Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Righteous Reign of the Branch
11 Then a (A)shoot will spring from the (B)stem of Jesse,
And a (C)Branch from (D)his roots will bear fruit.
2 The (E)Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of (F)wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and (G)strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes (H)see,
Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
4 But with (I)righteousness He will judge the (J)poor,
And decide with fairness for the (K)humble of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the (L)rod of His mouth,
And with the (M)breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also (N)righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
And (O)faithfulness the belt around His waist.
6 And the (P)wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion [a]and the fattened steer will be together;
And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the (Q)lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
9 They will (R)not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the (S)earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
8 As for you, [a](A)tower of the flock,
[b]Hill of the daughter of Zion,
To you it will come—
Yes, the (B)former dominion will come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 “Now, why do you (C)cry out loudly?
Is there no king among you,
Or has your (D)counselor perished,
That agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth?
10 (E)Writhe and scream,
Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you will (F)go out of the city,
Live in the field,
And go to Babylon.
(G)There you will be rescued,
(H)There the Lord will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 And now (I)many nations have been assembled against you
Who say, ‘Let her be defiled,
And let our eyes [c]gloat over Zion!’
12 But they do not (J)know the thoughts of the Lord,
And they do not understand His plan;
For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and (K)thresh, daughter of Zion,
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs bronze,
So that you may (L)pulverize many peoples,
And (M)dedicate to the Lord their unjust profit,
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come neither (A)eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [a]heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and [b]sinners!’ 35 And yet wisdom (B)is vindicated by all her children.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.