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 declares,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
2 “(C)The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 “The God of Israel said,
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
‘(E)He who rules over men righteously,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
4 (G)Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the tender grass springs out of the earth,
Through sunshine after rain.’
5 “Truly is not my house so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured;
For all my salvation and all my desire,
Will He not indeed make it grow?
6 “(I)But the worthless, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 But 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, O Lord, on David’s behalf,
All (A)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “Surely I 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 of it in (G)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (H)field of [d]Jaar.
7 Let us go into His [e](I)dwelling place;
Let us (J)worship at His (K)footstool.
8 (L)Arise, O Lord, to Your (M)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (N)strength.
9 Let Your priests be (O)clothed with righteousness,
And let Your (P)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of David Your servant,
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:
“(S)Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
12 “If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall (T)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (A)chosen Zion;
He has (B)desired it for His habitation.
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 provision;
I will (F)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 “Her (G)priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her (H)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 “There I will cause the (I)horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a (J)lamp for Mine anointed.
18 “His enemies I will (K)clothe with shame,
But upon himself his (L)crown shall shine.”
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 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 [b]by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be 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. 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 [d]is to come, the Almighty.”
33 Therefore Pilate (A)entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “(B)Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this [a]on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “(C)My kingdom [b]is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not [c]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 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 hears My voice.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.