Sunday, 26 May

1.   Now David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all the mighty men of valor. 2.   Then King David rose to his feet and said, "Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. 3.   "But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4.   "However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. 5.   "And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6.   "Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. 7.   ‘Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ 8.   "Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever. 9.   "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. 10.   "Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it." 11.   Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; 12.   and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; 13.   also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD. 14.   He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; 15.   the weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. 16.   And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each table, and silver for the tables of silver; 17.   also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls–– he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; 18.   and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19.   "All this," said David , "the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans." 20.   And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it ; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God––my God–– will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 21.   " Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command."

1.   Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God. 2.   "Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3.   "Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: 4.   "three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; 5.   "the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?" 6.   Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses , leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. 7.   They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8.   And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9.   Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly. 10.   Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11.   Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours ; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. 12.   Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. 13.   "Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 14.   But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. 15.   For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope. 16.   "O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 17.   "I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things ; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18.   "O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19.   "And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things , and to build the temple for which I have made provision." 20.   Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless the LORD your God." So all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king. 21.   And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22.   So they ate and drank before the LORD with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the LORD to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. 23.   Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24.   All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon. 25.   So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. 26.   Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27.   And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty–three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28.   So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29.   Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30.   with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

1.   It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: 2.   I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago––whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows––such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 3.   And I know such a man––whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows–– 4.   how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5.   Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. 6.   For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. 7.   And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8.   Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9.   And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10.   Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 11.   I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. 12.   Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. 13.   For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong! 14.   Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15.   And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. 16.   But be that as it may , I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! 17.   Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? 18.   I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him . Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps? 19.   Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. 20.   For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; 21.   lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.