Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 21

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹ The king [David] shall joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

² You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

³ For You send blessings of good things to meet him; You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

⁴ He asked life of You, and You gave it to him—long life forever and evermore.

⁵ His glory is great because of Your aid; splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.

⁶ For You make him to be blessed and a blessing forever; You make him exceedingly glad with the joy of Your presence.^(A)

⁷ For the king trusts, relies on, and is confident in the Lord, and through the mercy and steadfast love of the Most High he will never be moved.

⁸ Your hand shall find all Your enemies; Your right hand shall find all those who hate You.

⁹ You will make them as if in a blazing oven in the time of Your anger; the Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire will utterly consume them.

¹⁰ Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, and their sons from among the children of men.

¹¹ For they planned evil against You; they conceived a mischievous plot which they are not able to perform.

¹² For You will make them turn their backs; You will aim Your bow [of divine justice] at their faces.

¹³ Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.

¹¹ Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.

¹² And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.

¹³ And David took more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and other sons and daughters were born to [him].

¹⁴ And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

⁷ So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.

⁸ So you also must be patient. Establish your hearts [strengthen and confirm them in the final certainty], for the coming of the Lord is very near.

⁹ Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you [yourselves] may not be judged. Look! The Judge is [already] standing at the very door.

¹⁰ [As] an example of suffering and ill-treatment together with patience, brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord [as His messengers].

¹¹ You know how we call those blessed (happy) who were steadfast [who endured]. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the Lord’s [purpose and how He richly blessed him in the] end, inasmuch as the Lord is full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy.^(A)

¹² But above all [things], my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; but let your yes be [a simple] yes, and your no be [a simple] no, so that you may not sin and fall under condemnation.