Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 96[a]
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
3 Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[a]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[b]
3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety[a] and from the hard labor that you were made to perform, 4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words:[b]
“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility[c] has ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
6 It[d] furiously struck down nations
with unceasing blows.[e]
It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint.[f]
7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.
8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise,[g]
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing,[h]
‘Since you fell asleep,[i]
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’[j]
9 Sheol[k] below is stirred up about you,
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses[l] the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth;[m]
it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.[n]
10 All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
11 Your splendor[o] has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments.[p]
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you.[q]
The Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch[a] heard reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him,[b] and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had repeatedly told[c] him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”[d] 5 Although[e] Herod[f] wanted to kill John,[g] he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised[h] with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 Although it grieved the king,[i] because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 10 So[j] he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His[k] head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then John’s[l] disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.
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