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!
24 Therefore Daniel went in to (A)Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”
25 Then (B)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king (C)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found (D)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, (E)whose name was Belteshazzar, (F)“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, (G)enchanters, (H)magicians, or (I)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but (J)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar (K)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and (L)the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, (M)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But (N)as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that (O)you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 (P)The head of this image was of fine gold, (Q)its chest and arms of silver, its middle and (R)thighs of bronze, 33 (S)its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out (T)by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and (U)broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became (V)like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that (W)not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became (X)a great mountain (Y)and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, (Z)the king of kings, to whom (AA)the God of heaven (AB)has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, (AC)the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are (AD)the head of gold. 39 (AE)Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom (AF)of bronze, (AG)which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And (AH)there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron (AI)breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall (AJ)break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw (AK)the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the (AL)firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,[a] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings (AM)the God of heaven will set up (AN)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. (AO)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and (AP)it shall stand forever, 45 just as (AQ)you saw that (AR)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that (AS)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A (AT)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
Daniel Is Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar (AU)fell upon his face and (AV)paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that (AW)an offering and (AX)incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your (AY)God is God of gods and (AZ)Lord of kings, and (BA)a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great (BB)gifts, and made him ruler over the whole (BC)province of Babylon and (BD)chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he (BE)appointed (BF)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of (BG)the province of Babylon. But Daniel (BH)remained at the king's court.
15 (A)Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 (B)making the best use of the time, because (C)the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what (D)the will of the Lord is. 18 And (E)do not get drunk with wine, for that is (F)debauchery, but (G)be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in (H)psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 (I)giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father (J)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.