Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 72
A Prayer for the King
Solomonic.(A)
1 God, give Your justice to the king
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.(B)
2 He will judge Your people with righteousness
and Your afflicted ones with justice.(C)
3 May the mountains bring prosperity[a] to the people
and the hills, righteousness.(D)
4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.(E)
5 May he continue[b] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.(F)
6 May he be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.(G)
7 May the righteous[c] flourish in his days
and prosperity[d] abound
until the moon is no more.(H)
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.(I)
9 May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.(J)
10 May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(K)
11 Let all kings bow down to him,
all nations serve him.(L)
12 For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.(M)
13 He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.(N)
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are[e] precious[f] in his sight.(O)
15 May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.(P)
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.(Q)
17 May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.(R)
Solomon’s Wealth
14 The weight(A) of gold that came to Solomon annually was 25 tons,[a] 15 besides what came from merchants,(B) traders’ merchandise, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.(C)
16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds[b] of gold went into each shield. 17 He made 300 small shields of hammered gold; about four pounds[c] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(D)
18 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps; there was a rounded top at the back of the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon(E) were pure gold.(F) There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 22 for the king had ships of Tarshish(G) at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[d](H)
23 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom.(I) 24 The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.(J) 25 Every man would bring his annual tribute: items[e] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,[f] spices, and horses and mules.(K)
7 Now grace was given to each one of us(A) according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift.
11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,(A) 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,(B) growing into a mature man with a stature(C) measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,(D) by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head(E)—Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together(F) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth(G) of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
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