Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 2

¹ Why do the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme?

² The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ). They say,^(A)

³ Let us break Their bands [of restraint] asunder and cast Their cords [of control] from us.

⁴ He Who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].

⁵ He speaks to them in His deep anger and troubles (terrifies and confounds) them in His displeasure and fury, saying,

⁶ Yet have I anointed (installed and placed) My King [firmly] on My holy hill of Zion.

⁷ I will declare the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son; this day [I declare] I have begotten You.^(B)

⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.

⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like potters’ ware.^(C)

¹⁰ Now therefore, O you kings, act wisely; be instructed and warned, O you rulers of the earth.

¹¹ Serve the Lord with reverent awe and worshipful fear; rejoice and be in high spirits with trembling [lest you displease Him].

¹² Kiss the Son [pay homage to Him in purity], lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for soon shall His wrath be kindled. O blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him!

²⁰ And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

²¹ See [says the Lord], I will bring evil on you and utterly sweep away and cut off from Ahab every male, bond and free,

²² And will make your household like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the household of Baasha son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.

²³ Also the Lord said of Jezebel: The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

²⁴ Any belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and any who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat.^(A)

²⁵ For there was no one who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, incited by his wife Jezebel.

²⁶ He did very abominably in going after idols, as had the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the Israelites.

²⁷ When Ahab heard those words of Elijah, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his flesh, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went quietly.

²⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

²⁹ Do you see how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his lifetime, but in his son’s day I will bring the evil upon his house.

⁹ And as they were coming back down the mountain, He admonished and ^[a]expressly ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man should rise from among the dead.

¹⁰ So they carefully and faithfully kept the matter to themselves, questioning and disputing with one another about what rising from among the dead meant.

¹¹ And they asked Him, Why do the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?^(A)

¹² And He said to them, Elijah, it is true, does come first to restore all things and ^[b]set them to rights. And how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be utterly despised and be treated with contempt and rejected?^(B)

¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and [people] did to him whatever they desired, as it is written of him.