Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 God, your throne will last forever and ever.
You will rule your kingdom with fairness.
7 You love right and hate evil,
so God has chosen you from among your friends;
he has set you apart with much joy.
8 Your clothes smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From palaces of ivory
music comes to make you happy.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women.
Your bride stands at your right side
wearing gold from Ophir.
10 Listen to me, daughter; look and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s family.
11 The king loves your beauty.
Because he is your master, you should obey him.
12 People from the city of Tyre have brought a gift.
Wealthy people will want to meet you.
13 The princess is very beautiful.
Her gown is woven with gold.
14 In her beautiful clothes she is brought to the king.
Her bridesmaids follow behind her,
and they are also brought to him.
15 They come with happiness and joy;
they enter the king’s palace.
16 You will have sons to replace your fathers.
You will make them rulers through all the land.
17 I will make your name famous from now on,
so people will praise you forever and ever.
New Jerusalem
62 Because I love Jerusalem, I will continue to speak for her;
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not stop speaking
until her goodness shines like a bright light,
until her salvation burns bright like a flame.
2 Jerusalem, the nations will see your goodness,
and all kings will see your glory.
Then you will have a new name,
which the Lord himself will give you.
3 You will be like a beautiful crown in the Lord’s hand,
like a king’s crown in your God’s hand.
4 You will never again be called the People that God Left,
nor your land the Land that God Destroyed.
You will be called the People God Loves,
and your land will be called the Bride of God,
because the Lord loves you.
And your land will belong to him as a bride belongs to her husband.
5 As a young man marries a woman,
so your children will marry your land.
As a man rejoices over his new wife,
so your God will rejoice over you.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea, where he stayed with his followers and baptized people. 23 John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put into prison.)
25 Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing.[a] 26 So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about so much? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him. 28 You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but I am the one sent to prepare the way for him.’ 29 The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. But the friend who helps the bridegroom stands by and listens to him. He is thrilled that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice. In the same way, I am really happy. 30 He must become greater, and I must become less important.
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 “The One who comes from above is greater than all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. 33 Whoever accepts what he says has proven that God is true. 34 The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit fully. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. 36 Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who do not obey the Son will never have life. God’s anger stays on them.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.