Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David’s Last Song
23 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
(A)The man who was raised on high,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob
And the sweet psalmist of Israel, declares,
2 “(C)The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said it;
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘(E)He who rules over mankind righteously,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
4 (G)Is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
From sunshine after rain.’
5 Is my house not indeed so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Properly ordered in all things, and secured;
For will He not indeed make
All my salvation and all my delight grow?
6 (I)But the worthless, every one of them, are like scattered thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 Instead, the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (J)they will be completely burned with fire in their [b]place.”
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, Lord, in David’s behalf,
All (A)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I certainly will not [a]enter (C)my house,
Nor [b]lie on my bed;
4 I will not (D)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (E)place for the Lord,
[c]A dwelling place for (F)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard about it in (G)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (H)field of [d]Jaar.
7 Let’s go into His [e](I)dwelling place;
Let’s (J)worship at His (K)footstool.
8 (L)Arise, Lord, to Your (M)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (N)strength.
9 May Your priests be (O)clothed with righteousness,
And may Your (P)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of Your servant David,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Q)anointed.
11 The Lord has (R)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“I will set upon your throne one (S)from the fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also will (T)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (A)chosen Zion;
He has (B)desired it as His dwelling place.
14 “This is My (C)resting place forever;
Here I will (D)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (E)bless her food;
I will (F)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 I will also clothe her (G)priests with salvation,
And her (H)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 I will make the (I)horn of David spring forth there;
I have prepared a (J)lamp for My anointed.
18 I will (K)clothe his enemies with shame,
But upon himself his (L)crown will gleam.”
Message to the Seven Churches
4 (A)John to (B)the seven churches that are in (C)Asia: (D)Grace to you and peace from (E)Him who is, and who was, and who [a]is to come, and from (F)the [b]seven spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, (G)the faithful witness, the (H)firstborn of the dead, and the (I)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who (J)loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a (K)kingdom, (L)priests to [c](M)His God and Father—(N)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 (O)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and (P)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will (Q)mourn over Him. [d]So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am (R)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the (S)Lord God, “(T)who is and who was and who [e]is to come, the Almighty.”
33 Therefore Pilate (A)entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “(B)You are the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this [a]on your own, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “(C)My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not [b]of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “(D)You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: (E)to testify to the truth. (F)Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”
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