Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Guidance
To the Chief Musician. With [a]flutes. A Psalm of David.
5 Give (A)ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b]meditation.
2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
(B)In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil [c]dwell with You.
5 The (C)boastful shall not (D)stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the (E)bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward [d]Your holy temple.
8 (F)Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.
9 For there is no [e]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
(G)Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
10 Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You [f]defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
The Command to Crown Joshua
9 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 10 “Receive the gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold, make (A)an[a] elaborate crown, and set it on the head of (B)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:
“Behold, (C)the Man whose name is the (D)BRANCH!
From His place He shall [b]branch out,
(E)And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He (F)shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So (G)He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between [c]them both.” ’
14 “Now the [d]elaborate crown shall be (H)for a memorial in the temple of the Lord [e]for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 Even (I)those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
A Heavenly Inheritance
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who (B)according to His abundant mercy (C)has begotten us again to a living hope (D)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance [a]incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, (E)reserved in heaven for you, 5 (F)who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 (G)In this you greatly rejoice, though now (H)for a little while, if need be, (I)you have been [b]grieved by various trials, 7 that (J)the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though (K)it is tested by fire, (L)may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 (M)whom having not [c]seen you love. (N)Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.