As Jesus looked up, he saw
the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.2 He also
saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more
than all the others.4 All
these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty
put in all she had to live on.”
When all the work Solomon had done for
the temple of the Lord was
finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver
and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s
temple.
2 Then
Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes
and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of
David. 3 And all the Israelites came together to the king at
the time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When
all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and
they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings
in it. The Levitical priests carried them up; 6 and King
Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were
before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be
recorded or counted.
7 The
priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s
covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy
Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The
cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and
its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends,
extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but
not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There
was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at
Horeb, where the Lord made a
covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11 The
priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had
consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All
the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and
relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and
playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding
trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to
give praise and thanks to the Lord.
Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised
their voices in praise to the Lord
and sang:
“He
is good;
his love endures forever.”
Then
the temple of the Lord was filled
with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their
service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
45 While
all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware
of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love
to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important
seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They
devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be
punished most severely.”
