Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
96 Sing a new song[a] to the Lord!
Let the whole world sing to the Lord!
2 Sing to the Lord and praise his name!
Tell the good news every day about how he saves us!
3 Tell all the nations how wonderful he is!
Tell people everywhere about the amazing things he does.
4 The Lord is great and worthy of praise.
He is more awesome than any of the “gods.”
5 All the “gods” in other nations are nothing but statues,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 He lives in the presence of glory and honor.
His Temple is a place of power and beauty.
7 Praise the Lord, all people of every nation;
praise the Lord’s glory and power.
8 Give the Lord praise worthy of his glory!
Come, bring your offerings into his courtyard.
9 Worship the Lord in all his holy beauty.
Everyone on earth should tremble before him.
10 Tell the nations that the Lord is King!
The world stands firm and cannot be moved.
He will judge all people fairly.
11 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be happy!
Let the sea and everything in it shout for joy!
12 Let the fields and everything in them be happy!
Let the trees in the forest sing for joy
13 when they see the Lord coming!
He is coming to rule[a] the world.
He will rule all the nations of the world
with justice and fairness.
3 In the past, you were slaves. People forced you to work hard. But the Lord will take away the hard work you were forced to do.
A Song About the King of Babylon
4 At that time you will begin to sing this song about the king of Babylon:
The king was cruel when he ruled us,
but now his rule is finished.
5 The Lord breaks the scepter of evil rulers;
he takes away their power.
6 In anger, the king of Babylon beat the people.
He never stopped beating them.
He was an evil ruler who ruled in anger.
He never stopped hurting people.
7 But now, the whole country rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to celebrate.
8 You were an evil king,
and now you are finished.
Even the pine trees are happy.
The cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king chopped us down,
but now the king has fallen,
and he will never stand again.”
9 The place of death is excited
that you are coming.
Sheol is waking the spirits
of all the leaders of the earth for you.
Sheol is making the kings stand up
from their thrones to meet you.
10 They will make fun of you, saying,
“Now you are as dead as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your pride has been sent down to Sheol.
The music from your harps announces the coming of your proud spirit.
Maggots will be the bed you lie on,
and other worms will cover your body like a blanket.
Herod Thinks Jesus Is John the Baptizer(A)
14 About that time, Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard what the people were saying about Jesus. 2 So he said to his servants, “This man is really John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why he can do these miracles.”
How John the Baptizer Was Killed
3 Before this time, Herod had arrested John. He had him chained and put in prison. He arrested John because of Herodias, the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. 4 John had told him, “It is not right for you to be married to Herodias.” 5 Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John was a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him and his group. Herod was very pleased with her. 7 So he promised that he would give her anything she wanted. 8 Herodias told her daughter what to ask for. So she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptizer here on this plate.”
9 King Herod was very sad. But he had promised to give the daughter anything she wanted. And the people eating with Herod had heard his promise. So he ordered what she asked to be done. 10 He sent men to the prison, where they cut off John’s head. 11 And the men brought John’s head on a plate and gave it to the girl. Then she took the head to her mother, Herodias. 12 John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what happened.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International