1 Then, twenty years having passed since Solomon built the house of the Lord and his own house,
2 he built the cities that Hiram had given to Solomon, and he caused the sons of Israel to live there.
3 Also, he went to Hamath Zobah, and he obtained it.
4 And he built Palmira in the desert, and he built very fortified cities in Hamath.
5 And he built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, as walled cities, having gates and bars and locks,
6 as well as Baalath, and all the very strong cities which were of Solomon, and all the cities of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen. Everything whatsoever that Solomon willed and decided, he built in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout the entire land of his authority.
7 All the people who had been left from the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, those who were not from the stock of Israel,
8 those of their sons and their posterity whom the sons of Israel had not put to death, Solomon subjugated as tributaries, even to this day.
9 But he did not appoint anyone from the sons of Israel to serve in the works of the king. For they were men of war, and first rulers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen.
10 Now all the leaders of the army of king Solomon were two hundred fifty, who were instructing the people.
11 Truly, he transferred the daughter of Pharaoh, from the City of David, to the house that he had built for her. For the king said: “My wife shall not live in the house of David, king of Israel, for it has been sanctified. For the ark of the Lord has entered into it.”
12 Then Solomon offered holocausts to the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had constructed before the portico,
13 so that every day there would be an offering on it, in accord with precept of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and three times a year on the feast days, that is, on the solemnity of unleavened bread, and on the solemnity of weeks, and in the solemnity of tabernacles.
14 And he appointed, in accord with the plan of his father David, the offices of the priests in their ministries; and those of the Levites, in their orders, so that they might praise and minister before the priests according to the ritual of each day; and the porters, in their divisions, from gate to gate. For so had David, the man of God, instructed.
15 Neither the priests, nor the Levites, transgressed against the commands of the king, in all that he had instructed, and in the keeping of the treasuries.
16 Solomon had all the expenses prepared, from the day on which he founded the house of the Lord, even until the day when he perfected it.
17 Then Solomon went away to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, on the coast of the Red Sea, which is in the land of Edom.
18 And Hiram sent to him ships, by the hands of his servants, sailors and skillful navigators of the sea, and they went away with the servants of Solomon to Ophir. And they took from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and they brought it to king Solomon.
1 Also, when the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem, with great riches and with camels which were carrying aromatics, and very much gold, and precious gems, so that she might test him with enigmas. And when she had approached Solomon, she spoke to him all that was in her heart.
2 And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her.
3 And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
4 indeed also the foods of his table, and the habitations of the servants, and the duties of his ministers, and their apparel, and also his cupbearers and their garments, and the victims which he was immolating in the house of the Lord, there was no longer any spirit in her, due to astonishment.
5 And she said to the king: “The word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom.
6 I did not believe those who described it, until I had arrived and my eyes had seen, and I had proven that not even half of your wisdom had been described to me. You have exceeded your fame with your virtue.
7 Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom.
8 Blessed is the Lord your God, who willed to set you upon his throne as a king for the Lord your God. Since God loves Israel, he wishes to preserve them unto eternity. For this reason, he appointed you as king over them, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.”
9 Then she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great abundance of aromatics, and very precious gems. Never were there such aromatics as those that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
10 Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems.
11 And the king made, from this particular thyine wood, steps in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also harps and psalteries for the singing men. Never was there seen such wood in the land of Judah.
12 Then king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, and all that she requested, and much more than what she had brought to him. And returning, she went away to her own land with her servants.
13 Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
14 apart from the sum that the legates of various nations and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and apart from the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of the lands, were bringing together for Solomon.
15 And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear,
16 and also three hundred gold shields, from three hundred gold pieces, which covered each shield. And the king placed them in the armory, which was situated in a forest.
17 Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold.
18 And there were six steps, by which he would ascend to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms, one on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms.
19 Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms.
20 Also, all the vessels for the feasts of the king were of gold, and the vessels of the forest house of Lebanon were from the purest gold. For silver in those days was considered as nothing.
21 For indeed, the ships of the king went to Tarshish, with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. And they brought from there gold, and silver, and ivory, and primates, and peacocks.
22 And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory.
23 And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart.
24 And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.
25 Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.
26 Now he also exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates as far as the land of the Philistines, and as far as the borders of Egypt.
27 And he brought forth so much silver that it was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And cedar trees were as great in number as the sycamores that spring up in the plains.
28 And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region.
29 Now the rest of the works of Solomon, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah, the Shilonite, as well as in the vision of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.
30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years.
31 And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place.
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1 And there was a man living in Babylon, and his name was Joakim.
2 And he received a wife named Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, who was very beautiful and God-fearing.
3 For her parents, because they were righteous, had educated their daughter according to the law of Moses.
4 But Joakim was very wealthy, and he had an orchard near his house, and the Jews flocked to him, because he was the most honorable of them all.
5 And two elder judges had been appointed among the people that year, about whom the Lord has said, “Iniquity has come out of Babylon, from the elder judges, who seemed to govern the people.”
6 These frequented the house of Joakim, and all came to them, who had need of judgment.
7 But when the people departed at noontime, Susanna went in and walked around in her husband’s orchard.
8 And the elders saw her entering and walking around every day, and they were inflamed with desire towards her.
9 And they perverted their reason and turned away their eyes, so that they would not look to heaven, nor call to mind just judgments.
10 And so they were both wounded by the love of her, yet they did not reveal their grief to one another.
11 For they were ashamed to reveal to each other their desire, wanting to lie with her.
12 And so they watched carefully every day to see her. And one said to the other,
13 Let us go home, for it is lunch time. And going out, they departed one from another.
14 And returning again, they came to the same place, and, each asking the other the reason, they admitted their desire. And then they agreed to set a time when they would be able to find her alone.
15 But it happened, while they watched for an opportune day, that she entered at a particular time, just as yesterday and the day before, with only two maids, and she wanted to wash in the orchard, because it was so hot.
1 A psalm of praise.
2 Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness. Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns: and give glory to him. Praise ye his name:
5 For the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth to generation and generation.
1 And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind.
2 And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.
3 For I say, through the grace that has been given to me, to all who are among you: Taste no more than it is necessary to taste, but taste unto sobriety and just as God has distributed a share of the faith to each one.
4 For just as, within one body, we have many parts, though all the parts do not have the same role,
5 so also we, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one is a part, the one of the other.
6 And we each have different gifts, according to the grace that has been given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the reasonableness of faith;
7 or ministry, in ministering; or he who teaches, in doctrine;
8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who governs, in solicitude; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without falseness: hating evil, clinging to what is good,
10 loving one another with fraternal charity, surpassing one another in honor:
11 in solicitude, not lazy; in spirit, fervent; serving the Lord;
12 in hope, rejoicing; in tribulation, enduring; in prayer, ever-willing;
13 in the difficulties of the saints, sharing; in hospitality, attentive.
14 Bless those who are persecuting you: bless, and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Weep with those who are weeping.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another: not savoring what is exalted, but consenting in humility. Do not choose to seem wise to yourself.
17 Render to no one harm for harm. Provide good things, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, in so far as you are able, be at peace with all men.
19 Do not defend yourselves, dearest ones. Instead, step aside from wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is mine. I shall give retribution, says the Lord.”
20 So if an enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so, you will heap burning coals upon his head.
21 Do not allow evil to prevail, instead prevail over evil by means of goodness.
