Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 72
A song of Solomon.
1 True God, bestow Your honest judgments upon the king
and anoint the king’s son with Your righteousness.
2 May he be honest and fair in his judgments over Your people
and offer justice to the burdened and suffering.
3 Under his reign, may this land of mountains and hills know peace
and experience justice for all the people.
4 May the king offer justice to the burdened and suffering,
rescue the poor and needy,
and demolish the oppressor!
5 [May the people fear You][a] for as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon rises in the night sky, throughout the generations.
6 May the king be like the refreshing rains, which fall upon fields of freshly mown grass—
like showers that cool and nourish the earth.
7 May good and honest people flourish for as long as he reigns,
and may peace fill the land until the moon no longer rises.
8 May the king rule from one sea to the next,
and may his rule extend from the Euphrates River to the far reaches of the earth.
9 Let the desert wanderers bow down before him
and his enemies lay prostrate and taste the dirt.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the island kings
shower him with gifts
And the kings of Sheba and Seba bring him presents as well.
11 Let every king on earth bow down before him
and every nation be in his service.
12 For he will rescue the needy when they ask for help!
He will save the burdened and come to the aid of those who have no other help.
13 He offers compassion to the weak and the poor;
he will help and protect the lives of the needy!
14 He will liberate them from the fierce sting of persecution and violence;
in his eyes, their blood is precious.
15 May he live a long, long time
and the gold of Sheba be given to him.
May the people constantly lift up prayers for him,
and may they call upon God to bless him always.
16 Let grain grow plentifully in this land of promise,
let it sway in the breeze on the hilltops,
let it grow strong as do the cedars of Lebanon,
Woven throughout the psalms are songs describing and praising those anointed as kings over God’s people. Psalm 2, one of the introductory psalms, describes the king as the son of God, the ruler of nations, and the anointed one. During the monarchical period in Israel, psalms like these were tied to the kings themselves, idealizing them as perfectly just and righteous and victorious. But during the exile, God’s exiled people longed for freedom and the implications of these songs began to change. Many Jews began to interpret these psalms as referring to a coming ruler, a Davidic king who would usher in an eternal kingdom and perfect peace. This hope was realized in Jesus. So this is why the earliest followers of Jesus went back to the psalms again and again. They found within many of the psalms, the story of Jesus anticipated and celebrated.
And may those who live in the city bloom and flourish
just as the grass of the fields and meadows.
17 May his name live on forever
and his reputation grow for as long as the sun gives light.
May people from all nations find in him a blessing;
may all peoples declare him blessed.
18 May the Eternal God, the God of Israel, be blessed,
for He alone works miracles and wonders!
19 May His glorious name be blessed forever
and the whole earth be filled with His eternal glory!
Amen. Amen.
20 The prayers of King David, Jesse’s son, are ended.
10 The queen of Sheba was fascinated when she heard about the famous Solomon and his devotion to the name of the Eternal One. She traveled a long way to meet him and to challenge him with her difficult questions. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem accompanied by many advisors, assistants, and camels carrying spices and a lot of gold and rare jewels. When she met Solomon, she asked him about everything she could think of.
3 Solomon gave her an answer to every question. The king knew all the answers, and he explained all she asked. 4 When the queen recognized Solomon’s wisdom and observed the palace he had envisioned and constructed, 5 the food on his table, the orderly arrangement of his servants, the attentive service and fine dress of his waiters, his wine servers, and the beautiful stairway[a] that led up to the Eternal’s temple, she was in complete awe.
Queen of Sheba (to the king): 6 So it is true, everything I’ve heard about you in my land. Your words and wisdom are beyond extraordinary. 7 I confess that when I first heard of your renown, I did not believe such a man could really be alive on the earth. But I have witnessed your greatness with my own eyes, and I believe. You are twice as wise and wealthy as is reported in faraway lands. 8 Your people have been blessed as a result of living under your reign. Those who serve you continually are richly blessed to hear your wisdom day in and day out. 9 Praise the Eternal One your God, who believed in you enough to give you Israel’s throne. He is devoted to Israel forever; that is why He has made such a great man as you king. He knows you will dispense righteousness and justice fairly and wisely.
10 The queen then presented Solomon with 9,000 pounds[b] of gold and a large gift of spices and rare jewels. No other gift of spices given to the king ever compared to the gift the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 13 King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything her heart desired (besides the usual royal gift). She then departed and returned to her own country with all those who were in her service.[c]
11 Hiram’s ships—the ones that transported all the gold from Ophir—also transported a large amount of almug trees and rare jewels. 12 The king transformed the almug trees into steps for the Eternal’s temple and the palace. He also made lyres and harps for the musicians. Almug trees like these had never before entered Israel, and they never have since.
14 It is for this reason that I bow my knees before the Father, 15 after whom all families in heaven above and on earth below receive their names, and pray:
16 Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit 17 so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together 18-19 with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings.
This is a doxology of praise to the One with power that is beyond understanding.
20 Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, 21 to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.