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 a decision by what His ears hear;
4 But with (I)righteousness He will judge the (J)poor,
And decide with fairness for the (K)afflicted 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 about His loins,
And (O)faithfulness the belt about 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 fatling 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—
Even 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 labor to give birth,
Daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in childbirth;
For now you will (F)go out of the city,
Dwell 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 polluted,
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 purpose;
For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Arise and (K)thresh, daughter of Zion,
For your horn I will make iron
And your hoofs I will make bronze,
That you may (L)pulverize many peoples,
That you may (M)devote to the Lord their unjust gain
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
31 “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘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 drinking no 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]drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and [b]sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom (B)is vindicated by all her children.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.