A Walk Through The Word

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple^(A)

5 King Hiram of Tyre had always been a friend of David's, and when he heard that Solomon had succeeded his father David as king, he sent ambassadors to him. ² Solomon sent back this message to Hiram: ³ “You know that because of the constant wars my father David had to fight against the enemy countries all around him, he could not build a temple for the worship of the Lord his God until the Lord had given him victory over all his enemies. ⁴ But now the Lord my God has given me peace on all my borders. I have no enemies, and there is no danger of attack. ^5 (B)The Lord promised my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will make king after you, will build a temple for me.’ And I have now decided to build that temple for the worship of the Lord my God. ⁶ So send your men to Lebanon to cut down cedars for me. My men will work with them, and I will pay your men whatever you decide. As you well know, my men don't know how to cut down trees as well as yours do.”

⁷ Hiram was extremely pleased when he received Solomon's message, and he said, “Praise the Lord today for giving David such a wise son to succeed him as king of that great nation!” ⁸ Then Hiram sent Solomon the following message: “I have received your message, and I am ready to do what you ask. I will provide the cedars and the pine trees. ⁹ My men will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea and will tie them together in rafts to float them down the coast to the place you choose. There my men will untie them, and your men will take charge of them. On your part, I would like you to supply the food for my men.”

¹⁰ So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and pine logs that he wanted, ¹¹ and Solomon provided Hiram with 100,000 bushels of wheat and 110,000 gallons^[a] of pure olive oil every year to feed his men.

¹² The Lord kept his promise and gave Solomon wisdom. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty with each other.

¹³ King Solomon drafted 30,000 men as forced labor from all over Israel, ^14 (C)and put Adoniram in charge of them. He divided them into three groups of 10,000 men, and each group spent one month in Lebanon and two months back home. ¹⁵ Solomon also had 80,000 stone cutters in the hill country, with 70,000 men to carry the stones, ¹⁶ and he placed 3,300 foremen in charge of them to supervise their work. ¹⁷ At King Solomon's command they cut fine large stones for the foundation of the Temple. ¹⁸ Solomon's and Hiram's workers and men from the city of Byblos prepared the stones and the timber to build the Temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 Four hundred and eighty years after the people of Israel left Egypt, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the second month, the month of Ziv, Solomon began work on the Temple. ² Inside it was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. ³ The entrance room was 15 feet deep and 30 feet wide, as wide as the sanctuary itself. ⁴ The walls of the Temple had openings in them, narrower on the outside than on the inside. ⁵ Against the outside walls, on the sides and the back of the Temple, a three-storied annex was built, each story 7½ feet high. ⁶ Each room in the lowest story was 7½ feet wide, in the middle story 9 feet wide, and in the top story 10½ feet wide. The Temple wall on each floor was thinner than on the floor below, so that the rooms could rest on the wall without having their beams built into it.

⁷ The stones with which the Temple was built had been prepared at the quarry, so that there was no noise made by hammers, axes, or any other iron tools as the Temple was being built.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest^[b] story of the annex was on the south side of the Temple, with stairs leading up to the second and third stories. ⁹ So King Solomon finished building the Temple. He put in a ceiling made of beams and boards of cedar. ¹⁰ The three-storied annex, each story^[c] 7½ feet high, was built against the outside walls of the Temple, and was joined to them by cedar beams.

¹¹ The Lord said to Solomon, ¹² “If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised your father David. ¹³ I will live among my people Israel in this Temple that you are building, and I will never abandon them.”

¹⁴ So Solomon finished building the Temple.

The Interior Furnishings of the Temple^(D)

¹⁵ The inside walls were covered with cedar panels from the floor to the ceiling, and the floor was made of pine. ^16 (E)An inner room, called the Most Holy Place, was built in the rear of the Temple. It was 30 feet long and was partitioned off by cedar boards reaching from the floor to the ceiling.^{[d] 17} The room in front of the Most Holy Place was 60 feet long. ¹⁸ The cedar panels were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers; the whole interior was covered with cedar, so that the stones of the walls could not be seen.

¹⁹ In the rear of the Temple an inner room was built, where the Lord's Covenant Box was to be placed. ²⁰ This inner room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high, all covered with pure gold. The altar was covered with cedar panels.^{[e] 21} The inside of the Temple was covered with gold, and gold chains were placed across the entrance of the inner room, which was also covered with gold. ^22 (F)The whole interior of the Temple was covered with gold, as well as the altar in the Most Holy Place.

