Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Powerful King for the Poor
Psalm 72
1 Of Solomon.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness,
and Your poor ones with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring shalom to the people,
and the hills righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
and while the moon lasts, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the ground.
7 Let the righteous flourish in his days.
Let shalom abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let desert dwellers bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute,
kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11 So let all kings bow down before him,
and all nations serve him.
12 For he rescues the needy crying for help,
also the poor and the one with no helper.
13 He will take pity on the poor and needy,
and the souls of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their soul,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May he pray for him continually,
and bless him all day.
16 Let there be abundance of grain in the land.
Let it sway on the top of the hills,
let its fruit be like Lebanon,
and let people of the city flourish like grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase before the sun,
and may all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Adonai Elohim, God of Israel,
who alone does wonders.
19 Blessed be His glorious Name forever.
May all the earth be filled with His glory!
Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are complete.
7 Behold, I will bring them from the north country,
and I will gather them from the ends of the earth—
among them the blind and the lame,
the pregnant together with she who is in labor with child.
A great throng will return here.
8 With weeping and supplications they will come.
I will bring them,
leading them to walk by streams of water
on a straight path where they will not stumble.
For I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
9 Hear the word of Adonai, O nations,
and declare it in the distant islands,
and say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather
and watch over him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
10 For Adonai has ransomed Jacob.
He redeemed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
11 They will come and sing on Zion’s height,
radiant over the bounty of Adonai—
over the grain, the wine, the oil,
and the young of the flock.
Their life will be like a watered garden,
and they will never languish again.
12 Then will the virgin rejoice in the dance,
both young men and old men together.
For I will turn their mourning into joy,
and I will comfort them, and make them rejoice out of their sorrow.
13 I will fill the soul of the kohanim with fatness
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
Grief Turned to Joy
14 Thus says Adonai:
“A voice is heard in Ramah
—lamentation and bitter weeping—
Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.”[a]
The Word Becomes Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word.[a] The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that through him everyone might believe. 8 He was not the light, but he came to bear witness concerning the light. 9 The true light, coming into the world, gives light to every man.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him; but the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God. 13 They were born not of a bloodline, nor of human desire, nor of man’s will, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory,[a] the glory of the one and only[b] from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testifies about Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘The One who comes after me is above me, because He existed before me.’” 16 Out of His fullness, we have all received grace on top of grace. 17 Torah was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah. 18 No one has ever seen God; but the one and only God,[c] in the Father’s embrace, has made Him known.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.