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Psalm 106

1  Alleluia.
      Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦︎
   for his faithfulness endures for ever.
2  Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord ♦︎
   or show forth all his praise?
3  Blessed are those who observe what is right ♦︎
   and always do what is just.
4  Remember me, O Lord, in the favour you bear for your people; ♦︎
   visit me in the day of your salvation;
5  That I may see the prosperity of your chosen
      and rejoice in the gladness of your people, ♦︎
   and exult with your inheritance.
6  We have sinned like our forebears; ♦︎
   we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
7  In Egypt they did not consider your wonders,
      nor remember the abundance of your faithful love; ♦︎
   they rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8  But he saved them for his name’s sake, ♦︎
   that he might make his power to be known.
9  He rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up; ♦︎
   so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness.
10  He saved them from the adversary’s hand ♦︎
   and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11  As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them; ♦︎
   there was not one of them left.
12  Then they believed his words ♦︎
   and sang aloud his praise.
13  But soon they forgot his deeds ♦︎
   and would not wait for his counsel.
14  A craving seized them in the wilderness, ♦︎
   and they put God to the test in the desert.
15  He gave them their desire, ♦︎
   but sent a wasting sickness among them.
16  They grew jealous of Moses in the camp ♦︎
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17  So the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan ♦︎
   and covered the company of Abiram.
18  A fire was kindled in their company; ♦︎
   the flame burnt up the wicked.
19  They made a calf at Horeb ♦︎
   and worshipped the molten image;
20  Thus they exchanged their glory ♦︎
   for the image of an ox that feeds on hay.

Hymn in Honour of Our Ancestors ^*

44Let us now sing the praises of famous men,
   our ancestors in their generations.
² The Lord apportioned to them^* great glory,
   his majesty from the beginning.
³ There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
   and made a name for themselves by their valour;
those who gave counsel because they were intelligent;
   those who spoke in prophetic oracles;
⁴ those who led the people by their counsels
   and by their knowledge of the people’s lore;
   they were wise in their words of instruction;
⁵ those who composed musical tunes,
   or put verses in writing;
⁶ rich men endowed with resources,
   living peacefully in their homes—
⁷ all these were honoured in their generations,
   and were the pride of their times.
⁸ Some of them have left behind a name,
   so that others declare their praise.
⁹ But of others there is no memory;
   they have perished as though they had never existed;
they have become as though they had never been born,
   they and their children after them.
¹⁰ But these also were godly men,
   whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
¹¹ their wealth will remain with their descendants,
   and their inheritance with their children’s children.^*
12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;
   their children also, for their sake.
¹³ Their offspring will continue for ever,
   and their glory will never be blotted out.
¹⁴ Their bodies are buried in peace,
   but their name lives on generation after generation.
¹⁵ The assembly declares^* their wisdom,
   and the congregation proclaims their praise.

2 Chronicles

Solomon Requests Wisdom

1Solomon son of David established himself in his kingdom; the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

2 Solomon summoned all Israel, the commanders of the thousands and of the hundreds, the judges, and all the leaders of all Israel, the heads of families. ³Then Solomon, and the whole assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for God’s tent of meeting, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. ⁴(But David had brought the ark of God up from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it; for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) ⁵Moreover, the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, had made was there in front of the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly inquired at it. ⁶Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt-offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, ‘Ask what I should give you.’ ⁸Solomon said to God, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to my father David, and have made me succeed him as king. ⁹O Lord God, let your promise to my father David now be fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of yours?’ ¹¹God answered Solomon, ‘Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honour, 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 rule my people over whom I have made you king, ¹²wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honour, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.’ ¹³So Solomon came from^* the high place at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Military and Commercial Activity

14 Solomon gathered together chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycomore of the Shephelah. ¹⁶Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the king’s traders received them from Kue at the prevailing price. ¹⁷They imported from Egypt, and then exported, a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; so through them these were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Preparations for Building the Temple

2^*Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself.

12 The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east. ¹³And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵(‘See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed,^* not going about naked and exposed to shame.’) ¹⁶And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.

17 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ ¹⁸And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake. ¹⁹The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine-cup of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; ²¹and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,^* dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.