Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David’s Last Words
23 Now these are the last words of David.
Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says (A)the man raised up on high,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2 “The(C) 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:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling (E)in the fear of God.
4 And (F)he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
By clear shining after rain.’
5 “Although my house is not so with God,
(G)Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?
6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,
Because they cannot be taken with hands.
7 But the man who touches them
Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
132 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
(A)And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will (C)not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I (D)find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it (E)in Ephrathah;
(F)We found it (G)in the fields of [a]the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
(H)Let us worship at His footstool.
8 (I)Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and (J)the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests (K)be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your [b]Anointed.
13 (A)For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His [a]dwelling place:
14 “This(B) is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 (C)I will abundantly bless her [b]provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 (D)I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
(E)And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 (F)There I will make the [c]horn of David grow;
(G)I will prepare a lamp for My [d]Anointed.
18 His enemies I will (H)clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
Greeting the Seven Churches
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him (A)who is and (B)who was and who is to come, (C)and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, (D)the faithful (E)witness, the (F)firstborn from the dead, and (G)the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him (H)who [a]loved us (I)and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has (J)made us [b]kings and priests to His God and Father, (K)to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with (L)clouds, and every eye will see Him, even (M)they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 (N)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, [c]the Beginning and the End,” says the [d]Lord, (O)“who is and who was and who is to come, the (P)Almighty.”
33 (A)Then Pilate entered the [a]Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”
36 (B)Jesus answered, (C)“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, (D)that I should bear (E)witness to the truth. Everyone who (F)is of the truth (G)hears My voice.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.