2 Chronicles 2

SOLOMON’S LETTER TO HIRAM
Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself,
2 so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.

3 Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram of Tyre:

Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in. 4 Now I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God in order to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for displaying the rows of the Bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel permanently. 5 The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain him? Who am I then that I should build a temple for him except as a place to burn incense before him? 7 Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, appointed by my father David. 8 Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants 9 to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wondrous. 10 I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, one hundred twenty thousand bushels of wheat flour, one hundred twenty thousand bushels of barley, one hundred twenty thousand gallons of wine, and one hundred twenty thousand gallons of oil.

HIRAM’S REPLY
11 Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter and sent it to Solomon:

Because the Lord loves his people, he set you over them as king.

12 Hiram also said:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 13 I have now sent Huram-abi, a skillful man who has understanding. 14 He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David. 15 Now, let my lord send the wheat, barley, oil, and wine to his servants as promised. 16 We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.

SOLOMON’S WORKFORCE
17 Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted, and the total was 153,600. 18 Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

1 John 2

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father ​— ​Jesus Christ the righteous one.
2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.

GOD’S COMMANDS
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother or sister remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

REASONS FOR WRITING
12 I am writing to you, little children,

since your sins have been forgiven

on account of his name.

13 I am writing to you, fathers,

because you have come to know

the one who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have conquered the evil one.

14 I have written to you, children,

because you have come to know the Father.

I have written to you, fathers,

because you have come to know

the one who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

because you are strong,

God’s word remains in you,

and you have conquered the evil one.

A WARNING ABOUT THE WORLD
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world ​— ​the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions ​— ​is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

THE LAST HOUR
18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.

REMAINING WITH GOD
24 What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.

26 I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in him.

GOD’S CHILDREN
28 So now, little children, remain in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

Nahum 1

The pronouncement concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

GOD’S VENGEANCE
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against his foes;
he is furious with his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up,
and he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles at his presence —
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
even rocks are shattered before him.
DESTRUCTION OF NINEVEH
7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
he cares for those who take refuge in him.
8 But he will completely destroy Nineveh
with an overwhelming flood,
and he will chase his enemies into darkness.
9 Whatever you plot against the Lord,
he will bring it to complete destruction;
oppression will not rise up a second time.
10 For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.
11 One has gone out from you,
who plots evil against the Lord,
and is a wicked counselor.
PROMISE OF JUDAH’S DELIVERANCE
12 This is what the Lord says:

Though they are strong and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he will pass away.
Though I have punished you,
I will punish you no longer.
13 For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.
THE ASSYRIAN KING’S DEMISE
14 The Lord has issued an order concerning you:

There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.
15 Look to the mountains —
the feet of the herald,
who proclaims peace.
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.

Psalm 110

THE PRIESTLY KING
A psalm of David.

This is the declaration of the Lord
to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion.
Rule over your surrounding enemies.
3 Your people will volunteer
on your day of battle.
In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of your youth belongs to you.
4 The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back:
“You are a priest forever
according to the pattern of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his anger.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses;
he will crush leaders over the entire world.
7 He will drink from the brook by the road;
therefore, he will lift up his head.

Psalm 111

PRAISE FOR THE LORD’S WORKS
Hallelujah!
I will praise the Lord with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
2 The Lord’s works are great,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 All that he does is splendid and majestic;
his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He has provided food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works
by giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are truth and justice;
all his instructions are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
enacted in truth and in uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to his people.
He has ordained his covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his instructions have good insight.
His praise endures forever.

— 2 Chronicles 2, 1 John 2, Nahum 1, Psalm 110-111 (CSB)