^23 (G)Two winged creatures were made of olive wood and placed in the Most Holy Place, each one 15 feet tall. ^24-26 Both were of the same size and shape. Each had two wings, each wing 7½ feet long, so that the distance from one wing tip to the other was 15 feet. ²⁷ They were placed side by side in the Most Holy Place, so that two of their outstretched wings touched each other in the middle of the room, and the other two wings touched the walls. ²⁸ The two winged creatures were covered with gold.

²⁹ The walls of the main room and of the inner room were all decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. ³⁰ Even the floor was covered with gold.

³¹ A double door made of olive wood was set in place at the entrance of the Most Holy Place; the top of the doorway was a pointed arch. ³² The doors were decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. The doors, the winged creatures, and the palm trees were covered with gold. ³³ For the entrance to the main room a rectangular doorframe of olive wood was made. ³⁴ There were two folding doors made of pine ³⁵ and decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers, which were evenly covered with gold.

³⁶ An inner court was built in front of the Temple, enclosed with walls which had one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of stone.

³⁷ The foundation of the Temple was laid in the second month, the month of Ziv, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign. ³⁸ In the eighth month, the month of Bul, in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the Temple was completely finished exactly as it had been planned. It had taken Solomon seven years to build it.

Stephen's Speech

7 The High Priest asked Stephen, “Is this true?”

^2 (A)Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! Before our ancestor Abraham had gone to live in Haran, the God of glory appeared to him in Mesopotamia ³ and said to him, ‘Leave your family and country and go to the land that I will show you.’ ^4 (B)And so he left his country and went to live in Haran. After Abraham's father died, God made him move to this land where you now live. ^5 (C)God did not then give Abraham any part of it as his own, not even a square foot of ground, but God promised to give it to him, and that it would belong to him and to his descendants. At the time God made this promise, Abraham had no children. ^6 (D)This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will live in a foreign country, where they will be slaves and will be badly treated for four hundred years. ^7 (E)But I will pass judgment on the people that they will serve, and afterward your descendants will come out of that country and will worship me in this place.’ ^8 (F)Then God gave to Abraham the ceremony of circumcision as a sign of the covenant. So Abraham circumcised Isaac a week after he was born; Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons, the famous ancestors of our race.

^9 (G)“Jacob's sons became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him ^10 (H)and brought him safely through all his troubles. When Joseph appeared before the king of Egypt, God gave him a pleasing manner and wisdom, and the king made Joseph governor over the country and the royal household. ^11 (I)Then there was a famine all over Egypt and Canaan, which caused much suffering. Our ancestors could not find any food, ¹² and when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, on their first visit there. ^13 (J)On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and the king of Egypt came to know about Joseph's family. ^14 (K)So Joseph sent a message to his father Jacob, telling him and the whole family, seventy-five people in all, to come to Egypt. ^15 (L)Then Jacob went to Egypt, where he and his sons died. ^16 (M)Their bodies were taken to Shechem, where they were buried in the grave which Abraham had bought from the clan of Hamor for a sum of money.

^17 (N)“When the time drew near for God to keep the promise he had made to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had grown much larger. ¹⁸ At last a king who did not know about Joseph began to rule in Egypt. ^19 (O)He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them, forcing them to put their babies out of their homes, so that they would die. ^20 (P)It was at this time that Moses was born, a very beautiful child. He was cared for at home for three months, ^21 (Q)and when he was put out of his home, the king's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. ²² He was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man in words and deeds.

^23 (R)“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to find out how his fellow Israelites were being treated. ²⁴ He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his help and took revenge on the Egyptian by killing him. (²⁵ He thought that his own people would understand that God was going to use him to set them free, but they did not understand.) ²⁶ The next day he saw two Israelites fighting, and he tried to make peace between them. ‘Listen, men,’ he said, ‘you are fellow Israelites; why are you fighting like this?’ ²⁷ But the one who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. ²⁸ ‘Do you want to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ ^29 (S)When Moses heard this, he fled from Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian. There he had two sons.

In Praise of God's Goodness^[a]

^28 (A)Gossip is spread by wicked people; they stir up trouble and break up friendships.

²⁹ Violent people deceive their friends and lead them to disaster.

³⁰ Watch out for people who grin and wink at you; they have thought of something evil.

³ Solomon loved the Lord and followed the instructions of his father David, but he also slaughtered animals and offered them as sacrifices on various altars.

^4 (A)On one occasion he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices because that was where the most famous altar was. He had offered hundreds of burnt offerings there in the past. ⁵ That night the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him, “What would you like me to give you?”

