Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 ^zThen Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^athere is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^bkeeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father ^cwhat you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me ^das you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; ^ehow much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your ^feyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^g‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers ^htoward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

33 “When your people Israel are ⁱdefeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 “When heaven is ^jshut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the ^kgood way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or ^lblight or mildew or ^mlocust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates,¹ whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, ⁿknow the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your ^ogreat name and your ^pmighty hand, and of your ^qoutstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may ^rknow your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is ^scalled by your name.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—for ^tthere is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ^u‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they ^vrepent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them ^wcompassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your ^xheritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the ^yiron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you ^zseparated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon’s Benediction

54 ^aNow as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given ^brest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^cNot one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be ^dwith us, as he was with our fathers. May he not ^eleave us or forsake us, 58 that he may ^fincline our hearts to him, to ^gwalk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 ^hthat all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; ⁱthere is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be ^jwholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon’s Sacrifices

62 ^kThen the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as ^lpeace offerings to the Lord ^m22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel ⁿdedicated the house of the Lord. 64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the ^oburnt offering and the ^pgrain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the ^qbronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon held the ^rfeast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.² 66 On the ^seighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

Unity in the Body of Christ

1 ^mI therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ⁿwalk ^oin a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with ^ppatience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the ^qbond of peace. 4 There is ^rone body and ^sone Spirit—just as you were called to ^tthe one hope that belongs to your call— 5 ^uone Lord, ^vone faith, ^wone baptism, 6 ^xone God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to ^yeach one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?² 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended ^afar above all the heavens, that he might ^bfill all things.) 11 And he gave ^cthe apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds³ and teachers,⁴ 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the ^dbody of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to ^emature manhood,⁵ to the measure of the stature of the ^ffullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be ^gchildren, ^htossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, ⁱby human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the ^jhead, into Christ, 16 ^kfrom whom the whole body, ^ljoined and ^mheld together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

17 Now this I say and ⁿtestify in the Lord, that you must ^ono longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the ^pfutility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, ^qalienated from the life of God because of the ^rignorance that is in them, due to their ^shardness of heart. 19 They have become ^tcallous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is ^unot the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were ^vtaught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to ^wput off your ^xold self,⁶ which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be ^yrenewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the ^znew self, ^acreated after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away ^bfalsehood, let each one of you ^cspeak the truth with his neighbor, for ^dwe are members one of another. 26 ^eBe angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and ^fgive no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest ^gwork with his own hands, ^hso that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 ⁱLet no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for ^jbuilding up, as fits the occasion, ^kthat it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And ^ldo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were ^msealed for the ⁿday of redemption. 31 ^oLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be ^pkind to one another, tenderhearted, ^qforgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Walk in Love

1 Therefore ^rbe imitators ^sof God, as beloved children. 2 And ^twalk ^uin love, as Christ loved us ^vand ^wgave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But ^xsexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 ^yLet there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 ^zFor you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ^a(that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you ^bwith empty words, for ^cbecause of these things the wrath of God comes upon the ^dsons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for ^eat one time you were ^fdarkness, but now you are light in the Lord. ^gWalk as ^hchildren of light 9 (for the ⁱfruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to ^jdiscern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 ^kTake no part in the unfruitful ^lworks of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But ^mwhen anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

15 Look carefully then ^phow you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the ^qdays are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but ^runderstand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get ^sdrunk with wine, for that is debauchery, ^tbut be filled with the Spirit, 19 ^uaddressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the ^vname of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 ^wsubmitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

22 ^xWives, ^ysubmit to your own husbands, ^zas to the Lord. 23 For ^athe husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the ^bhead of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 ^cHusbands, love your wives, as Christ ^dloved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might ^esanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 ^fso that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be ^gholy and without blemish.⁷ 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as ^htheir own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because ⁱwe are ^jmembers of his body. 31 ^k“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^lthe two shall become one flesh.” 32 This ^mmystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Children and Parents

1 ⁿChildren, ^oobey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 ^p“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 ^qFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but ^rbring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

5 ^sBondservants,^{8 t}obey your earthly masters⁹ with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, ^uas you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this ^vhe will receive back from the Lord, ^wwhether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is ^xboth their Master¹⁰ and yours is in heaven, and that there is ^yno partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, ^zbe strong in the Lord and in the ^astrength of his might. 11 ^bPut on the ^cwhole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the ^drulers, against the authorities, against the ^ecosmic powers over this present ^fdarkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the ^gheavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the ^hevil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the ⁱbelt of truth, and having put on the ^jbreastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as ^kshoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the ^lshield of faith, with which you can ^mextinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the ⁿhelmet of salvation, and the ^osword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 ^ppraying ^qat all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^rkeep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and ^salso for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth ^tboldly to proclaim the ^umystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ^vambassador ^win chains, that I may declare it boldly, ^xas I ought to speak.

Final Greetings

21 ^ySo that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, ^zTychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may ^aencourage your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brothers,¹¹ and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.