Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 16
A Miktam of David.
1 Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
2 I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
my welfare has no existence outside of You.”
3 For the holy ones who are in the land,
they are the majestic ones; in them is all my delight.
4 Those who chase after other gods,
their sorrows will be multiplied;
their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
nor lift their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
yes, an inheritance is beautiful for me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
my affections also instruct me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I will not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
my flesh also will rest in security.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
nor will You suffer Your godly one to see corruption.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
The Dream Is Fulfilled
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he walked on the roof of the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I myself have built as a royal residence by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven: “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you! 32 And you shall be driven away from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be given grass to eat as oxen, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.”
33 Immediately the thing was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar. And he was driven from men and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
34 But at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and whose kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing;
and He does according to His will
in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And no one can stay His hand or say to Him,
“What have You done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me. And for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. And my counselors and my lords sought me out. Then I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and those who walk in pride He is able to abase.
The Parable of the Vineyard and the Vinedressers(A)
12 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and rented it to vinedressers, and went to a far country. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the vinedressers to receive from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them. They threw stones at him, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 5 Still he sent another, and they killed him. And there were many others. Some they beat, and some they killed.
6 “Having yet his one well-beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will revere my son.’
7 “But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the vinedressers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
11 This was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”
12 Then they tried to seize Him, but feared the people, for they knew that He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went their way.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.