Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Chapter 45
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed,[a] Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
Subduing nations before him,
stripping kings of their strength,
Opening doors before him,
leaving the gates unbarred:
2 I will go before you
and level the mountains;
Bronze doors[b] I will shatter,
iron bars I will snap.(A)
3 I will give you treasures of darkness,
riches hidden away,
That you may know I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel my chosen one,
I have called you by name,
giving you a title, though you do not know me.(B)
5 I am the Lord, there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you do not know me,
6 so that all may know, from the rising of the sun
to its setting, that there is none besides me.[c]
I am the Lord, there is no other.
7 I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make weal and create woe;[d]
I, the Lord, do all these things.
Psalm 96[a]
God of the Universe
I
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;(A)
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.(B)
II
4 [b]For great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
to be feared above all gods.(C)
5 For the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(D)
6 Splendor and power go before him;
power and grandeur are in his holy place.
III
7 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and might;
8 give to the Lord the glory due his name!(E)
Bring gifts and enter his courts;
9 bow down to the Lord, splendid in holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
10 (A)declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
He rules the peoples with fairness.
IV
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;(B)
12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
13 before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(C)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with faithfulness.
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting. 1 [a](A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace.
Thanksgiving for Their Faith. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly(B) 3 calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope[b] of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen.(C) 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and [with] much conviction. You know what sort of people we were [among] you for your sake.(D) 6 And you became imitators[c] of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.(E) 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and [in] Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.(F) 9 For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God(G) 10 and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from [the] dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.(H)
15 (A)Then the Pharisees[a] went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. 16 They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,[b] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. 17 [c]Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 [d]Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20 He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” 21 (B)They replied, “Caesar’s.”[e] At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 22 When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.
The Question About the Resurrection.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.