A Plot To Kill Jesus
(Matthew 26.1-5; Luke 22.1, 2; John 11.45-53)

Mark 14 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were planning how they could sneak around and have Jesus arrested and put to death. ²They were saying, "We must not do it during the festival, because the people will riot."

At Bethany
(Matthew 26.6-13; John 12.1-8)

³Jesus was eating in Bethany at the home of Simon, who once had leprosy, when a woman came in with a very expensive bottle of sweet-smelling perfume. After breaking it open, she poured the perfume on Jesus' head. ⁴This made some of the guests angry, and they complained, "Why such a waste? ⁵We could have sold this perfume for more than three hundred silver coins and given the money to the poor!" So they started saying cruel things to the woman.
⁶But Jesus said:

Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ⁷You will always have the poor with you. And whenever you want to, you can give to them. But you won't always have me here with you. ⁸She has done all she could by pouring perfume on my body to prepare it for burial. ⁹You may be sure that wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will remember what she has done. And they will tell others.

Judas and the Chief Priests
(Matthew 26.14-16; Luke 22.3-6)

¹⁰Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples. He went to the chief priests and offered to help them arrest Jesus. ¹¹They were glad to hear this, and they promised to pay him. So Judas started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus.

Jesus Eats with His Disciples
(Matthew 26.17-25; Luke 22.7-14, 21-23; John 13.21-30)

¹²It was the first day of the Festival of Thin Bread, and the Passover lambs were being killed. Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal?"
¹³Jesus said to two of the disciples, "Go into the city, where you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him, ¹⁴and when he goes into a house, say to the owner, 'Our teacher wants to know if you have a room where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples.' ¹⁵The owner will take you upstairs and show you a large room furnished and ready for you to use. Prepare the meal there."
¹⁶The two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover meal.
^17-18While Jesus and the twelve disciples were eating together that evening, he said, "The one who will betray me is now eating with me."
¹⁹This made the disciples sad, and one after another they said to Jesus, "You surely don't mean me!"
²⁰He answered, "It is one of you twelve men who is eating from this dish with me. ²¹The Son of Man will die, just as the Scriptures say. But it is going to be terrible for the one who betrays me. That man would be better off if he had never been born."

The Lord's Supper
(Matthew 26.26-30; Luke 22.14-23; 1 Corinthians 11.23-25)

²²During the meal Jesus took some bread in his hands. He blessed the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, "Take this. It is my body."
²³Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He gave it to his disciples, and they all drank some. ²⁴Then he said, "This is my blood, which is poured out for many people, and with it God makes his agreement. ²⁵From now on I will not drink any wine, until I drink new wine in God's kingdom." ²⁶Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Peter's Promise
(Matthew 26.31-35; Luke 22.31-34; John 13.36-38)

²⁷Jesus said to his disciples, "All of you will reject me, as the Scriptures say,
'I will strike down the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'
²⁸But after I am raised to life, I will go ahead of you to Galilee."
²⁹Peter spoke up, "Even if all the others reject you, I never will!"
³⁰Jesus replied, "This very night before a rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don't know me."
³¹But Peter was so sure of himself that he said, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never say that I don't know you!"
All the others said the same thing.

Solomon Brings the Sacred Chest to the Temple
(2 Chronicles 5.2--6.2)

1 Kings 8 ^1-2The sacred chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also known as the city of David. But Solomon decided to have the chest moved to the temple while everyone was in Jerusalem, celebrating the Festival of Shelters during Ethanim, the seventh month of the year.
Solomon called together the important leaders of Israel. ^3-4Then the priests and the Levites carried to the temple the sacred chest, the sacred tent, and the objects used for worship. ⁵Solomon and a crowd of people walked in front of the chest, and along the way they sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted.
⁶The priests carried the chest into the most holy place and put it under the winged creatures, ⁷whose wings covered the chest and the poles used for carrying it. ⁸The poles were so long that they could be seen from right outside the most holy place, but not from anywhere else. And they stayed there from then on.
⁹The only things kept in the chest were the two flat stones Moses had put there when the LORD made his agreement with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, after bringing them out of Egypt.
¹⁰Suddenly a cloud filled the temple as the priests were leaving the most holy place. ¹¹The LORD's glory was in the cloud, and the light from it was so bright that the priests could not stay inside to do their work. ¹²Then Solomon prayed:
"Our LORD, you said that you
would live in a dark cloud.
¹³Now I have built a glorious temple
where you can live forever."