⁶ Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, your servant, and he was good, loyal, and honest in his relation with you. And you have continued to show him your great and constant love by giving him a son who today rules in his place. ⁷ O Lord God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don't know how to rule. ⁸ Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. ⁹ So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this, ¹¹ and so he said to him, “Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies, ¹² I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before or will ever have again. ¹³ I will also give you what you have not asked for: all your life you will have wealth and honor, more than that of any other king. ¹⁴ And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands, as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”

¹⁵ Solomon woke up and realized that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the Lord's Covenant Box and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. After that he gave a feast for all his officials.

Solomon Judges a Difficult Case

¹⁶ One day two prostitutes came and presented themselves before King Solomon. ¹⁷ One of them said, “Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there. ¹⁸ Two days after my child was born, she also gave birth to a baby boy. Only the two of us were there in the house—no one else was present. ¹⁹ Then one night she accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it. ²⁰ She got up during the night, took my son from my side while I was asleep, and carried him to her bed; then she put the dead child in my bed. ²¹ The next morning, when I woke up and was going to nurse my baby, I saw that it was dead. I looked at it more closely and saw that it was not my child.”

²² But the other woman said, “No! The living child is mine, and the dead one is yours!”

The first woman answered back, “No! The dead child is yours, and the living one is mine!”

And so they argued before the king.

²³ Then King Solomon said, “Each of you claims that the living child is hers and that the dead child belongs to the other one.” ²⁴ He sent for a sword, and when it was brought, ²⁵ he said, “Cut the living child in two and give each woman half of it.”

²⁶ The real mother, her heart full of love for her son, said to the king, “Please, Your Majesty, don't kill the child! Give it to her!”

But the other woman said, “Don't give it to either of us; go on and cut it in two.”

²⁷ Then Solomon said, “Don't kill the child! Give it to the first woman—she is its real mother.”

²⁸ When the people of Israel heard of Solomon's decision, they were all filled with deep respect for him, because they knew then that God had given him the wisdom to settle disputes fairly.

Solomon's Officials

4 Solomon was king of all Israel, ² and these were his high officials:

⁷ Solomon appointed twelve men as district governors in Israel. They were to provide food from their districts for the king and his household, each man being responsible for one month out of the year. ⁸ The following are the names of these twelve officers and the districts they were in charge of:

Besides these twelve, there was one governor over the whole land.

Solomon's Prosperous Reign

²⁰ The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore; they ate and drank, and were happy. ^21 (B)Solomon's kingdom included all the nations from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. They paid him taxes and were subject to him all his life.

²² The supplies Solomon needed each day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal; ²³ 10 stall-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, and 100 sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and poultry.

²⁴ Solomon ruled over all the land west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah on the Euphrates as far west as the city of Gaza. All the kings west of the Euphrates were subject to him, and he was at peace with all the neighboring countries. ²⁵ As long as he lived, the people throughout Judah and Israel lived in safety, each family with its own grapevines and fig trees.

^26 (C)Solomon had forty thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand cavalry horses. ²⁷ His twelve governors, each one in the month assigned to him, supplied the food King Solomon needed for himself and for all who ate in the palace; they always supplied everything needed. ²⁸ Each governor also supplied his share of barley and straw, where it was needed,^[a] for the chariot horses and the work animals.

²⁹ God gave Solomon unusual wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured. ³⁰ Solomon was wiser than the wise men of the East or the wise men of Egypt. ^31 (D)He was the wisest of all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame spread throughout all the neighboring countries. ^32 (E)He composed three thousand proverbs and more than a thousand songs. ³³ He spoke of trees and plants, from the Lebanon cedars to the hyssop that grows on walls; he talked about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. ³⁴ Kings all over the world heard of his wisdom and sent people to listen to him.

The Seven Helpers

6 Some time later, as the number of disciples kept growing, there was a quarrel between the Greek-speaking Jews and the native Jews. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of funds. ² So the twelve apostles called the whole group of believers together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the preaching of God's word in order to handle finances. ³ So then, friends, choose seven men among you who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will put them in charge of this matter. ⁴ We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching.”

⁵ The whole group was pleased with the apostles' proposal, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a Gentile from Antioch who had earlier been converted to Judaism. ⁶ The group presented them to the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them.

⁷ And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.

The Arrest of Stephen

⁸ Stephen, a man richly blessed by God and full of power, performed great miracles and wonders among the people. ⁹ But he was opposed by some men who were members of the synagogue of the Freedmen^[a] (as it was called), which had Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. They and other Jews from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia started arguing with Stephen. ¹⁰ But the Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom that when he spoke, they could not refute him. ¹¹ So they bribed some men to say, “We heard him speaking against Moses and against God!” ¹² In this way they stirred up the people, the elders, and the teachers of the Law. They seized Stephen and took him before the Council. ¹³ Then they brought in some men to tell lies about him. “This man,” they said, “is always talking against our sacred Temple and the Law of Moses. ¹⁴ We heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will tear down the Temple and change all the customs which have come down to us from Moses!” ¹⁵ All those sitting in the Council fixed their eyes on Stephen and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

A Prayer for Deliverance

²⁶ A laborer's appetite makes him work harder, because he wants to satisfy his hunger.

