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!
Balaam's Final Oracle
15 (A)And he took up his discourse and said,
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
and knows the knowledge of (B)the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
(C)falling down with his eyes uncovered:
17 (D)I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
(E)a star shall come out of Jacob,
and (F)a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall (G)crush the forehead[a] of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
18 (H)Edom shall be dispossessed;
(I)Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.
Israel is doing valiantly.
19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion
and destroy the survivors of cities!”
Zechariah's Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah (A)was filled with the Holy Spirit and (B)prophesied, saying,
68 (C)“Blessed be the Lord (D)God of Israel,
for he has (E)visited and (F)redeemed his people
69 and (G)has raised up (H)a horn of salvation for us
(I)in the house of his servant David,
70 (J)as (K)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (L)that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (M)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and (N)to remember his holy (O)covenant,
73 (P)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him (Q)without fear,
75 (R)in holiness and righteousness before him (S)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (T)the prophet of (U)the Most High;
for (V)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
(W)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (X)tender mercy of our God,
whereby (Y)the sunrise shall (Z)visit us[a] (AA)from on high
79 to (AB)give light to (AC)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into (AD)the way of (AE)peace.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.