Solomon Speaks to the People
(2 Chronicles 6.3-11)

¹⁴Solomon turned toward the people standing there. Then he blessed them ^15-16and said:

Praise the LORD God of Israel! Long ago he brought his people out of Egypt. He later kept his promise to make my father David the king of Israel. The LORD also said that he had not chosen the city where his temple would be built.

¹⁷So when David wanted to build a temple for the LORD God of Israel, ¹⁸the LORD said, "It's good that you want to build a temple where I can be worshiped. ¹⁹But you're not the one to do it. Your son will build a temple to honor me."

²⁰The LORD has done what he promised. I am the king of Israel like my father, and I've built a temple for the LORD our God. ²¹I've also made a place in the temple for the sacred chest. And in that chest are the two flat stones on which is written the solemn agreement the LORD made with our ancestors when he led them out of Egypt.

Solomon Prays at the Temple
(2 Chronicles 6.12-42)

²²Solomon stood facing the altar with everyone standing behind him. Then he lifted his arms toward heaven ²³and prayed:

LORD God of Israel, no other god in heaven or on earth is like you!

You never forget the agreement you made with your people, and you are loyal to anyone who faithfully obeys your teachings. ²⁴My father David was your servant, and today you have kept every promise you made to him.

²⁵LORD God of Israel, you promised my father that someone from his family would always be king of Israel, if they do their best to obey you, just as he did. ²⁶Please keep this promise you made to your servant David.

²⁷There's not enough room in all of heaven for you, LORD God. How could you possibly live on earth in this temple I have built? ²⁸But I ask you to answer my prayer. ²⁹This is the temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. Please watch over it day and night and listen when I turn toward it and pray. ³⁰ I am your servant, and the people of Israel belong to you. So whenever any of us look toward this temple and pray, answer from your home in heaven and forgive our sins.

³¹Suppose someone accuses a person of a crime, and the accused has to stand in front of the altar in your temple and say, "I swear I am innocent!" ³²Listen from heaven and decide who is right. Then punish the guilty person and let the innocent one go free.

³³Suppose your people Israel sin against you, and then an enemy defeats them. If they come to this temple and beg for forgiveness, ³⁴listen from your home in heaven. Forgive them and bring them back to the land you gave their ancestors.

³⁵Suppose your people sin against you, and you punish them by holding back the rain. If they turn toward this temple and pray in your name and stop sinning, ³⁶listen from your home in heaven and forgive them. The people of Israel are your servants, so teach them to live right. And please send rain on the land you promised them forever.

³⁷Sometimes the crops may dry up or rot or be eaten by locusts or grasshoppers, and your people will be starving. Sometimes enemies may surround their towns, or your people will become sick with deadly diseases. ³⁸Listen when anyone in Israel truly feels sorry and sincerely prays with arms lifted toward your temple. ³⁹You know what is in everyone's heart. So from your home in heaven answer their prayers, according to the way they live and what is in their hearts. ⁴⁰Then your people will worship and obey you for as long as they live in the land you gave their ancestors.

^41-42Foreigners will hear about you and your mighty power, and some of them will come to live among your people Israel. If any of them pray toward this temple, ⁴³listen from your home in heaven and answer their prayers. Then everyone on earth will worship you, just like your people Israel, and they will know that I have built this temple to honor you.

⁴⁴Our LORD, sometimes you will order your people to attack their enemies. Then your people will turn toward this temple I have built for you in your chosen city, and they will pray to you. ⁴⁵Answer their prayers from heaven and give them victory.

