Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Zion's future glory
60 Stand up! Shine brightly!
Now your light has come![a]
The Lord's glory has risen to shine on you.
2 Look! Darkness covers all the earth and its people.
But the Lord shines his light on you,
so that his glory appears over you.
3 People of other nations will come to your light.
Kings will come to see the light of a new day that shines on you.
4 Look all round you!
All your people are coming together to return to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
and they carry your daughters in their arms.
5 As you see this, your eyes will shine with joy.
Your hearts will beat fast,
and you will be proud to see them.
Traders will bring valuable things to you
from lands across the seas.
The riches of other nations will come to you.
6 Traders will bring things on their camels
so that your roads are full.
Young camels will come from Midian
and from Ephah.
People will come from Sheba.
They will bring gold and incense.
They will sing aloud to praise the Lord.
This psalm is for Solomon.
A prayer for the king[a]
72 God, please help the king
to judge people in a right way.
Help the king's son to be honest and fair,
as you are.[b]
2 Then he will rule your people in a good way,
so that even poor people receive justice.
3 The mountains and the hills will bring peace,
so that the people can live honest lives.
4 Please help the king to judge poor people fairly.
May he save the children of weak people,
and destroy those cruel people who hurt them.
5 May people always respect your authority, God,
through all time,
as long as the sun and the moon remain in the sky.[c]
6 May the king be a blessing to his people,
like rain that falls on grass that lies in the fields.
May he be like rain
that brings water to the soil.
7 While he rules as king,
those people who serve God will do well.
There will be peace in all the land,
for as long as the moon remains in the sky.
10 Kings from Spain and from other far places
will pay taxes to him.
Kings from Sheba and from Seba
will bring gifts to him.
11 All kings will bend down in front of him.
People from all nations will serve him.
12 He will rescue the poor person
who calls out to him for help.
He will save weak people
who have nobody to help them.
13 He will be kind to people who are poor and weak.
He will save them from death.
14 He will rescue them from cruel people who hurt them.
Their lives are important to him.
God has chosen Paul to help the Gentiles
3 That is why I pray for you. I, Paul, am in prison because I serve Christ Jesus. He has sent me to help you Gentiles. 2 You must have heard that God has chosen me to do that. He has been very kind to give me this work to help you. 3 God has clearly shown to me his true purpose. That was a secret before, but God has helped me to know it. I have written a few words about this already.[a] 4 When you read those words, you will be able to understand. I have come to know God's true message about Christ. 5 God did not tell this secret message to the people who lived before us. But now the Holy Spirit has shown it to God's apostles and prophets. 6 This is the message of God's good news: Gentiles, as well as Jews, may receive the good things that God has prepared for his children. We may all belong to the same group of God's people, like we are his body. Everyone who is united with Christ Jesus receives the good things that God has promised.
7 I tell that good news to other people, because God chose me to serve him in that way. That was God's gift to me, because he is so kind. God uses his great power to help me in that work. 8 I am the least important of all God's people. But God has given this special work to me because he is so kind. He has sent me to tell his good news to the Gentiles. Then they know about the many valuable things that Christ has prepared for us.
9 I help everyone to know how God makes his purpose happen. God himself created all things, and he has hidden this secret during past times. 10 But now God wants the people of his church to show everyone how wise he is in every way. He wants the spiritual rulers and everything that has authority in the heavens to know this. 11 This had always been God's purpose, from the beginning of all things. And it was our Lord Christ Jesus who made it happen.
12 Because we are united with Christ, we can come near to God. We are not afraid to do that. We can be sure that God will accept us, because we trust in Christ.
Some men come to visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem, in Judea. King Herod ruled Judea at that time.[a] After Jesus was born, some wise men came to Jerusalem from a country in the east. 2 When they arrived there, they asked people, ‘Where is the baby who has been born as the king of the Jews? We saw his special star when it first appeared in the sky. So now we have come here to worship him.’
3 When King Herod heard what the men said, he was very upset. All the people in Jerusalem were afraid too. 4 Then Herod asked all the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law to meet with him. He asked them, ‘Where will God's Messiah be born?’ 5 They replied, ‘The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem in Judea. This is what the prophet wrote about it:
6 “People who live in Bethlehem,
your town is a very important town in Judea.
A person born in your town will become a leader of my people Israel.
He will lead my people like a shepherd leads his sheep.” ’
7 Then Herod secretly told the wise men to come to meet with him. They told him the time that the star had appeared. 8 Herod sent the men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Go and look everywhere for this child. When you find him, come back here and tell me where he is. Then I can also go and worship him.’
9-10 After the men had heard the king, they left to go to Bethlehem. They could see the same star that they had seen before. They were very happy when they saw the star. It moved along in front of them. Then it stopped above the place where the child was staying. 11 The men went into the house and they saw the child. He was with Mary, his mother. They went down on their knees in front of the child and they worshipped him. Then they opened their bags. They took out valuable gifts and they gave them to the child. The gifts were gold, incense called frankincense, and also myrrh.[b] 12 After that, God said to them in a dream, ‘Do not go back to see Herod again.’ So the men followed a different road to return to their own country.
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