Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Chapter 23
The Last Words of David.[a] 1 These are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse;
the oracle of the man God raised up,
Anointed of the God of Jacob,
favorite of the Mighty One of Israel.(A)
2 The spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.(B)
3 The God of Israel spoke;
of me the Rock of Israel said,
“One who rules over humankind with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,(C)
4 Is like the light at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
making the land’s vegetation glisten after rain.”(D)
5 Is not my house firm before God?
He has made an eternal covenant with me,
set forth in detail and secured.(E)
Will he not bring to fruition
all my salvation and my every desire?
6 But the wicked are all like thorns to be cast away;
they cannot be taken up by hand.(F)
7 One wishing to touch them
must be armed with iron or the shaft of a spear.
They must be utterly consumed by fire.
Psalm 132[a]
The Covenant Between David and God
1 A song of ascents.
I
Remember, O Lord, for David
all his hardships;
2 How he swore an oath to the Lord,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:[b]
3 “I will not enter the house where I live,(A)
nor lie on the couch where I sleep;
4 I will give my eyes no sleep,
my eyelids no rest,
5 Till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 “We have heard of it in Ephrathah;[c]
we have found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 Let us enter his dwelling;
let us worship at his footstool.”(B)
8 “Arise, Lord, come to your resting place,(C)
you and your mighty ark.
9 Your priests will be clothed with justice;
your devout will shout for joy.”
10 For the sake of David your servant,
do not reject your anointed.
II
13 Yes, the Lord has chosen Zion,
desired it for a dwelling:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
15 I will bless Zion with provisions;
its poor I will fill with bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation;
its devout shall shout for joy.(A)
17 There I will make a horn sprout for David;[a](B)
I will set a lamp for my anointed.
18 His foes I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown shall shine.”
4 John, to the seven churches in Asia:[a] grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,(A) 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us[b] from our sins by his blood,(B) 6 who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.(C)
7 Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.(D)
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”[c] says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”(E)
The First Vision.[d]
33 So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told 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?”(A) 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”(B) 37 So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king.[a] For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”(C)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.