July 27th

And the priests could not enter into the house of Yahweh because the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

And all the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to Yahweh, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness endures forever.”

Now the king and all the people were offering sacrifices before Yahweh.

And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

And the priests stood at their posts, and the Levites also, with the instruments of music to Yahweh, which King David had made for giving thanks to Yahweh—“for His lovingkindness endures forever”—whenever he gave praise by their hand, while the priests on the other side blew trumpets; and all Israel was standing.

Then Solomon set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

So Solomon celebrated the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly from Lebo-hamath to the brook of Egypt.

And on the eighth day they celebrated a solemn assembly; for the dedication of the altar they celebrated seven days and the feast seven days.

And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, with gladness and goodness of heart because of the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David and to Solomon and to Israel His people.

Thus Solomon completed the house of Yahweh and the king’s house; and all that had come into Solomon’s heart to do in the house of Yahweh and in his house, he did successfully.

Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will listen from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.

Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

So now I have chosen and set this house apart as holy that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My judgments,

then I will establish your royal throne as I cut a covenant with your father David, saying, ‘You shall not have a man cut off as ruler in Israel.’

“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,

then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have set apart as holy for My name I will cast out of My presence and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will feel desolate and say, ‘Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?’

And they will say, ‘Because they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt and took hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

Now it happened at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house

that he built the cities which Huram had given to him, and settled the sons of Israel there.

Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and overpowered it.

And he built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities which he had built in Hamath.

He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates and bars;

and Baalath and all the storage cities which Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.

As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

namely, from their sons who were left after them in the land whom the sons of Israel had not consumed, from them Solomon raised up forced laborers to this day.

But Solomon did not make slaves for his work from the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his chief captains and his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

These were the chief deputies of King Solomon, 250 who ruled over the people.

Then Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy where the ark of Yahweh has entered.”

Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of Yahweh which he had built before the porch;

and did so according to the daily rule, offering them up according to the commandment of Moses, for the sabbaths, the new moons and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths.

And according to the judgment of his father David, he caused the divisions of the priests to stand for their service, and the Levites for their responsibilities to praise and minister before the priests according to the daily rule, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for David the man of God had so commanded.

And they did not turn away from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any manner or concerning the treasuries.

Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out from the day of the foundation of the house of Yahweh, and until it was completed. So the house of Yahweh was finished.

Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the shore of the sea in the land of Edom.

And Huram by the hand of his servants sent him ships and servants who knew the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and took from there 450 talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.

Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; and not a matter was hidden from Solomon which he did not declare to her.

Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built,

the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her.

Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

Nevertheless I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You exceed the report which I heard.

How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.

Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; because your God loved Israel to cause them to stand forever, therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. There had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Also, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

And the king made of the algum trees steps for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.

Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned around and went to her own land together with her servants.

Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,

besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield.

And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, using 300 shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

“Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter; and he *said,

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today,

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons,

as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brothers, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

And those who were with me beheld the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

And I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.’

But since I could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

“Now a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him.

And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from His mouth.

For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Now why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’

“Now it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance,

and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’

And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.

And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’

And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

And as they were crying out and throwing off their garments and tossing dust into the air,

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

But when they stretched him out with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.”

Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.