Solomon's Accomplishments

¹nAt the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, ²Solomon rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and settled the people of Israel in them.

³And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and took it. ⁴He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵He also built oUpper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, pfortified cities pwith walls, gates, and bars, ⁶and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ⁷qAll the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, ⁸from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—these Solomon drafted ras forced labor, and so they are to this day. ⁹But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁰And these were the chief officers of King Solomon, 250, who exercised authority over the people.

¹¹sSolomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

¹²Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord tthat he had built before the vestibule, ¹³uas the duty of each day required, offering vaccording to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the wthree annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. ¹⁴According to the ruling of David his father, he appointed xthe divisions of the priests for their service, yand the Levites for their offices of praise and zministry before the priests uas the duty of each day required, and athe gatekeepers in their divisions at each gate, for so David bthe man of God had commanded. ¹⁵And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries.

¹⁶Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon from1 the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

¹⁷Then Solomon went to cEzion-geber and dEloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸And Hiram sent to him by the hand of his servants ships and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to Ophir together with the servants of Solomon and brought from there e450 talents2 of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

Greeting

¹aThe elder to the beloved Gaius, bwhom I love in truth.

²Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. ³For cI rejoiced greatly when the brothers1 came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that dmy children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

⁵Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for ethese brothers, fstrangers as they are, ⁶who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner gworthy of God. ⁷For they have gone out for the sake of hthe name, iaccepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

⁹I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. ¹⁰So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

¹¹Beloved, jdo not imitate evil but imitate good. kWhoever does good is from God; lwhoever does evil has not seen God. ¹²Demetrius mhas received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and nyou know that our testimony is true.

Final Greetings

¹³oI had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. ¹⁴I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

¹⁵Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, peach by name.

Habakkuk's Prayer

¹A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

²O Lord, xI have heard the report of you,

and yyour work, O Lord, do I fear.

In the midst of the years zrevive it;

in the midst of the years make it known;

ain wrath remember mercy.

³God came from bTeman,

cand the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah

His splendor covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

⁴dHis brightness was like the light;

rays flashed from his hand;

and there he veiled his power.

⁵eBefore him went pestilence,

and plague followed fat his heels.1

⁶He stood gand measured the earth;

he looked and shook the nations;

then the heternal mountains iwere scattered;

the everlasting hills sank low.

His were jthe everlasting ways.

⁷I saw the tents of kCushan in affliction;

lthe curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

⁸mWas your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?

Was your anger against the rivers,

mor your indignation against the sea,

nwhen you rode on your horses,

non your chariot of salvation?

⁹You stripped the sheath from your bow,

calling for many arrows.2 Selah

pYou split the earth with rivers.

¹⁰qThe mountains saw you and writhed;

the raging waters swept on;

rthe deep gave forth its voice;

sit lifted its hands on high.

¹¹tThe sun and moon stood still in their place

uat the light of your arrows as they sped,

at the flash of your glittering spear.

¹²vYou marched through the earth in fury;

wyou threshed the nations in anger.

¹³vYou went out for the salvation of your people,

for the salvation of xyour anointed.

yYou crushed the head of the house of the wicked,

laying him bare from thigh to neck.3 Selah

¹⁴You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,

who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,

rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

¹⁵zYou trampled the sea with your horses,

the surging of mighty waters.

¹⁶aI hear, and bmy body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

crottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

Yet dI will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord

¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

¹⁸eyet I will rejoice in the Lord;

fI will take joy in the God of my salvation.

¹⁹God, the Lord, is my strength;

ghe makes my feet like the deer's;

he makes me htread on my ihigh places.

jTo the choirmaster: with kstringed4 instruments.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

¹rNow the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called sthe Passover. ²And the chief priests and the scribes twere seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

Judas to Betray Jesus

³uThen vSatan entered into wJudas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. ⁴He went away and conferred with the chief priests and xofficers how he might betray him to them. ⁵And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. ⁶So he consented and sought an opportunity to ybetray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

The Passover with the Disciples

⁷zThen came athe day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸So Jesus1 sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” ⁹They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” ¹⁰He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters ¹¹and tell the master of the house, b‘The Teacher says to you, Where is cthe guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹²And he will show you da large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” ¹³And they went and found it ejust as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Institution of the Lord's Supper

¹⁴fAnd when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶For I tell you I will not eat it2 guntil it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷And he took a cup, and hwhen he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. ¹⁸iFor I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine guntil the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹jAnd he took bread, and hwhen he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, k“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, k“This cup that is poured out for you is lthe new mcovenant in my blood.3 ²¹nBut behold, the hand of him who betrays me is owith me on the table. ²²For the Son of Man goes pas it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” ²³And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

²⁴qA dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ²⁵rAnd he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles sexercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶tBut not so with you. Rather, let sthe greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. ²⁷For who is the greater, uone who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But vI am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸“You are those who have stayed with me win my trials, ²⁹and xI assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, ³⁰ythat you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and zsit on thrones judging athe twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

³¹“Simon, Simon, behold, bSatan demanded to have you,4 cthat he might sift you like wheat, ³²but dI have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, estrengthen your brothers.” ³³Peter5 said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both fto prison and gto death.” ³⁴hJesus6 said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus

³⁵And he said to them, i“When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” ³⁶He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷For I tell you that jthis Scripture must be fulfilled in me: k‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For lwhat is written about me has its fulfillment.” ³⁸And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two mswords.” And he said to them, n“It is enough.”

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

³⁹oAnd he came out and went, pas was his custom, to qthe Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰rAnd when he came to sthe place, he said to them, t“Pray that you may not uenter into temptation.” ⁴¹And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and vknelt down and prayed, ⁴²saying, w“Father, if you are willing, remove xthis cup from me. yNevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” ⁴³And there appeared to him zan angel from heaven, strengthening him. ⁴⁴And wbeing in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.7 ⁴⁵And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, ⁴⁶and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and apray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴⁷bWhile he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called cJudas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike dwith the sword?” ⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant8 of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests and eofficers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³When fI was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is gyour hour, and hthe power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus

⁵⁴iThen they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, jand Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵kAnd when they had kindled a fire in the middle of lthe courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. ⁵⁶Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” ⁵⁸And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” ⁵⁹And after an interval of about an hour still another minsisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹And the Lord turned and nlooked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, o“Before the rooster crows today, you will pdeny me three times.” ⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Is Mocked

⁶³qNow the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. ⁶⁴qThey also blindfolded him and kept asking him, r“Prophesy! rWho is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵And they said many other things against him, sblaspheming him.

Jesus Before the Council

⁶⁶tWhen day came, uthe assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their vcouncil, and they wsaid, ⁶⁷x“If you are ythe Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, ⁶⁸and if I ask you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated zat the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰So they all said, “Are you athe Son of God, then?” And he said to them, b“You say that I am.” ⁷¹Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”