Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Righteous Reign of the Branch
11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of (A)Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And (B)the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
(C)He shall not judge by (D)what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by (E)what his ears hear,
4 but (F)with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall (G)strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and (H)with the breath of his lips (I)he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and (J)faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 (K)The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 (L)They shall not hurt or destroy
in all (M)my holy mountain;
(N)for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
the former dominion shall come,
kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
(A)Is there no king in you?
(B)Has your counselor perished,
that (C)pain seized you like a woman in labor?
10 (D)Writhe and groan,[a] O daughter of Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for (E)now you shall go out from the city
and dwell in the open country;
you (F)shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
(G)there the Lord will redeem you
from the hand of your enemies.
11 Now (H)many nations
are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
and (I)let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But (J)they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that (K)he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron,
and I will make your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
and (L)shall devote[b] (M)their gain to the Lord,
their wealth to (N)the Lord of the whole earth.
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist has come (A)eating no bread and (B)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come (C)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, (D)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet (E)wisdom is justified by all her children.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.