Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 72
By Solomon.
1 O Elohim, give the king your justice
and the king’s son[a] your righteousness
2 so that he may judge your people with righteousness
and your oppressed people with justice.
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he grant justice to the people who are oppressed.
May he save the children of needy people
and crush their oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine—
throughout every generation.
6 May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass,
like showers that water the land.
7 May righteous people blossom in his day.
May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer shines.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 May the people of the desert kneel in front of him.
May his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings from Tarshish and the islands bring presents.
May the kings from Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11 May all kings worship him.
May all nations serve him.
12 He will rescue the needy person who cries for help
and the oppressed person who has no one’s help.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy
and will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight.
15 May he live long.
May the gold from Sheba be given to him.
May the people pray for him continually.
May they praise him all day long.
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land.
May it wave in the breeze on the mountaintops,
its fruit like the treetops of Lebanon.
May those from the city flourish like the grass on the ground.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name continue as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
18 Thank Yahweh Elohim, the Elohim of Israel,
who alone does miracles.
19 Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
20 The prayers by David, son of Jesse, end here.
7 This is what Yahweh says:
Sing a happy song about Jacob.
Sing joyfully for the leader of the nations.
Shout, sing praise, and say,
“O Yahweh, rescue your people, the remaining few from Israel.”
8 “I will bring them from the land of the north.
I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth.
Blind people and lame people will return
together with pregnant women and those in labor.
A large crowd will return here.
9 They will cry as they return.
They will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams
on a level path where they will not stumble.
I will be an Ab to Israel,
and Ephraim will be my firstborn.
10 “You nations, listen to the word of Yahweh.
Tell it to the distant islands.
Say, ‘The one who scattered the people of Israel will gather them
and watch over them as a shepherd watches over his flock.’
11 Yahweh will free the descendants of Jacob
and reclaim them from those who are stronger than they are.
12 They will come and shout for joy on top of Mount Zion.
They will stream to it to enjoy Yahweh’s blessings:
fresh grain, new wine, and olive oil, lambs and calves.
Their lives will be like well-watered gardens,
and they will never suffer again.
13 Then young women will rejoice and dance
along with young men and old men.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them.
I will give them joy in place of their sorrow.
14 I will satisfy the priests with rich food.
My people will be filled with my blessings,” declares Yahweh.
The Word Becomes Human
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning.
3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.
4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.
5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.[a]
6 God sent a man named John to be his messenger. 7 John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message. 8 John was not the light, but he came to declare the truth about the light.
9 The real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. Yet, the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him. 12 However, he gave the right to become God’s children to everyone who believed in him. 13 These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire to have a child. They were born from God.
14 The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness[a] and truth.
15 (John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’”)
16 Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is. 17 Laws were given through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Yeshua Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.