Jesus Prays
(Matthew 26.36-46; Luke 22.39-46)

Mark 14³²Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them, "Sit here while I pray."
³³Jesus took along Peter, James, and John. He was sad and troubled and ³⁴told them, "I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me."
^35-36Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, "Father, if it is possible, don't let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don't make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want."
³⁷When Jesus came back and found the disciples sleeping, he said to Simon Peter, "Are you asleep? Can't you stay awake for just one hour? ³⁸Stay awake and pray that you won't be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak."
³⁹Jesus went back and prayed the same prayer. ⁴⁰But when he returned to the disciples, he found them sleeping again. They simply could not keep their eyes open, and they did not know what to say.
⁴¹When Jesus returned to the disciples the third time, he said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough of that! The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinners. ⁴²Get up! Let's go. The one who will betray me is already here."

Jesus Is Arrested
(Matthew 26.47-56; Luke 22.47-53; John 18.3-12)

⁴³Jesus was still speaking, when Judas the betrayer came up. He was one of the twelve disciples, and a mob of men armed with swords and clubs were with him. They had been sent by the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses. ⁴⁴Judas had told them ahead of time, "Arrest the man I greet with a kiss. Tie him up tight and lead him away."
⁴⁵Judas walked right up to Jesus and said, "Teacher!" Then Judas kissed him, ⁴⁶and the men grabbed Jesus and arrested him.
⁴⁷Someone standing there pulled out a sword. He struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
⁴⁸Jesus said to the mob, "Why do you come with swords and clubs to arrest me like a criminal? ⁴⁹Day after day I was with you and taught in the temple, and you didn't arrest me. But what the Scriptures say must come true."
⁵⁰All of Jesus' disciples ran off and left him. ⁵¹One of them was a young man who was wearing only a linen cloth. And when the men grabbed him, ⁵²he left the cloth behind and ran away naked.

Jesus Is Questioned by the Council
(Matthew 26.57-68; Luke 22.54, 55, 63-71; John 18.13, 14, 19-24)

⁵³Jesus was led off to the high priest. Then the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses all met together. ⁵⁴Peter had followed at a distance. And when he reached the courtyard of the high priest's house, he sat down with the guards to warm himself beside a fire.
⁵⁵The chief priests and the whole council tried to find someone to accuse Jesus of a crime, so they could put him to death. But they could not find anyone to accuse him. ⁵⁶Many people did tell lies against Jesus, but they did not agree on what they said. ⁵⁷Finally, some men stood up and lied about him. They said, ⁵⁸"We heard him say he would tear down this temple that we built. He also claimed that in three days he would build another one without any help." ⁵⁹But even then they did not agree on what they said.
⁶⁰The high priest stood up in the council and asked Jesus, "Why don't you say something in your own defense? Don't you hear the charges they are making against you?" ⁶¹But Jesus kept quiet and did not say a word. The high priest asked him another question, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the glorious God?"
⁶²"Yes, I am!" Jesus answered.
"Soon you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right side of God All-Powerful,
and coming with the clouds of heaven."
⁶³At once the high priest ripped his robe apart and shouted, "Why do we need more witnesses? ⁶⁴You heard him claim to be God! What is your decision?" They all agreed that he should be put to death.
⁶⁵Some of the people started spitting on Jesus. They blindfolded him, hit him with their fists, and said, "Tell us who hit you!" Then the guards took charge of Jesus and beat him.

Peter Says He Doesn't Know Jesus
(Matthew 26.69-75; Luke 22.56-62; John 18.15-18, 25-27)

⁶⁶While Peter was still in the courtyard, a servant girl of the high priest came up ⁶⁷and saw Peter warming himself by the fire. She stared at him and said, "You were with Jesus from Nazareth!"
⁶⁸Peter replied, "That isn't true! I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any idea what you mean." He went out to the gate, and a rooster crowed.
⁶⁹The servant girl saw Peter again and said to the people standing there, "This man is one of them!"
⁷⁰"No, I'm not!" Peter replied.
A little while later some of the people said to Peter, "You certainly are one of them. You're a Galilean!"
⁷¹This time Peter began to curse and swear, "I don't even know the man you're talking about!"
⁷²Right away the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had told him, "Before a rooster crows twice, you will say three times that you don't know me." So Peter started crying.