²⁷ Evil people look for ways to harm others; even their words burn with evil.

David's Last Instructions to Solomon

2 When David was about to die, he called his son Solomon and gave him his last instructions: ² “My time to die has come. Be confident and determined, ³ and do what the Lord your God orders you to do. Obey all his laws and commands, as written in the Law of Moses, so that wherever you go you may prosper in everything you do. ⁴ If you obey him, the Lord will keep the promise he made when he told me that my descendants would rule Israel as long as they were careful to obey his commands faithfully with all their heart and soul.

^5 (A)“There is something else. You remember what Joab did to me by killing the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. You remember how he murdered them in time of peace as revenge for deaths they had caused in time of war. He killed innocent men,^[a] and now I bear the responsibility for what he did, and I suffer^[b] the consequences. ⁶ You know what to do; you must not let him die a natural death.

^7 (B)“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai from Gilead and take care of them, because they were kind to me when I was fleeing from your brother Absalom.

^8 (C)“There is also Shimei son of Gera, from the town of Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me bitterly the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he met me at the Jordan River, I gave him my solemn promise in the name of the Lord that I would not have him killed. ⁹ But you must not let him go unpunished. You know what to do, and you must see to it that he is put to death.”

The Death of David

¹⁰ David died and was buried in David's City. ^11 (D)He had been king of Israel for forty years, ruling seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ^12 (E)Solomon succeeded his father David as king, and his royal power was firmly established.

The Death of Adonijah

¹³ Then Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, went to Bathsheba, who was Solomon's mother. “Is this a friendly visit?” she asked.

“It is,” he answered, ¹⁴ and then he added, “I have something to ask of you.”

“What is it?” she asked.

¹⁵ He answered, “You know that I should have become king and that everyone in Israel expected it. But it happened differently, and my brother became king because it was the Lord's will. ¹⁶ And now I have one request to make; please do not refuse me.”

“What is it?” Bathsheba asked.

^17 (F)He answered, “Please ask King Solomon—I know he won't refuse you—to let me have Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, as my wife.”

¹⁸ “Very well,” she answered. “I will speak to the king for you.”

¹⁹ So Bathsheba went to the king to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up to greet his mother and bowed to her. Then he sat on his throne and had another one brought in on which she sat at his right. ²⁰ She said, “I have a small favor to ask of you; please do not refuse me.”

“What is it, mother?” he asked. “I will not refuse you.”

²¹ She answered, “Let your brother Adonijah have Abishag as his wife.”

²² “Why do you ask me to give Abishag to him?” the king asked. “You might as well ask me to give him the throne too. After all, he is my older brother, and Abiathar the priest and Joab are on his side!”^{[c] 23} Then Solomon made a solemn promise in the Lord's name, “May God strike me dead if I don't make Adonijah pay with his life for asking this! ²⁴ The Lord has firmly established me on the throne of my father David; he has kept his promise and given the kingdom to me and my descendants. I swear by the living Lord that Adonijah will die this very day!”

²⁵ So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Adonijah.

Abiathar's Banishment and Joab's Death

^26 (G)Then King Solomon said to Abiathar the priest, “Go to your country home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not have you put to death now, for you were in charge of the Lord's Covenant Box while you were with my father David, and you shared in all his troubles.” ^27 (H)Then Solomon dismissed Abiathar from serving as a priest of the Lord, and so made come true what the Lord had said in Shiloh about the priest Eli and his descendants.

²⁸ Joab heard what had happened. (He had supported Adonijah, but not Absalom.) So he fled to the Tent of the Lord's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.^{[d] 29} When the news reached King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tent and was by the altar, Solomon sent a messenger to Joab to ask him why he had fled to the altar. Joab answered that he had fled to the Lord because he was afraid of Solomon. So King Solomon sent Benaiah^[e] to kill Joab. ³⁰ He went to the Tent of the Lord's presence and said to Joab, “The king orders you to come out.”

“No,” Joab answered. “I will die here.”

Benaiah went back to the king and told him what Joab had said.

