Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 45
Ode for a Royal Wedding
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil. A love song.
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.(A)
2 You are the most handsome of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.(B)
6 Your throne, O God,[a] endures forever and ever.
Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;(A)
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;(B)
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;(C)
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.(D)
2 I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.(A)
2 As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among maidens.
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.(B)
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his intention toward[a] me was love.(C)
5 Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.(D)
6 O that his left hand were under my head
and that his right hand embraced me!(E)
7 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the wild does:
do not stir up or awaken love
until it is ready!(F)
Poverty and Riches
9 Let the brother or sister of humble means boast in having a high position 10 and the rich in having been humbled, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.(A) 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
Trial and Temptation
12 Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord[a] has promised to those who love him.(B) 13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15 then, when desire has conceived, it engenders sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.(C)
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.