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The Splendour of the Sun

43The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky,
   as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.
² The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises
   what a marvellous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.
³ At noon it parches the land,
   and who can withstand its burning heat?
⁴ A man tending^* a furnace works in burning heat,
   but three times as hot is the sun scorching the mountains;
it breathes out fiery vapours,
   and its bright rays blind the eyes.
⁵ Great is the Lord who made it;
   at his orders it hurries on its course.

The Splendour of the Moon

⁶ It is the moon that marks the changing seasons,^*
   governing the times, their everlasting sign.
⁷ From the moon comes the sign for festal days,
   a light that wanes when it completes its course.
⁸ The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself;^*
   how marvellous it is in this change,
a beacon to the hosts on high,
   shining in the vault of the heavens!

The Glory of the Stars and the Rainbow

⁹ The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,
   a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.
¹⁰ On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places;
   they never relax in their watches.
¹¹ Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;
   it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
¹² It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;
   the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

The Marvels of Nature

¹³ By his command he sends the driving snow
   and speeds the lightnings of his judgement.
¹⁴ Therefore the storehouses are opened,
   and the clouds fly out like birds.
¹⁵ In his majesty he gives the clouds their strength,
   and the hailstones are broken in pieces.
^17a The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth;
¹⁶   when he appears, the mountains shake.
At his will the south wind blows;
^17b   so do the storm from the north and the whirlwind.
He scatters the snow like birds flying down,
   and its descent is like locusts alighting.
¹⁸ The eye is dazzled by the beauty of its whiteness,
   and the mind is amazed as it falls.
¹⁹ He pours frost over the earth like salt,
   and icicles form like pointed thorns.
²⁰ The cold north wind blows,
   and ice freezes on the water;
it settles on every pool of water,
   and the water puts it on like a breastplate.
²¹ He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness,
   and withers the tender grass like fire.
²² A mist quickly heals all things;
   the falling dew gives refreshment from the heat.

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of the thousands, the commanders of the hundreds, the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty warriors, and all the warriors. ²Then King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had planned to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for building. ³But God said to me, “You shall not build a house for my name, for you are a warrior and have shed blood.” ⁴Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my ancestral house to be king over Israel for ever; for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father’s house, and among my father’s sons he took delight in making me king over all Israel. ⁵And of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many, he has chosen my son Solomon to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶He said to me, “It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. ⁷I will establish his kingdom for ever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.” ⁸Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and search out all the commandments of the Lord your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you for ever.

9 ‘And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you for ever. ¹⁰Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary; be strong, and act.’

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy-seat;^*

19 ‘All this, in writing at the Lord’s direction, he made clear to me—the plan of all the works.’

20 David said further to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.