2 Samuel 23:1-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Last Words of David
23 Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man whom God exalted,[a]
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:(A)
2 The spirit of the Lord speaks through me;
his word is upon my tongue.(B)
3 The God of Israel has spoken;
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
“One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,(C)
4 is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.”(D)
5 Is not my house like this with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
Will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?(E)
6 But the godless[b] are all like thorns that are thrown away,
for they cannot be picked up with the hand;(F)
7 to touch them one uses an iron bar
or the shaft of a spear.
And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.[c]
Revelation 1:4-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,(A) 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed[a] us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests serving[b] his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.(B)
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him,
and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
So it is to be. Amen.(C)
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.(D)
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