Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, O God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the (J)righteous flourish,
And (K)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring presents;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [q]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [r]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [s](Y)rescue their [t]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let [u]them pray for him continually;
Let [v]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [w]increase [x](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (AF)bless themselves by him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
The King’s Forgotten Dream
2 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar [a](A)had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his (B)sleep [b]left him. 2 Then the king [c]gave orders to call in the [d](C)magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the [e]Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I [f](D)had a dream and my spirit [g]is anxious to [h]understand the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in [i](E)Aramaic: “(F)O king, live forever! (G)Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “[j]The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be [k](H)torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me (I)gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king (J)tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are [l]bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that [m]the command from me is firm, 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only (K)one [n]decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt [o]words before me until the [p]situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may (L)know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered [q]the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter [r]for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any [s](M)magician, conjurer or Chaldean. 11 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is [t]difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it [u]to the king except (N)gods, whose (O)dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”
12 Because of this the king became (P)indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the [v]decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for (Q)Daniel and his friends to [w]kill them.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to (R)Arioch, the captain of the king’s [x]bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the [y]decree from the king so [z]urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would [aa]give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, (S)Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 so that they might (T)request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be (U)destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night (V)vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;
The Christian’s Walk
17 (A)So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, (B)that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the (C)futility of their mind, 18 being (D)darkened in their understanding, [a](E)excluded from the life of God because of the (F)ignorance that is in them, because of the (G)hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having (H)become callous, (I)have given themselves over to (J)sensuality [b]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not (K)learn [c]Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you (L)have heard Him and have (M)been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you (N)lay aside the (O)old [d]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the (P)lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be (Q)renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and (R)put on the (S)new [e]self, which [f](T)in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25 Therefore, (U)laying aside falsehood, (V)speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are (W)members of one another. 26 (X)Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not (Y)give the devil [g]an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather (Z)he must labor, (AA)performing with his own hands what is good, (AB)so that he will have something to share with [h]one who has need. 29 Let no [i](AC)unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for (AD)edification [j]according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 (AE)Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, [k]by whom you were (AF)sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (AG)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be (AH)put away from you, along with all (AI)malice. 32 (AJ)Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, (AK)just as God in Christ also has forgiven [l]you.
Be Imitators of God
5 (AL)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.