Wednesday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. At that time Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel — all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites — to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David. 2Verse 2. And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim. 3Verse 3. When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4Verse 4. and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up. 5Verse 5. There, before the ark, King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled with him sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6Verse 6. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7Verse 7. For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8Verse 8. The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day. 9Verse 9. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt. 10Verse 10. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD 11Verse 11. so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12Verse 12. Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud. 13Verse 13. I have indeed built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.” 14Verse 14. And as the whole assembly of Israel stood there, the king turned around and blessed them all 15Verse 15. and said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying, 16Verse 16. ‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 17Verse 17. Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18Verse 18. But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart. 19Verse 19. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’ 20Verse 20. Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21Verse 21. And there I have provided a place for the ark, which contains the covenant of the LORD that He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

13Verse 13. There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine. 14Verse 14. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace. 15Verse 15. When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!” 16Verse 16. “Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17Verse 17. So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock. 18Verse 18. When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19Verse 19. Why should we perish before your eyes— we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” 20Verse 20. So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21Verse 21. and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other. 22Verse 22. However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land. 23Verse 23. Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land. 24Verse 24. At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.” 25Verse 25. “You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26Verse 26. So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.