Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Miktam of David.(A)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.(B)
2 I[a] said to the Lord, “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)
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me(H)—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.[d](I)
8 I always let the Lord guide me.[e]
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.(J)
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.(K)
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;(L)
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.(M)
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;(N)
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.(O)
The Dream
4 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 magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners 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 a spirit of the holy gods is in him(G)—came before me. I told him the dream: 9 “Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, because I know that you have the 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 it was very tall.
11 The tree grew large and strong;
its top reached to the sky,(J)
and it was visible to the ends of the[a] earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,
and on it was food for all.(K)
Wild animals found shelter under it,
the birds of the sky(L) lived in its branches,
and every creature was fed from it.(M)
13 “As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one,[b](N) coming down from heaven.(O) 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.(P)
15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground(Q)
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(R)
with the animals.
16 Let his mind be changed from that of a human,
and let him be given the mind of an animal
for seven periods of time.[c][d](S)
17 This word is by decree of the watchers,
and the decision is by command from the holy ones.
This is so that the living will know
that the Most High is ruler
over human kingdoms.
He gives them to anyone he wants
and sets the lowliest of people over them.(T)
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.(U) But you can, because you have a spirit of the holy gods.”
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,(A) endurance,(B) and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight(C) of the faith. Take hold of eternal life(D) to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession 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 this 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 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,(M) whom no one has seen or can see,(N) to him be honor and eternal power.(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 and willing to share,(T) 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age,(U) so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Guard the Heritage
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you,(V) avoiding(W) irreverent and empty speech and contradictions from what is falsely called knowledge.(X) 21 By professing it, some(Y) people have departed from the faith.(Z)
Grace be with you all.
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