Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 (A)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A (B)scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (C)anointed You
With the oil of (D)gladness more than Your companions.
8 All Your garments are (E)scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,
Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
9 (F)Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women;
(G)At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
(H)Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
(I)Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
(J)The rich among the people will seek your favor.
13 The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace;
Her clothing is woven with gold.
14 (K)She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors;
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
They shall enter the King’s palace.
Assurance of Zion’s Salvation
62 For Zion’s sake I will not [a]hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
2 (A)The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all (B)kings your glory.
(C)You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
3 You shall also be (D)a crown of glory
In the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.
4 (E)You shall no longer be termed (F)Forsaken,[b]
Nor shall your land any more be termed (G)Desolate;[c]
But you shall be called [d]Hephzibah, and your land [e]Beulah;
For the Lord delights in you,
And your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So shall your sons marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
(H)So shall your God rejoice over you.
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them (A)and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near (B)Salim, because there was much water there. (C)And they came and were baptized. 24 For (D)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, (E)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all (F)are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, (G)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (H)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, (I)‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 (J)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but (K)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 (L)He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 (M)He who comes from above (N)is above all; (O)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. (P)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And (Q)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony (R)has certified that God is true. 34 (S)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit (T)by measure. 35 (U)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 (V)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the (W)wrath of God abides on him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.