³¹ “Do what Joab says,” Solomon answered. “Kill him and bury him. Then neither I nor any other of David's descendants will any longer be held responsible for what Joab did when he killed innocent men. ³² The Lord will punish Joab for those murders, which he committed^[f] without my father David's knowledge. Joab killed two innocent men who were better men than he: Abner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa, commander of the army of Judah. ³³ The punishment for their murders will fall on Joab and on his descendants forever. But the Lord will always give success to David's descendants who sit on his throne.”

³⁴ So Benaiah went to the Tent of the Lord's presence and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the open country. ³⁵ The king made Benaiah commander of the army in Joab's place and put Zadok the priest in Abiathar's place.

The Death of Shimei

³⁶ Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and don't leave the city. ³⁷ If you ever leave and go beyond Kidron Brook, you will certainly die—and you yourself will be to blame.”

³⁸ “Very well, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I will do what you say.” So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.

³⁹ Three years later, however, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they were in Gath, ⁴⁰ he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home. ⁴¹ When Solomon heard what Shimei had done, ⁴² he sent for him and said, “I made you promise in the Lord's name not to leave Jerusalem. And I warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me? ⁴³ Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command? ⁴⁴ You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The Lord will punish you for it. ⁴⁵ But he will bless me, and he will make David's kingdom secure forever.”

⁴⁶ Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom^(I)

3 Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David's City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² A temple had not yet been built for the Lord, and so the people were still offering sacrifices at many different altars.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them. ² But with his wife's agreement he kept part of the money for himself and turned the rest over to the apostles. ³ Peter said to him, “Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property? ⁴ Before you sold the property, it belonged to you; and after you sold it, the money was yours. Why, then, did you decide to do such a thing? You have not lied to people—you have lied to God!” ^5 (A)As soon as Ananias heard this, he fell down dead; and all who heard about it were terrified. ⁶ The young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷ About three hours later his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. ⁸ Peter asked her, “Tell me, was this the full amount you and your husband received for your property?”

“Yes,” she answered, “the full amount.”

⁹ So Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord's Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are at the door right now, and they will carry you out too!” ¹⁰ At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ The whole church and all the others who heard of this were terrified.

Miracles and Wonders

¹² Many miracles and wonders were being performed among the people by the apostles. All the believers met together in Solomon's Porch. ¹³ Nobody outside the group dared join them, even though the people spoke highly of them. ¹⁴ But more and more people were added to the group—a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord. ¹⁵ As a result of what the apostles were doing, sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶ And crowds of people came in from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing those who were sick or who had evil spirits in them; and they were all healed.

The Apostles Are Persecuted

¹⁷ Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action. ¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹ But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life.” ²¹ The apostles obeyed, and at dawn they entered the Temple and started teaching.

The High Priest and his companions called together all the Jewish elders for a full meeting of the Council; then they sent orders to the prison to have the apostles brought before them. ²² But when the officials arrived, they did not find the apostles in prison, so they returned to the Council and reported, ²³ “When we arrived at the jail, we found it locked up tight and all the guards on watch at the gates; but when we opened the gates, we found no one inside!” ²⁴ When the chief priests and the officer in charge of the Temple guards heard this, they wondered what had happened to the apostles. ²⁵ Then a man came in and said to them, “Listen! The men you put in prison are in the Temple teaching the people!” ²⁶ So the officer went off with his men and brought the apostles back. They did not use force, however, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.

²⁷ They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them. ^28 (B)“We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man,” he said; “but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not men. ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross. ³¹ God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven. ³² We are witnesses to these things—we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him.”

³³ When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death. ³⁴ But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while, ³⁵ and then he said to the Council, “Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. ³⁶ You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out. ³⁷ After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸ And so in this case, I tell you, do not take any action against these men. Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear, ^39 (C)but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!”

The Council followed Gamaliel's advice. ⁴⁰ They called the apostles in, had them whipped, and ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus; and then they set them free. ⁴¹ As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus. ⁴² And every day in the Temple and in people's homes they continued to teach and preach the Good News about Jesus the Messiah.

The Security of God's People

^25 (A)What you think is the right road may lead to death.

David’s Old Age

1 King David had grown old, and although he was covered with blankets, he couldn’t get warm. ² His officials told him, “Your Majesty, let us search for a young woman who has never been married. She can stay with you and be your servant. She can lie in your arms and keep you warm.”

³ So they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful, young woman. They found Abishag from Shunem and brought her to the king. ⁴ The woman was very beautiful. She became the king’s servant and took care of him, but the king did not make love to her.

