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First Reading: 1 Kings Chapter 5 and 61 Kings 5
1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house for the name of Jehovah his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.
4 But now Jehovah my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil occurrence.
5 And, behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name.
6 Now therefore command thou that they cut me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that knoweth how to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.
7 And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.
8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard `the message' which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.
10 So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire.
11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
12 And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to taskwork.
15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains;
16 besides Solomon's chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
17 And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone.
18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
1 Kings 6
1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah.
2 And the house which king Solomon built for Jehovah, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty `cubits', and the height thereof thirty cubits.
3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; `and' ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
4 And for the house he made windows of fixed lattice-work.
5 And against the wall of the house he built stories round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle; and he made side-chambers round about.
6 The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made offsets `in the wall' of the house round about, that `the beams' should not have hold in the walls of the house.
7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
8 The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle `story', and out of the middle into the third.
9 So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.
10 And he built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
11 And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon, saying,
12 Concerning this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute mine ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father.
13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with boards of fir.
16 And he built twenty cubits on the hinder part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor unto the walls `of the ceiling': he built `them' for it within, for an oracle, even for the most holy place.
17 And the house, that is, the temple before `the oracle', was forty cubits `long'.
18 And there was cedar on the house within, carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.
19 And he prepared an oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.
20 And within the oracle was `a space of' twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold: and he covered the altar with cedar.
21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he drew chains of gold across before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that belonged to the oracle he overlaid with gold.
23 And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.
24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.
25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.
26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27 And he set the cherubim within the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, within and without.
30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
31 And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive-wood: the lintel `and' door-posts were a fifth part `of the wall'.
32 So `he made' two doors of olive-wood; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm-trees.
33 So also made he for the entrance of the temple door-posts of olive-wood, out of a fourth part `of the wall';
34 and two doors of fir-wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
35 And he carved `thereon' cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted upon the graven work.
36 And he built the inner court with three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Jehovah laid, in the month Ziv.
38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Second Reading: John Chapter 9
John 9
1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
5 When I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay,
7 and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8 The neighbors therefore, and they that saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
9 Others said, It is he: others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am `he'.
10 They said therefore unto him, How then were thine eyes opened?
11 He answered, The man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam, and wash: so I went away and washed, and I received sight.
12 And they said unto him, Where is he? He saith, I know not.
13 They bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
14 Now it was the sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
15 Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I see.
16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the sabbath. But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such signs? And there was division among them.
17 They say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, in that he opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a prophet.
18 The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight,
19 and asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see?
20 His parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
21 but how he now seeth, we know not; or who opened his eyes, we know not: ask him; he is of age; he shall speak for himself.
22 These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should confess him `to be' Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
24 So they called a second time the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God: we know that this man is a sinner.
25 He therefore answered, Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
26 They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I told you even now, and ye did not hear; wherefore would ye hear it again? would ye also become his disciples?
28 And they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God hath spoken unto Moses: but as for this man, we know not whence he is.
30 The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and `yet' he opened mine eyes.
31 We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth.
32 Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
36 He answered and said, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that speaketh with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
39 And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become blind.
40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said unto him, Are we also blind?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see: your sin remaineth.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
I KINGS
Part 2 of 2
After Solomon died, Rehoboam his son became king. However, the people were weary of the burdens of a wealthy king and under the influence of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, the ten northern tribes rebelled. From this time forward there were two kingdoms: the northern and the southern. The kings of the southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin) followed the lineage of David. Some of these kings were faithful to God. The kings of the northern kingdom from the beginning were wicked and unfaithful. Jeroboam set up idols in Dan and Bethel (either ends of his kingdom) so that the people would not be tempted to go down to Judah and Jerusalem where the Temple of God was.
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