Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 34

[A Psalm] of David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him out, and he went away.

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

² My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad.

³ O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His Word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.^(A)

⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused.

⁶ This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

^7 [a]The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe] and each of them He delivers.^(B)

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.^(C)

¹⁹ Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

²⁰ He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹ Evil shall cause the death of the wicked; and they who hate the just and righteous shall be held guilty and shall be condemned.

²² The Lord redeems the lives of His servants, and none of those who take refuge and trust in Him shall be condemned or held guilty.

1 The words or story of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: Now in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year [of the Persian king], as I was in the castle of Shushan,

² Hanani, one of my kinsmen, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped exile, and about Jerusalem.

³ And they said to me, The remnant there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its [fortified] gates are destroyed by fire.

⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and wept and mourned for days and fasted and prayed [constantly] before the God of heaven,

⁵ And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, Who keeps covenant, loving-kindness, and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

⁶ Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to listen to the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You day and night for the Israelites, Your servants, confessing the sins of the Israelites which we have sinned against You. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned.

⁷ We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.^(A)

⁸ Remember [earnestly] what You commanded Your servant Moses: If you transgress and are unfaithful, I will scatter you abroad among the nations;^(B)

⁹ But if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the farthest part of the heavens [the expanse of outer space], yet will I gather them from there and will bring them to the place in which I have chosen to set My ^[a]Name.^(C)

¹⁰ Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.

¹¹ O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere and fear Your name (Your nature and attributes); and prosper, I pray You, Your servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was cupbearer to the king.

¹¹ Now if perfection (a perfect fellowship between God and the worshiper) had been attainable by the Levitical priesthood—for under it the people were given the Law—why was it further necessary that there should arise another and different kind of Priest, one after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one appointed after the order and rank of Aaron?

¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is of necessity an alteration of the law [concerning the priesthood] as well.

¹³ For the One of Whom these things are said belonged [not to the priestly line but] to another tribe, no member of which has officiated at the altar.

¹⁴ For it is obvious that our Lord sprang from the tribe of Judah, and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.

¹⁵ And this becomes more plainly evident when another Priest arises Who bears the likeness of Melchizedek,^(A)

¹⁶ Who has been constituted a Priest, not on the basis of a bodily legal requirement [an externally imposed command concerning His physical ancestry], but on the basis of the power of an endless and indestructible Life.

¹⁷ For it is witnessed of Him, You are a Priest forever after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek.^(B)

¹⁸ So a previous physical regulation and command is cancelled because of its weakness and ineffectiveness and uselessness—

¹⁹ For the Law never made anything perfect—but instead a better hope is introduced through which we [now] come close to God.

²⁰ And it was not without the taking of an oath [that Christ was made Priest],

²¹ For those who formerly became priests received their office without its being confirmed by the taking of an oath by God, but this One was designated and addressed and saluted with an oath, The Lord has sworn and will not regret it or change His mind, You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.^(C)

²² In keeping with [the oath’s greater strength and force], Jesus has become the Guarantee of a better (stronger) agreement [a more excellent and more advantageous covenant].