Adonijah Plots to Become King

⁵ Adonijah, son of Haggith,^[a] was very handsome. His mother gave birth to him after she had Absalom.^[b] Adonijah was boasting that he was king. So he got a chariot and horses and 50 men to run ahead of him. ⁶ His father had never confronted him by asking why he was doing this. ⁷ But Adonijah had discussed his actions with Joab (son of Zeruiah) and with the priest Abiathar, so they supported him. ⁸ But the priest Zadok, Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), the prophet Nathan, Shimei, Rei, and David’s thirty fighting men did not join Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened calves at Zoheleth Rock near En Rogel. He had invited all his brothers, the king’s other sons, all the men of Judah, and the king’s officials. ¹⁰ But he didn’t invite the prophet Nathan, Benaiah, the fighting men, or his brother Solomon.

The Prophet Nathan Helps Solomon Become King

¹¹ Then Nathan asked Solomon’s mother Bathsheba, “Haven’t you heard that Adonijah, Haggith’s son, has become king, and our master David doesn’t even know about it? ¹² Bathsheba, let me give you some advice about how to save your life and your son’s life. ¹³ Go to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn’t you swear to me that my son Solomon will be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Why is Adonijah acting as king?’ ¹⁴ And while you’re still there talking to the king, I’ll come in and confirm what you have said.”

¹⁵ Bathsheba went to the king in his private room. The king was very old, and Abishag from Shunem was taking care of him. ¹⁶ Bathsheba knelt and bowed down in front of the king. “What do you want?” the king asked.

¹⁷ “Sir,” she answered, “You took an oath to the Lord your God. You said that my son Solomon will be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne. ¹⁸ But now, you see, Adonijah has become king, and you don’t even know anything about it, Your Majesty. ¹⁹ He has sacrificed many fattened calves, bulls, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army to his feast. But he hasn’t invited your servant Solomon. ²⁰ All Israel is looking to you, Your Majesty, to tell them who should succeed you on your throne. ²¹ Otherwise, my son Solomon and I will be treated like criminals when you lie down in death with your ancestors.”

²² While she was still talking to the king, the prophet Nathan arrived. ²³ The servants told the king, “The prophet Nathan is here.” When he came to the king, he bowed down in front of him. ²⁴ Nathan said, “Your Majesty, you must have said that Adonijah will be king after you and that he will sit on your throne, ²⁵ because today he went and sacrificed many bulls, fattened calves, and sheep. He invited all the king’s sons, the army’s commanders, and the priest Abiathar to his feast. They are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But he didn’t invite me or the priest Zadok or Benaiah, who is Jehoiada’s son, or your servant Solomon. ²⁷ Did you allow this to happen without telling me who would sit on your throne next?”

²⁸ Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba in here.” So she stood in front of him, ²⁹ and he swore an oath. He said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord who has saved my life from all trouble lives, ³⁰ I will do today exactly what I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel. Your son Solomon will be king after me. He will sit on my throne.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face touching the ground in front of the king. “May Your Majesty, King David, live forever!” she said.

³² King David said, “Summon the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada.” So they came to the king, ³³ and he said, “Take my officials with you. Put my son Solomon on my mule, and take him to Gihon. ³⁴ Have the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan anoint him king of Israel there. Then blow the ram’s horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Follow him back here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will be king in place of me. I have appointed him to be the leader of Israel and Judah.”

³⁶ “So be it!” Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, answered the king. “The Lord your God says so too. ³⁷ As the Lord has been with you, so may he be with Solomon. May Solomon be an even greater king than you, King David.”

³⁸ Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), the Cherethites, and the Pelethites put Solomon on King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹ The priest Zadok took the container of olive oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ All the people followed him, blew flutes, and celebrated so loudly that their voices shook the ground.

Adonijah’s Plot Fails

⁴¹ Adonijah and all his guests heard this as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the horn, he asked, “What’s the reason for the noise in the city?” ⁴² He was still speaking when Jonathan, son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come in,” Adonijah said. “You’re an honorable man, so you must be bringing good news.”

⁴³ “Not at all,” Jonathan answered Adonijah. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah (son of Jehoiada), the Cherethites, and the Pelethites with him. They have put him on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king at Gihon. They have come from there celebrating, so the city is excited. That is the sound you heard. ⁴⁶ Solomon is now seated on the royal throne. ⁴⁷ Furthermore, the royal officials have come to congratulate His Majesty King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his reign greater than your reign.’ The king himself bowed down on his bed ⁴⁸ and said, ‘Praise the Lord God of Israel who has let me see the heir to my throne.’”

⁴⁹ Adonijah’s guests were frightened, so they got up and scattered in all directions. ⁵⁰ Adonijah was afraid of Solomon. He got up, went to the tent of meeting, and took hold of the horns of the altar. ^{[c] 51} Someone told Solomon, “Adonijah is afraid of you, King Solomon. He is holding on to the horns of the altar and saying, ‘Make King Solomon swear to me today that he will not have me killed.’”

