1 Kings 7

• 1. Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.
• 2. One of Solomon's buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The great cedar ceiling beams rested on four rows of cedar pillars.
• 3. It had a cedar roof supported by forty-five rafters that rested on three rows of pillars, fifteen in each row.
• 4. On each of the side walls there were three rows of windows facing each other.
• 5. All the doorways were rectangular in frame; they were in sets of three, facing each other.
• 6. He also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch at its front, covered by a canopy that was supported by pillars.
• 7. There was also the Hall of the Throne, also known as the Hall of Judgment, where Solomon sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.
• 8. Solomon's living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall; they were built the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh's daughter, one of his wives.
• 9. All these buildings were built entirely from huge, costly blocks of stone, cut and trimmed to exact measure on all sides.
• 10. Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet long.
• 11. The costly blocks of stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used.
• 12. The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams after every three layers of hewn stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the LORD's Temple with its entrance foyer.
• 13. King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram to come from Tyre,
• 14. for he was a craftsman skilled in bronze work. He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a foundry worker from Tyre. So he came to work for King Solomon.
• 15. Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.
• 16. For the tops of the pillars he made capitals of molded bronze, each 7 1/2 feet tall.
• 17. Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains.
• 18. He also made two rows of pomegranates that encircled the latticework to decorate the capitals over the pillars.
• 19. The capitals on the columns inside the foyer were shaped like lilies, and they were 6 feet tall.
• 20. Each capital on the two pillars had two hundred pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework.
• 21. Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.
• 22. The capitals on the pillars were shaped like lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.
• 23. Then Huram cast a large round tank, 15 feet across from rim to rim; it was called the Sea. It was 7 1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.
• 24. The Sea was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they had been cast as part of the tank.
• 25. The Sea rested on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east.
• 26. The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons of water.
• 27. Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet tall.
• 28. They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars.
• 29. Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations.
• 30. Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. At each corner of the carts were supporting posts for the bronze basins; these supports were decorated with carvings of wreaths on each side.
• 31. The top of each cart had a circular frame for the basin. It projected 1 1/2 feet above the cart's top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 1/4 feet across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round.
• 32. Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 1/4 feet in diameter
• 33. and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.
• 34. There were supports at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart.
• 35. Around the top of each cart there was a rim 9 inches wide. The supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart.
• 36. Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around.
• 37. All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.
• 38. Huram also made ten bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 6 feet across and could hold 220 gallons of water.
• 39. He arranged five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of the Temple.
• 40. He also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins. So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the LORD:
• 41. two pillars, two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars, two networks of chains that decorated the capitals,
• 42. four hundred pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that were hung around the capitals on top of the pillars),
• 43. the ten water carts holding the ten basins,
• 44. the Sea and the twelve oxen under it,
• 45. the pots, the shovels, and the basins. All these utensils for the Temple of the LORD that Huram made for Solomon were made of burnished bronze.
• 46. The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.
• 47. Solomon did not weigh all the utensils because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.
• 48. So Solomon made all the furnishings of the Temple of the LORD: the gold altar, the gold table for the Bread of the Presence,
• 49. the gold lampstands, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place, the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs, all of gold,
• 50. the cups, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and firepans, all of pure gold, the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold.
• 51. So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the LORD. Then Solomon brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated--the silver, the gold, and the other utensils--and he stored them in the treasuries of the LORD's Temple.

Ephesians 4

• 1. Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
• 2. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.
• 3. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace.
• 4. We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future.
• 5. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
• 6. and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.
• 7. However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.
• 8. That is why the Scriptures say, "When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people."
• 9. Notice that it says "he ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live.
• 10. The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe.
• 11. He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
• 12. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ,
• 13. until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
• 14. Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.
• 15. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
• 16. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
• 17. With the Lord's authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused.
• 18. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
• 19. They don't care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed.
• 20. But that isn't what you were taught when you learned about Christ.
• 21. Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus,
• 22. throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.
• 23. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.
• 24. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness--righteous, holy, and true.
• 25. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other.
• 26. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry,
• 27. for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.
• 28. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need.
• 29. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
• 30. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
• 31. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.
• 32. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Ezekiel 37

• 1. The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones.
• 2. He led me around among the old, dry bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground.
• 3. Then he asked me, "Son of man, can these bones become living people again?O Sovereign LORD," I replied, "you alone know the answer to that."
• 4. Then he said to me, "Speak to these bones and say, `Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD!
• 5. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to breathe into you and make you live again!
• 6. I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"
• 7. So I spoke these words, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as they had been before.
• 8. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
• 9. Then he said to me, "Speak to the winds and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so that they may live again.'"
• 10. So I spoke as he commanded me, and the wind entered the bodies, and they began to breathe. They all came to life and stood up on their feet--a great army of them.
• 11. Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, `We have become old, dry bones--all hope is gone.'
• 12. Now give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
• 13. When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD.
• 14. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I am the LORD. You will see that I have done everything just as I promised. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
• 15. Again a message came to me from the LORD:
• 16. "Son of man, take a stick and carve on it these words: `This stick represents Judah and its allied tribes.' Then take another stick and carve these words on it: `This stick represents the northern tribes of Israel.'
• 17. Now hold them together in your hand as one stick.
• 18. When your people ask you what your actions mean,
• 19. say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will make them one stick in my hand.'
• 20. Then hold out the sticks you have inscribed, so the people can see them.
• 21. And give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered.
• 22. I will unify them into one nation in the land. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations.
• 23. They will stop polluting themselves with their detestable idols and other sins, for I will save them from their sinful backsliding. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
• 24. "My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and keep my laws.
• 25. They will live in the land of Israel where their ancestors lived, the land I gave my servant Jacob. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever.
• 26. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and multiply them, and I will put my Temple among them forever.
• 27. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
• 28. And since my Temple will remain among them forever, the nations will know that I, the LORD, have set Israel apart for myself to be holy."

New Living Translation: 277 of 365 days.