Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
45 My heart is overflowing with a beautiful thought! I will write a lovely poem to the King, for I am as full of words as the speediest writer pouring out his story.
2 You are the fairest of all;
Your words are filled with grace;
God himself is blessing you forever.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever.
Justice is your royal scepter.
7 You love what is good
And hate what is wrong.
Therefore God, your God,
Has given you more gladness
Than anyone else.
8 Your robes are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. In your palaces of inlaid ivory, lovely music is being played for your enjoyment. 9 Kings’ daughters are among your concubines.[a] Standing beside you is the queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir.
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go, and get your wife again and bring her back to you and love her, even though she loves adultery. For the Lord still loves Israel though she has turned to other gods and offered them choice gifts.”
2 So I bought her back from her slavery[a] for a couple of dollars and eight bushels of barley, 3 and I said to her, “You must live alone for many days; do not go out with other men nor be a prostitute, and I will wait for you.”
4 This illustrates the fact that Israel will be a long time without a king or prince, and without an altar, Temple, priests, or even idols!
5 Afterward they will return to the Lord their God and to the Messiah, their King,[b] and they shall come trembling, submissive to the Lord and to his blessings in the end times.
28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Next he was taken to the palace of the Roman governor. His accusers wouldn’t go in themselves for that would “defile” them,[a] they said, and they wouldn’t be allowed to eat the Passover lamb. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man? What are you accusing him of doing?”
30 “We wouldn’t have arrested him if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.
31 “Then take him away and judge him yourselves by your own laws,” Pilate told them.
“But we want him crucified,” they demanded, “and your approval is required.”[b] 32 This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction concerning the method of his execution.[c]
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.