Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.
72 God, give the king your good judgment
and the king’s son your ·goodness [righteousness].
2 Help him judge your people ·fairly [rightly]
and decide what is ·right [just] for the poor.
3 Let there be ·peace [or prosperity] on the mountains
and ·goodness [righteousness] on the hills for the people.
4 Help him be ·fair [just] to the poor
and ·save [give victory to] the ·needy [or children of the needy]
and ·punish [crush] those who ·hurt [oppress; exploit] them.
5 May they ·respect [fear] you as long as the sun
and as long as the moon, throughout the generations.
6 Let him ·be [L come down] like rain on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Let ·goodness [righteousness] ·be plentiful [bloom forth] while he lives.
Let ·peace [or prosperity] continue ·as long as there is a [L until there is no] moon.
18 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does such ·miracles [wonderful things].
19 Praise his glorious name forever.
Let his glory [C manifest presence] fill the whole world.
Amen and amen.
Israel’s Punishment Will End
40 Your God says,
“Comfort, comfort my people.
2 Speak kindly to ·the people of Jerusalem [L Jerusalem]
and tell them
that their time of ·service [or warfare] is finished,
that ·they have paid for their sins [or her sins are pardoned],
that ·the Lord has punished Jerusalem [L she has received from the Lord]
·twice [double] for every sin they did.”
3 This is the voice of one who calls out:
“Prepare in the ·desert [wilderness]
the way for the Lord.
Make a straight road in the ·dry lands [arid plain]
for our God.
4 Every valley will be ·raised up [elevated],
and every mountain and hill will be made ·flat [level; low].
The rough ground will be ·made level [smoothed out],
and the rugged ground will be made ·smooth [into a plain].
5 Then the glory of the Lord [C his manifest presence] will be ·shown [revealed],
and all ·people [flesh] together will see it.
·The Lord himself said these things [L For the mouth of the Lord has spoken].”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Then I[a] said, “What shall I cry out?”
“Say all ·people [flesh] are like the grass,
and all their glory[b] is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass ·dies [withers] and the flowers fall
when the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are like grass.
8 The grass ·dies [withers] and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God will ·live [endure; stand] forever.”
9 ·Jerusalem [L Zion], ·you have good news to tell [herald of good news].
Go up on a high mountain.
Jerusalem, ·you have good news to tell [herald of good news].
Shout out loud the good news.
Shout it out and don’t be afraid.
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God.”
10 Look, the Lord God is coming with power
·to rule all the people [L his arm rules for him].
Look, ·he will bring reward for his people [L his reward is with him];
·he will have their payment with him [L his payment/prize is before him].
11 He ·takes care of his people [L tends his flock] like a shepherd.
He gathers them like lambs in his arms
and carries them ·close to him [on his chest/bosom].
He gently leads the mothers of the lambs.
John the Baptist Tells People About Jesus(A)
19 Here is the ·truth John told [testimony John gave; witness of John; 1:6] when the ·leaders [Jewish leadership; L Jews; C John often uses the term “Jews” to refer to the religious leaders in opposition to Jesus, rather than to the Jewish people generally] in Jerusalem sent ·priests and Levites [C the religious authorities; priests oversaw temple worship; Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who assisted them; 1 Chr. 23:24–32] to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 John ·spoke freely [confessed] and did not ·refuse to answer [deny it]. He said, “I am not the ·Christ [Messiah].”
21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” [C Elijah, an OT prophet, was expected to come back before the Messiah; 1 Kin. 17—2 Kin. 2; Mal. 4:5–6.]
He answered, “No, I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” [C the Prophet like Moses predicted in Deut. 18:15–19] they asked.
He answered, “No.”
22 Then they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am the voice of one
calling out in the ·desert [wilderness]:
‘Make ·the road straight [a clear path] for the Lord [Is. 40:3].’”
24 Some Pharisees [C a religious party which strictly observed OT laws and later customs] who had been sent asked John: 25 “If you are not the ·Christ [Messiah] or Elijah or the Prophet [1:21], why do you baptize people?”
26 John answered, “I baptize with water, but there is one here with you that you don’t ·know about [recognize]. 27 He is the One who comes after me. I am not ·good enough [worthy; fit] to untie the ·strings [straps] of his sandals.” [C Removing sandals was the task of a slave.]
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River [C a site east of the Jordan River, not the Bethany near Jerusalem], where John was baptizing people.
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