The Queen of Sheba

¹fNow when gthe queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ²And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. ³And when gthe queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁴the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁵And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁶but I did not believe the1 reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. ⁷Happy are your wives!2 Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you hand set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! iBecause your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ⁹Then she gave the king 120 talents3 of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, jwho brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹And the king made from the algum wood ksupports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

¹²And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked lbesides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Wealth

¹³mNow the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. nAnd all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels4 of beaten gold went into each shield. ¹⁶And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; o300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ¹⁹while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. ²⁰All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²¹For the king's ships went to pTarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.5

²²Thus King Solomon qexcelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²³And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁴Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,6 spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. ²⁵And Solomon had r4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶sAnd he ruled over all the kings tfrom the Euphrates7 to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ²⁷uAnd the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ²⁸vAnd horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon's Death

²⁹wNow the rest of the acts of Solomon, from xfirst to last, are they not written in the history of yNathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of zAhijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of aIddo bthe seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in cthe city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Greeting

¹Jude, a servant1 of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

aTo those who are called, bbeloved in God the Father and ckept for2 Jesus Christ:

²May dmercy, epeace, and love be multiplied to you.

Judgment on False Teachers

³Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our fcommon salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you gto contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴For hcertain people ihave crept in unnoticed jwho long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert kthe grace of our God into sensuality and ldeny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵Now I want mto remind you, although you once fully knew it, that nJesus, who saved3 a people out of the land of Egypt, oafterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And pthe angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷just as qSodom and Gomorrah and rthe surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and spursued unnatural desire,4 serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

⁸Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and tblaspheme the glorious ones. ⁹But when uthe archangel vMichael, contending with the devil, was disputing wabout the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, x“The Lord rebuke you.” ¹⁰yBut these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. ¹¹Woe to them! For they walked in zthe way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain ato Balaam's error and bperished in Korah's rebellion. ¹²These are hidden reefs5 cat your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, dshepherds feeding themselves; ewaterless clouds, fswept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, guprooted; ¹³hwild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of itheir own shame; jwandering stars, kfor whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴It was also about these that Enoch, lthe seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, m“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵nto execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have ocommitted in such an ungodly way, and of all pthe harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶These are grumblers, malcontents, qfollowing their own sinful desires; rthey are loud-mouthed boasters, sshowing favoritism to gain advantage.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁷But you must tremember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸They6 said to you, u“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, vdevoid of the Spirit. ²⁰But you, beloved, wbuilding yourselves up in your most holy faith and xpraying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ykeep yourselves in the love of God, zwaiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²²And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³save others by asnatching them out of bthe fire; to others show mercy cwith fear, hating even dthe garment7 stained by the flesh.

Doxology

²⁴eNow to him who is able fto keep you from stumbling and gto present you hblameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵to ithe only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, jbe glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time8 and now and forever. Amen.

¹The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, ain the days of bJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

²c“I will utterly sweep away everything

from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

³“I will sweep away dman and beast;

I will sweep away the birds of the heavens

and dthe fish of the sea,

and ethe rubble1 with the wicked.

I will fcut off mankind

from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

⁴“I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

gand I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal

and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

⁵hthose who bow down on the roofs

to the host of the heavens,

ithose who bow down and swear to the Lord

and yet swear by jMilcom,2

⁶kthose who have turned back from following the Lord,

lwho do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

⁷mBe silent before the Lord God!

For nthe day of the Lord is near;

othe Lord has prepared a sacrifice

and pconsecrated his guests.

⁸And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—

q“I will punish the officials and the king's sons

and rall who array themselves in foreign attire.

⁹On that day I will punish

everyone swho leaps over the threshold,

and those who fill their master's3 house

with violence and fraud.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,

“a cry will be heard from tthe Fish Gate,

ua wail from vthe Second Quarter,

a loud crash from the hills.

¹¹wWail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!

For all the traders4 are no more;

all who weigh out silver are cut off.