⁵² Solomon said, “If he will behave like an honorable man, not one hair on his head will fall to the ground. But if he does anything wrong, he will die.” ⁵³ King Solomon sent men to take him from the altar. Adonijah bowed down in front of King Solomon. “Go home,” Solomon told him.

Peter and John’s Trial in Front of the Jewish Council

4 Some priests, the officer in charge of the temple guards, and some Sadducees approached Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² These religious authorities were greatly annoyed. Peter and John were teaching the people and spreading the message that the dead will come back to life through Jesus. ³ So the temple guards arrested them. Since it was already evening, they put Peter and John in jail until the next day.

⁴ But many of those who had heard the message became believers, so the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000.

⁵ The next day the Jewish rulers, the leaders, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings met in Jerusalem. ⁶ The chief priest Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the rest of the chief priest’s family were present. ⁷ They made Peter and John stand in front of them and then asked, “By what power or in whose name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and leaders of the people, ⁹ today you are cross-examining us about the good we did for a crippled man. You want to know how he was made well. ¹⁰ You and all the people of Israel must understand that this man stands in your presence with a healthy body because of the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You crucified Jesus Christ, but God has brought him back to life. ¹¹ He is the stone that the builders rejected, the stone that has become the cornerstone. ¹² No one else can save us. Indeed, we can be saved only by the power of the one named Jesus and not by any other person.”

¹³ After they found out that Peter and John had no education or special training, they were surprised to see how boldly they spoke. They realized that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ When they saw the man who was healed standing with Peter and John, they couldn’t say anything against the two apostles. ¹⁵ So they ordered Peter and John to leave the council room and began to discuss the matter among themselves. ¹⁶ They said, “What should we do to these men? Clearly, they’ve performed a miracle that everyone in Jerusalem knows about. We can’t deny that. ¹⁷ So let’s threaten them. Let’s tell them that they must never speak to anyone about the one named Jesus. Then the news about the miracle that they have performed will not spread any further among the people.”

¹⁸ They called Peter and John and ordered them never to teach about Jesus or even mention his name.

¹⁹ Peter and John answered them, “Decide for yourselves whether God wants people to listen to you rather than to him. ²⁰ We cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

²¹ The authorities threatened them even more and then let them go. Since all the people were praising God for what had happened, the authorities couldn’t find any way to punish Peter and John. ²² (The man who was healed by this miracle was over 40 years old.)

The Apostles and Other Believers Pray for God’s Help

²³ When Peter and John were released, they went to their own people and told them everything the chief priests and leaders had said. ²⁴ When they heard this, they were united and loudly prayed to God, “Master, you made the sky, the land, the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You said through the Holy Spirit, who spoke through your servant David (our ancestor),

²⁷ “In this city Herod and Pontius Pilate made plans together with non-Jewish people and the people of Israel. They made their plans against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ Through your will and power, they did everything that you had already decided should be done.

²⁹ “Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow us to speak your word boldly. ³⁰ Show your power by healing, performing miracles, and doing amazing things through the power and the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ When they had finished praying, their meeting place shook. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak Gods’s word boldly.

The Believers Share Their Property

³² The whole group of believers lived in harmony. No one called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything.

³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify that the Lord Jesus had come back to life. God’s abundant good will^[a] was with all of them. ³⁴ None of them needed anything. From time to time, people sold land or houses and brought the money ³⁵ to the apostles. Then the money was distributed to anyone who needed it.

³⁶ Joseph, a descendant of Levi, had been born on the island of Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means “a person who encourages.” ³⁷ He had some land. He sold it and turned the money over to the apostles.

Psalm 125

A song for going up to worship.

²⁴ One of the thirty was Joab’s brother Asahel. The thirty leading men were

David’s Sin—He Takes a Census^(A)

24 The Lord became angry with Israel again, so he provoked David to turn against Israel. He said, “Go, count Israel and Judah.”

² King David said to Joab, the commander of the army who was with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people. That way I will know how many there are.”

³ Joab responded to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the people a hundred times over, and may Your Majesty live to see it. But why does Your Majesty wish to do this?”

⁴ However, the king overruled Joab and the commanders of the army. So they left the king in order to count the people of Israel. ⁵ They crossed the Jordan River and camped at Aroer, south of the city in the middle of the valley. Then they went to Gad and to Jazer. ⁶ They went to Gilead and to Tahtim Hodshi and then to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. ⁷ They went to the fortified city of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah. ⁸ When they had covered the whole country, they came to Jerusalem after 9 months and 20 days. ⁹ Joab reported the census figures to the king: In Israel there were 800,000 able-bodied men who could serve in the army, and in Judah there were 500,000.

