Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Powerful King for the Poor
Psalm 72
1 Of Solomon.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness,
and Your poor ones with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring shalom to the people,
and the hills righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
and while the moon lasts, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the ground.
7 Let the righteous flourish in his days.
Let shalom abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let desert dwellers bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute,
kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11 So let all kings bow down before him,
and all nations serve him.
12 For he rescues the needy crying for help,
also the poor and the one with no helper.
13 He will take pity on the poor and needy,
and the souls of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their soul,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May he pray for him continually,
and bless him all day.
16 Let there be abundance of grain in the land.
Let it sway on the top of the hills,
let its fruit be like Lebanon,
and let people of the city flourish like grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase before the sun,
and may all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Adonai Elohim, God of Israel,
who alone does wonders.
19 Blessed be His glorious Name forever.
May all the earth be filled with His glory!
Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are complete.
15 Then he uttered his oracle:
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the strong man whose eye is opened,
16 the oracle of one hearing God’s speech,
one experiencing Elyon’s knowledge,
one seeing Shaddai’s vision,
one fallen down,
yet with open eyes:
17 ‘I see him, yet not at this moment.
I behold him, yet not in this location.
For a star will come from Jacob,
a scepter will arise from Israel.[a]
He will crush the foreheads of Moab
and the skulls of all the sons of Seth.
18 Edom will be conquered—
his enemies will conquer Seir,
but Israel will triumph.
19 One from Jacob will rule
and destroy the city’s survivors.”
The Kohen’s Song of Prophecy
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be Adonai,
God of Israel,
for He has looked after His people
and brought them redemption.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,[a]
70 just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ages past,
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us!
72 So He shows mercy to our fathers
and remembers His holy covenant,[b]
73 the vow which He swore to Abraham
our father, to grant us—
74 rescued fearlessly from the hand of
our enemies[c]—to serve Him,
75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of Elyon.
For you will go before Adonai to prepare His ways,[d]
77 to give knowledge of salvation to His people
through removal of their sins.[e]
78 Through our God’s heart of mercy,
the Sunrise from on high will come upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,[f]
to guide our feet in the way of shalom.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.