⁴⁶Everyone sins. But when your people sin against you, suppose you get angry enough to let their enemies drag them away to foreign countries. ^47-49Later, they may feel sorry for what they did and ask your forgiveness. Answer them when they pray toward this temple I have built for you in your chosen city, here in this land you gave their ancestors. From your home in heaven, listen to their sincere prayers and do what they ask. ⁵⁰Forgive your people no matter how much they have sinned against you. Make the enemies who defeated them be kind to them. ⁵¹Remember, they are the people you chose and rescued from Egypt that was like a blazing fire to them.

⁵²I am your servant, and the people of Israel belong to you. So listen when any of us pray and cry out for your help. ⁵³When you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, you told your servant Moses to say to them, "From all people on earth, the LORD God has chosen you to be his very own."

Solomon Blesses the People

⁵⁴When Solomon finished his prayer at the altar, he was kneeling with his arms lifted toward heaven. He stood up, ⁵⁵turned toward the people, blessed them, and said loudly:

⁵⁶Praise the LORD! He has kept his promise and given us peace. Every good thing he promised to his servant Moses has happened.

⁵⁷The LORD our God was with our ancestors to help them, and I pray that he will be with us and never abandon us. ⁵⁸May the LORD help us obey him and follow all the laws and teachings he gave our ancestors.

⁵⁹I pray that the LORD our God will remember my prayer day and night. May he help everyone in Israel each day, in whatever way we need it. ⁶⁰Then every nation will know that the LORD is the only true God.

⁶¹Obey the LORD our God and follow his commands with all your heart, just as you are doing today.

Solomon Dedicates the Temple
(2 Chronicles 7.4-10)

^62-63Solomon and the people dedicated the temple to the LORD by offering twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep as sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing. ⁶⁴On that day, Solomon dedicated the courtyard in front of the temple and made it acceptable for worship. He offered the sacrifices there because the bronze altar in front of the temple was too small.
⁶⁵Solomon and the huge crowd celebrated the Festival of Shelters at the temple for seven days. There were people from as far away as the Egyptian Gorge in the south and Lebo-Hamath in the north. ⁶⁶Then on the eighth day, he sent everyone home. They said good-by and left, very happy, because of all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

Hosea Warns Israel

Hosea 9¹⁷Israel, you disobeyed my God.
Now he will force you to roam from nation to nation.
Hosea 10You were a healthy vine covered with grapes.
But the more grapes you grew,
the more altars you built;
the better off you became,
the better shrines you set up for pagan gods.
²You are deceitful and disloyal.
So you will pay for your sins,
because the LORD will destroy your altars and images.

³"We don't have a king," you will say.
"We don't fear the LORD. And what good are kings?"
⁴Israel, you break treaties and don't keep promises;
you turn justice into poisonous weeds
where healthy plants should grow.

⁵All who live in Samaria tremble with concern
for the idols at sinful Bethel.
The idol there was the pride of the priests,
but it has been put to shame; now everyone will cry.
⁶It will be taken to Assyria and given to the great king.
Then Israel will be disgraced for worshiping that idol.

⁷Like a twig in a stream,
the king of Samaria will be swept away.
⁸The altars at sinful Bethel will be destroyed
for causing Israel to sin;
they will be grown over with thorns and thistles.
Then everyone will beg the mountains and hills
to cover and protect them.

The LORD Promises To Punish Israel

⁹Israel, you have never stopped sinning
since that time at Gibeah.
That's why you will be attacked at Gibeah.
¹⁰Your sins have doubled, and you are rebellious.
Now I have decided to send nations to attack
and put you in chains.

¹¹Once you were obedient
like a calf that loved to thresh grain.
But I will put a harness on your powerful neck;
you and Judah must plow and cultivate the ground.
¹²Plow your fields, scatter seeds of justice,
and harvest faithfulness.
Worship me, the LORD, and I will send my saving power
down like rain.
¹³You have planted evil, harvested injustice,
and eaten the fruit of your lies.
You trusted your own strength and your powerful forces.
¹⁴So war will break out,
and your fortresses will be destroyed.
Your enemies will do to you what Shalman did
to the people of Beth-Arbel--
mothers and their children will be beaten to death
against rocks.
¹⁵Bethel, this will be your fate because of your evil.
Israel, at dawn your king will be killed.