¹⁰ After David counted the people, his conscience troubled him. David said to the Lord, “I have committed a terrible sin by what I have done. Lord, please forgive me because I have acted very foolishly.”

¹¹ When David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Gad, David’s seer. ^{[a] 12} “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m offering you three choices. Choose the one you want me to do to you.’”

¹³ When Gad came to David, he told David this and asked, “Should seven years of famine come to you and your land, or three months during which you flee from your enemies as they pursue you, or should there be a three-day plague in your land? Think it over, and decide what answer I should give the one who sent me.”

¹⁴ “I’m in a desperate situation,” David told Gad. “Please let us fall into the Lord’s hands because he is very merciful. But don’t let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵ So the Lord sent a plague among the Israelites from that morning until the time he had chosen. Of the people from Dan to Beersheba, 70,000 died. ¹⁶ But when the Messenger stretched out his arm to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord changed his mind about the disaster. “Enough!” he said to the Messenger who was destroying the people. “Put down your weapon.” The Messenger of the Lord was at the threshing floor^[b] of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ When David saw the Messenger who had been killing the people, he said to the Lord, “I’ve sinned. I’ve done wrong. What have these sheep done? Please let your punishment be against me and against my father’s family.”

¹⁸ That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go, set up an altar for the Lord at Araunah the Jebusite’s threshing floor.”

¹⁹ David went as Gad had told him and as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁰ When Araunah looked down and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he went out and bowed down with his face touching the ground in front of the king. ²¹ “Why has Your Majesty come to me?” Araunah asked.

David answered, “To buy the threshing floor from you and to build an altar for the Lord. Then the plague on the people will stop.”

²² Araunah said to David, “Take it, Your Majesty, and offer whatever you think is right. There are oxen for the burnt offering, and there are threshers and oxen yokes^[c] for firewood.” ²³ All this Araunah gave to the king and said, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴ “No!” the king said to Araunah. “I must buy it from you at a fair price. I won’t offer the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 1¼ pounds of silver. ²⁵ David built an altar for the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. So the Lord heard the prayers for the country, and the plague on Israel stopped.

A Lame Man Is Healed

3 Peter and John were going to the temple courtyard for the three o’clock prayer. ² At the same time, a man who had been lame from birth was being carried by some men. Every day these men would put the lame man at a gate in the temple courtyard. The gate was called Beautiful Gate. There he would beg for handouts from people going into the courtyard. ³ When the man saw that Peter and John were about to go into the courtyard, he asked them for a handout.

⁴ Peter and John stared at him. “Look at us!” Peter said. ⁵ So the man watched them closely. He expected to receive something from them. ⁶ However, Peter said to him, “I don’t have any money, but I’ll give you what I do have. Through the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, walk!” ⁷ Peter took hold of the man’s right hand and began to help him up. Immediately, the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ Springing to his feet, he stood up and started to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyard. The man was walking, jumping, and praising God.

⁹ All the people saw him walking and praising God. ¹⁰ They knew that he was the man who used to sit and beg at the temple’s Beautiful Gate. The people were amazed and stunned to see what had happened to him. ¹¹ They were excited, and everyone ran to see them at the place called Solomon’s Porch. The man wouldn’t let go of Peter and John.

¹² When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed about this man? Why are you staring at us as though we have made him walk by our own power or godly life? ¹³ The God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed Jesus over to Pilate. You rejected him in Pilate’s presence, even though Pilate had decided to let him go free. ¹⁴ You rejected the man who was holy and innocent. You asked to have a murderer given to you, ¹⁵ and you killed the source of life. But God brought him back to life, and we are witnesses to that. ¹⁶ We believe in the one named Jesus. Through his power alone this man, whom you know, was healed, as all of you saw.

¹⁷ “And now, brothers, I know that like your rulers you didn’t know what you were doing. ¹⁸ But in this way God made the sufferings of his Messiah come true. God had predicted these sufferings through all the prophets. ¹⁹ So change the way you think and act, and turn to God to have your sins removed. ²⁰ Then times will come when the Lord will refresh you. He will send you Jesus, whom he has appointed to be the Christ. ²¹ Heaven must receive Jesus until the time when everything will be restored as God promised through his holy prophets long ago.

²² “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me. Listen to everything he tells you. ²³ Those who won’t listen to that prophet will be excluded from the people.’ ²⁴ Samuel and all the prophets who followed him spoke about these days. ²⁵ You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise^[a] that God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ God has brought his servant back to life and has sent him to you first. God did this to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”

Psalm 124

A song by David for going up to worship.