servants of Hiram and Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king used the algum wood for steps for the house of the Lord and the palace of the king, even for lyres and harps for the singers. And there had not been anything seen like these in the land of Judah.
12 And King Solomon gave everything to the queen of Sheba in which she had pleasure, even what she asked for in addition to what she brought to the king. Then she turned and left for her own land with her servants.
13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon every year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold. 14 In addition to what the explorers and merchants brought in, all the kings of Arabia and governors of the land brought in gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, and six hundred gold pieces were used for each large shield. 16 And he made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred gold pieces were used for each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 And the king made a great throne of ivory, and he covered it with fine gold. 18 And there were six steps and a gold footstool attached to the throne, and on each side at the place of the seat were armrests with two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 So twelve lions stood there on the six steps, one on each side, and there was nothing like this in any kingdom. 20 Even all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were gold, and all the vessels in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. And silver was not thought to be valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 The ships of Solomon went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish returned carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 So King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 23 All the kings of the earth sought out an audience before Solomon to hear his wisdom that God gave to his mind. 24 Every year each man brought his own tribute, vessels of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horses, and he put them in designated cities and with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 27 So the king made silver in Jerusalem as abundant as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore trees in the lowlands of the Shephelah. 28 The horses of Solomon were imported from Egypt and from all other lands.
29 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, from beginning to end, are they not written in the annals of Nathan the prophet, and the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 So Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son then ruled in his place.
John 11:1–29
1 Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He remained where He was two more days. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”
8 His disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone You. Are You going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
11 After He said this, He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I am going that I may awaken him from sleep.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will be well.” 13 Jesus had spoken of his death. But they thought that He was speaking of getting rest through sleep.
14 So then Jesus plainly told them, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go also, that we may die with Him.”
17 When Jesus arrived, He found that he had been in the tomb four days already. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, less than two miles away. 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met Him, but Mary remained in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You may ask of God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went her way and secretly called her sister Mary, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 When she heard this, she rose quickly and went to Him.