Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for the Prosperity of God’s Anointed King
Of Solomon.[a]
72 O God, give your judgments to the king,
and your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 Let the mountains yield prosperity[b] for the people,
and the hills in righteousness.
4 May he provide justice for the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live long[c] while the sun endures[d]
as long as the moon[e] for all generations.[f]
6 May he descend like rain on mown grass,
like showers watering the earth.
7 May what is right blossom in his days
and an abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 And may he rule from sea up to sea,
and from the River[g] to the edges of the land.
9 Let the desert dwellers bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts,
11 and let all kings bow down to him.
Let all nations serve him.
12 Indeed he will deliver the needy who is crying for help,
and the afflicted who has no helper.
13 He will take pity on the helpless and needy,
and the lives of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and from violence
he will redeem their lives,
and their blood will be precious in his eyes.
15 So may he live, and may gold from Sheba be given to him,
and may prayers be offered for him continually.
May blessings be invoked for him all day long.[h]
16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land
even on the top of the mountains.
May his crop[i] sway like the trees of Lebanon,
and may those from the city blossom like the grass of the earth.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase as long as the sun shines,[j]
and let them be blessed in him.
Let all nations call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba
10 Now the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon regarding the name of Yahweh, and she came to test him with hard questions. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with very great wealth; with camels carrying spices, very much gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon, and she spoke to him all that was on her heart. 3 Solomon answered all of her questions;[a] there was not a thing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba observed all the wisdom of Solomon and the house which he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seat of his servants, the manner[b] of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered in the house of Yahweh, she was breathless.[c] 6 Then she said to the king, “The report which I heard in my land was true concerning your accomplishments and your wisdom. 7 I had not believed the report to be true until I came and my eyes had seen, and behold! The half had not been told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass[d] the report that I had heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants who stand before you continually hearing your wisdom. 9 May Yahweh your God be blessed, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel, because of the love of Yahweh for Israel forever, and he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, abundant spices, and precious stones. Spices as these did not come again in such abundance as that which the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon.
11 Moreover, the fleet of ships of Hiram which carried the gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir abundant amounts of almug wood and precious stones. 12 The king made a raised structure for the house of Yahweh and for the house of the king out of the almug wood, as well as lyres and harps for the singers. This much almug wood has not come nor been seen again up to this day. 13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all of her desire that she asked, besides that which King Solomon freely offered her.[e] Then she turned and went to her land with her servants.
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 On account of this, I bend my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every[a] family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that he may grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (you having been firmly rooted and established in love), 18 in order that you may be strong enough to grasp together with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
20 Now to the one who is able to do beyond all measure more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that is at work in us, 21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
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