¹²At that time xI will search Jerusalem with lamps,

and I will punish the men

ywho are complacent,5

zthose who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will not do good,

nor will he do ill.’

¹³Their goods shall be aplundered,

and their houses laid waste.

bThough they build houses,

they shall not inhabit them;

cthough they plant vineyards,

they shall not drink wine from them.”

¹⁴dThe great day of the Lord is near,

near and hastening fast;

the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;

ethe mighty man cries aloud there.

¹⁵fA day of wrath is that day,

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of gruin and devastation,

ha day of darkness and gloom,

ha day of clouds and thick darkness,

¹⁶ia day of trumpet blast and battle cry

jagainst the fortified cities

and against the lofty battlements.

¹⁷kI will bring distress on mankind,

so that they shall walk llike the blind,

because they have sinned against the Lord;

mtheir blood shall be poured out like dust,

and their flesh nlike dung.

¹⁸oNeither their silver nor their gold

shall be able to deliver them

on the day of the wrath of the Lord.

pIn the fire of his jealousy,

qall the earth shall be consumed;

rfor a full and sudden end

he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Jesus Before Pilate

¹cThen the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. ²And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man dmisleading our nation and eforbidding us to give tribute to fCaesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, ga king.” ³hAnd Pilate asked him, i“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, j“You have said so.” ⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, k“I find no guilt in this man.” ⁵But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, lfrom Galilee even to this place.”

Jesus Before Herod

⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he learned that he belonged to mHerod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, nfor he had long desired to see him, obecause he had heard about him, and he was hoping pto see some sign done by him. ⁹So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹And Herod with his soldiers qtreated him with contempt and rmocked him. Then, sarraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. ¹²And tHerod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

¹³Pilate then called together the chief priests and uthe rulers and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man vas one who was misleading the people. And wafter examining him before you, behold, I xdid not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵Neither did Herod, for yhe sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. ¹⁶zI will therefore punish and release him.”1

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

¹⁸aBut they all cried out together, b“Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and cfor murder. ²⁰Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, ²¹but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²²A third time he said to them, “Why? dWhat evil has he done? eI have found in him no guilt deserving death. fI will therefore punish and release him.” ²³But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. ²⁵He released the man who had been thrown into prison gfor insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, hbut he delivered Jesus over to their will.

The Crucifixion

²⁶iAnd as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were jmourning and lamenting for him. ²⁸But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For behold, kthe days are coming when they will say, l‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰mThen they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹For nif they do these things when othe wood is green, what will happen owhen it is dry?”

³²pTwo others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³qAnd when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, pone on his right and one on his left. ³⁴And Jesus said, “Father, rforgive them, sfor they know not what they do.”2 And they cast lots tto divide his garments. ³⁵And uthe people stood by, watching, vbut wthe rulers xscoffed at him, saying, y“He saved others; zlet him save himself, aif he is bthe Christ of God, chis Chosen One!” ³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and doffering him sour wine ³⁷and saying, e“If you are fthe King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸gThere was also an inscription over him,3 “This is fthe King of the Jews.”

³⁹hOne of the criminals who were hanged irailed at him,4 saying, “Are you not jthe Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²And he said, “Jesus, remember me kwhen you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in lparadise.”

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁴mIt was now about the sixth hour,5 and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,6 ⁴⁵while the sun's light failed. And nthe curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, ocalling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, pinto your hands I qcommit my spirit!” And having said this rhe breathed his last. ⁴⁷Now swhen the centurion saw what had taken place, the praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home ubeating their breasts. ⁴⁹And all vhis acquaintances and wthe women who had followed him from Galilee xstood at a distance watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰yNow there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, ⁵¹who had not consented to their decision and action; and he zwas looking for the kingdom of God. ⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and alaid him in a tomb cut in stone, bwhere no one had ever yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was the day of cPreparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.7 ⁵⁵dThe women ewho had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. ⁵⁶Then they returned and fprepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested gaccording to the commandment.