Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Give the King Your Justice
Of (A)Solomon.
72 Give the king your (B)justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he (C)judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear (D)prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you[a] while (E)the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, (F)throughout all generations!
6 May he be like (G)rain that falls on (H)the mown grass,
like (I)showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may (J)the righteous flourish,
and (K)peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from (L)sea to sea,
and from (M)the River[b] to the (N)ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes (O)bow down before him,
and his enemies (P)lick the dust!
10 May the kings of (Q)Tarshish and of (R)the coastlands
render him (S)tribute;
may the kings of (T)Sheba and (U)Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings (V)fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 For he delivers (W)the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and (X)precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may (Y)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made (Z)for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people (AA)blossom in the cities
like the (AB)grass of the field!
17 (AC)May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
(AD)May people be blessed in him,
(AE)all nations call him blessed!
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; (A)his spirit was troubled, and (B)his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that (C)the magicians, (D)the enchanters, the (E)sorcerers, and (F)the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and (G)stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and (H)my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then (I)the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,[a] (J)“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to (K)the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be (L)torn limb from limb, (M)and your (N)houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, (O)you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. (P)Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to (Q)gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, (R)there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till (S)the times change. (T)Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 (U)The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or (V)Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except (W)the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 Because of this the king was angry and (X)very furious, and (Y)commanded that all (Z)the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought (AA)Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to (AB)Arioch, the (AC)captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared[b] to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king (AD)so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to (AE)Hananiah, (AF)Mishael, and (AG)Azariah, his companions, 18 (AH)and told them to seek mercy from the (AI)God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not (AJ)be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in (AK)a vision of the night. Then Daniel (AL)blessed the (AM)God of heaven.
The New Life
17 Now this I say and (A)testify in the Lord, (B)that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, (C)in the futility of their minds. 18 They (D)are darkened in their understanding, (E)alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to (F)their hardness of heart. 19 They (G)have become callous and (H)have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you (I)learned Christ!— 21 assuming that (J)you have heard about him and (K)were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to (L)put off (M)your old self,[a] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through (N)deceitful desires, 23 and (O)to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on (P)the new self, (Q)created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you (R)speak the truth with his neighbor, for (S)we are members one of another. 26 (T)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and (U)give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather (V)let him labor, (W)doing honest work with his own hands, so (X)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 (Y)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give (Z)grace to those who hear. 30 And (AA)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, (AB)by whom you were sealed for the day of (AC)redemption. 31 (AD)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 (AE)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (AF)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Walk in Love
5 (AG)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.