Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord is king.
Let the nations shake with fear.
He sits between the gold creatures with wings.
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in Jerusalem is great.
He is supreme over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your name.
It is great, holy and to be feared.
4 The King is powerful and loves justice.
Lord, you made things fair.
You have done what is fair and right
for the people of Jacob.
5 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at the Temple, his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
And Samuel was among his worshipers.
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept the rules and laws he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God.
But you punished them for their wrongs.
9 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
32 So all the work on the Meeting Tent was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 Then they brought the Holy Tent to Moses: the Tent and all its furniture, hooks, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34 the covering made of male sheep skins colored red, the covering made of fine leather and the curtain that covered the entrance to the Most Holy Place; 35 the Ark of the Covenant, its poles and lid; 36 the table, all its containers and the bread that showed they were in God’s presence; 37 the pure gold lampstand with its lamps in a row, all its tools and the olive oil for the light; 38 the gold altar, the special olive oil used for appointing priests, the sweet-smelling incense, and the curtain that covered the entrance to the Tent; 39 the bronze altar and its screen, its poles and all its tools, the bowl and its stand; 40 the curtains for the courtyard with their posts and bases, the curtain that covered the entry to the courtyard, the cords, pegs and all the things in the Meeting Tent. 41 They brought the clothes for the priests to wear when they served in the Holy Tent: the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and the clothes for his sons. They wore these when they served as priests.
42 The Israelites had done all this work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses looked closely at all the work. He saw they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
How John the Baptist Was Killed
14 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard the reports about Jesus. 2 So Herod said to his servants, “Jesus is really John the Baptist. He has risen from death. That is why he is able to do these miracles.”
3 Sometime before this, Herod had arrested John, tied him up, and put him into prison. Herod did this because of Herodias. Herodias was the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. 4 Herod arrested John because he told Herod: “It is not right for you to have Herodias.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John was a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests. Herod was very pleased with her, 7 so he promised he would give her anything she wanted. 8 Herodias told her daughter what to ask for. So she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 King Herod was very sad. But he had promised to give her anything she wanted, and the people eating with him had heard his promise. So Herod ordered that what she asked for be done. 10 He sent men to the prison to cut off John’s head. 11 And the men brought John’s head on a platter and gave it to the girl. She took it to her mother, Herodias. 12 John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what happened.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.