Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 34
A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he departed.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise will continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and became radiant,
and their faces are not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 A righteous one keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.
Envoys From Babylon(A)
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill. 13 Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them all the treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine oil, all the armory, and all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?”
Hezekiah said, “They came from a distant land, from Babylon.”
15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?”
Hezekiah said, “They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The days are coming when everything that is in your house and that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 Some of your sons who go out from you, who will be born to you, will be taken away. They will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” And he said, “Why not, if there is peace and security in my days?”
The Priestly Order of Melchizedek
7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. 2 To him Abraham also gave a tenth part of everything. In the first place, his name is translated “king of righteousness,” and then also he is king of Salem, which means “king of peace.” 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he continually remains a priest.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 Surely the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a command to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, from their brothers, though they also come from the seed of Abraham. 6 But this man, whose descent is not numbered among them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Without question, the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case mortal men receive tithes, but in the other he of whom it is witnessed that he is alive receives them. 9 One might say that Levi also, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met Abraham.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.