Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm (A)of Solomon.
72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
2 (B)He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
3 (C)The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 (D)He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will [a]break in pieces the oppressor.
5 [b]They shall fear You
(E)As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 (F)He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,
(G)And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
8 (H)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 (I)Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
(J)And His enemies will lick the dust.
10 (K)The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 (L)Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
12 For He (M)will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And (N)precious shall be their blood in His sight.
15 And He shall live;
And the gold of (O)Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
(P)And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 (Q)His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And (R)men shall be blessed in Him;
(S)All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 (T)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
(U)Who only does wondrous things!
19 And (V)blessed be His glorious name forever!
(W)And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
7 For thus says the Lord:
(A)“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will bring them (B)from the north country,
And (C)gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 (D)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk (E)by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My (F)firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the [a]isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel (G)will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For (H)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him (I)from the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in (J)the height of Zion,
Streaming to (K)the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a (L)well-watered garden,
(M)And they shall sorrow no more at all.
13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will [b]satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”
The Eternal Word(A)
1 In the beginning (B)was the Word, and the (C)Word was (D)with God, and the Word was (E)God. 2 (F)He was in the beginning with God. 3 (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 (H)In Him was life, and (I)the life was the light of men. 5 And (J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a (K)man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a (L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might (M)believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that (N)Light. 9 (O)That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and (A)the world did not know Him. 11 (B)He came to His [a]own, and His [b]own did not receive Him. 12 But (C)as many as received Him, to them He gave the [c]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 (D)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 (E)And the Word (F)became (G)flesh and dwelt among us, and (H)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, (I)full of grace and truth.
15 (J)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, (K)‘He who comes after me [d]is preferred before me, (L)for He was before me.’ ”
16 [e]And of His (M)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For (N)the law was given through Moses, but (O)grace and (P)truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (Q)No one has seen God at any time. (R)The only begotten [f]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.