Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Davidic Miktam.(A)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.(B)
2 I[a] said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides You.”[b](C)
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,(D)
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.(E)
5 Lord, You are my portion[c]
and my cup of blessing;
You hold my future.(F)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.(G)
The Dream
4 [a]I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.(A) 5 I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.(B) 6 So I issued a decree(C) to bring all the wise men of Babylon to me in order that they might make the dream’s interpretation known to me.(D) 7 When the diviner-priests, mediums, Chaldeans, and astrologers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.(E)
8 Finally Daniel, named Belteshazzar(F) after the name of my god—and the spirit of the holy gods is in him(G)—came before me. I told him the dream: 9 “Belteshazzar, head of the diviners, because I know that you have a spirit of the holy gods(H) and that no mystery puzzles you,(I) explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation. 10 In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:
There was a tree in the middle of the earth,
and its height was great.
11 The tree grew large and strong;
its top reached to the sky,
and it was visible to the ends of the[b] earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,
and on it was food for all.
Wild animals found shelter under it,
the birds of the air(J) lived in its branches,
and every creature was fed from it.(K)
13 “As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind an observer, a holy one,[c](L) coming down from heaven. 14 He called out loudly:
Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the animals flee from under it,
and the birds from its branches.(M)
15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground,(N)
and with a band of iron and bronze around it,
in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be drenched with dew from the sky
and share the plants of the earth(O)
with the animals.
16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man,
and let him be given the mind of an animal
for seven periods of time.[d][e](P)
17 This word is by decree of the observers;
the matter is a command from the holy ones.
This is so the living will know
that the Most High is ruler
over the kingdom of men.
He gives it to anyone He wants
and sets the lowliest of men over it.(Q)
18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can make the interpretation known to me.(R) But you can, because you have the spirit of the holy gods.”
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, run from these things,
and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love,(A) endurance,(B) and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight(C) for the faith;
take hold of eternal life(D)
that you were called to
and have made a good confession about
in the presence of many witnesses.
13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all,(E) and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate,(F) I charge you 14 to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing(G) of our Lord(H) Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in His own time.(I) He is
the blessed and only(J) Sovereign,
the King of kings,(K)
and the Lord of lords,(L)
16 the only One who has immortality,
dwelling in unapproachable light;(M)
no one has seen or can see Him,(N)
to Him be honor and eternal might.(O)
Amen.(P)
Instructions to the Rich
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant(Q) or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God,[a] who richly provides us with all things(R) to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works,(S) to be generous, willing to share,(T) 19 storing up for themselves a good reserve[b] for the age to come,(U) so that they may take hold of life that is real.
Guard the Heritage
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you,(V) avoiding(W) irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the “knowledge” that falsely bears that name.(X) 21 By professing it, some(Y) people have deviated from the faith.(Z)
Grace be with all of you.
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