The LORD Appears to Solomon Again
(2 Chronicles 7.11-22)

1 Kings 9The LORD's temple and Solomon's palace were now finished, and Solomon had built everything he wanted. ²Some time later the LORD appeared to him again in a dream, just as he had done at Gibeon. ³The LORD said:

I heard your prayer and what you asked me to do. This temple you have built is where I will be worshiped forever. It belongs to me, and I will never stop watching over it.

⁴You must obey me, as your father David did, and be honest and fair. Obey my laws and teachings, ⁵and I will keep my promise to David that someone from your family will always be king of Israel.

⁶But if you or any of your descendants disobey my commands or start worshiping foreign gods, ⁷I will no longer let my people Israel live in this land I gave them. I will desert this temple where I said I would be worshiped. Then people everywhere will think this nation is only a joke and will make fun of it. ⁸This temple will become a pile of rocks! Everyone who walks by will be shocked, and they will ask, "Why did the LORD do such a terrible thing to his people and to this temple?" ⁹Then they will answer, "We know why the LORD did this. The people of Israel rejected the LORD their God, who rescued their ancestors from Egypt, and they started worshiping other gods."

Other Things Solomon Did
(2 Chronicles 8.1-18)

¹⁰It took twenty years for the LORD's temple and Solomon's palace to be built. ¹¹Later, Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty towns in the region of Galilee to repay him for the cedar, pine, and gold he had given Solomon.
¹²When Hiram went to see the towns, he did not like them. ¹³He said, "Solomon, my friend, are these the kind of towns you want to give me?" So Hiram called the region Cabul because he thought it was worthless. ¹⁴He sent Solomon only five tons of gold in return.
¹⁵After Solomon's workers had finished the temple and the palace, he ordered them to fill in the land on the east side of Jerusalem, to build a wall around the city, and to rebuild the towns of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
¹⁶Earlier, the king of Egypt had captured the town of Gezer; he burned it to the ground and killed the Canaanite people living there. Then he gave it to his daughter as a wedding present when she married Solomon. ¹⁷So Solomon had the town rebuilt.
Solomon had his workers rebuild Lower Beth-Horon, ¹⁸Baalath, and Tamar in the desert of Judah. ¹⁹They also built towns where he could keep his supplies and his chariots and horses. Solomon had them build whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and anywhere in his kingdom.
^20-22Solomon did not force the Israelites to do his work. They were his soldiers, officials, leaders, commanders, chariot captains, and chariot drivers. But he did make slaves of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were living in Israel. These were the descendants of those foreigners the Israelites could not destroy, and they remained Israel's slaves.
²³Solomon appointed five hundred fifty officers to be in charge of his workers and to watch over his building projects.
²⁴Solomon's wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, moved from the older part of Jerusalem to her new palace. Then Solomon had the land on the east side of Jerusalem filled in.
²⁵Three times a year, Solomon burned incense and offered sacrifices to the LORD on the altar he had built.
Solomon had now finished building the LORD's temple.
²⁶He also had a lot of ships at Ezion-Geber, a town in Edom near Eloth on the Red Sea. ^27-28King Hiram let some of his experienced sailors go to the country of Ophir with Solomon's own sailors, and they brought back about sixteen tons of gold for Solomon.

God's Love for His People

Hosea 11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
²But as the saying goes, "The more they were called,
the more they rebelled."
They never stopped offering incense and sacrifices
to the idols of Baal.

³I took Israel by the arm and taught them to walk.
But they would not admit that I was the one
who had healed them.
⁴I led them with kindness and with love,
not with ropes.
I held them close to me; I bent down to feed them.

⁵But they trusted Egypt instead of returning to me;
now Assyria will rule them.
⁶War will visit their cities, and their plans will fail.
⁷My people are determined to reject me for a god
they think is stronger, but he can't help.

⁸Israel, I can't let you go. I can't give you up.
How could I possibly destroy you
as I did the towns of Admah and Zeboiim?
I just can't do it.
My feelings for you are much too strong.
⁹Israel, I won't lose my temper and destroy you again.
I am the Holy God-- not merely some human,
and I won't stay angry.

¹⁰I, the LORD, will roar like a lion,
and my children will return, trembling
from the west.
¹¹They will come back, fluttering like birds from Egypt
or like doves from Assyria.
Then I will bring them back to their homes.
I, the LORD, have spoken!