Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Confidence in Yahweh
A miktam[a] of David.[b]
16 Protect me, O God,
for I take refuge in you.
2 Oh my soul you have said[c] to Yahweh, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”
3 With regard to the saints who are in the land,
they are the noble ones in whom is all my desire.
4 Those who hurry after[d] another god increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
nor take up their names on my lips.
5 Yahweh is the portion which is my share and my cup.
You hold my lot.
6 The measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
Yes, my inheritance is delightful for me.
7 I will bless Yahweh who advises me;
yes, at night my innermost being[e] instructs me.
8 I have set Yahweh before me always.
Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.
Yes, my body will dwell in safety,
10 for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
you will not give your faithful one to see the grave.
11 You will make known to me the path of life.
In your presence is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forever.
God Judges the King for His Hubris
28 All this happened[a] to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace[b] of Babylon. 30 And the king answered and said, “Is this not the great Babylon which I have built as a royal palace by the strength of my own power, and for the glory of my own majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, saying, ‘To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you will be driven away from human society[c] and your dwelling will be with the animals[d] of the field and they will cause you to graze the grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.’ 33 Immediately[e] the word was fulfilled concerning[f] Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from human society[g] and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair was like the hair of an eagle and his nails grew like a bird’s claws.
The King Praises and Extols the Most High God
34 “But at the end of that period,[h] I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and then my reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and the one who lives forever[i] I praised and I honored.
“For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty,
and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.
35 And all the dwellers of the earth
are regarded as nothing,
and he does according to[j] his desire
in the host of heaven and among the dwellers of earth,
and there is not one who can hold back his hand,
or ask him,[k] ‘What are you doing?’
36 “At that time[l] my reason returned to me, and also the glory of my kingdom and my majesty and splendor returned to me, and my advisers and my lords[m] searched me out, and I was established over my kingdom and abundant greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are truth,[n] and his ways are justice and that he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard
12 And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. 2 And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers. 3 And they seized him and[a] beat him[b] and sent him[c] away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent[d] many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed. 6 He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And they seized and[e] killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What[f] will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the cornerstone.[g]
11 This came about from the Lord,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”[h]
12 And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and[i] went away.
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