Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for the Prosperity of God’s Anointed King
Of Solomon.[a]
72 O God, give your judgments to the king,
and your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 Let the mountains yield prosperity[b] for the people,
and the hills in righteousness.
4 May he provide justice for the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live long[c] while the sun endures[d]
as long as the moon[e] for all generations.[f]
6 May he descend like rain on mown grass,
like showers watering the earth.
7 May what is right blossom in his days
and an abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 And may he rule from sea up to sea,
and from the River[g] to the edges of the land.
9 Let the desert dwellers bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts,
11 and let all kings bow down to him.
Let all nations serve him.
12 Indeed he will deliver the needy who is crying for help,
and the afflicted who has no helper.
13 He will take pity on the helpless and needy,
and the lives of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and from violence
he will redeem their lives,
and their blood will be precious in his eyes.
15 So may he live, and may gold from Sheba be given to him,
and may prayers be offered for him continually.
May blessings be invoked for him all day long.[h]
16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land
even on the top of the mountains.
May his crop[i] sway like the trees of Lebanon,
and may those from the city blossom like the grass of the earth.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase as long as the sun shines,[j]
and let them be blessed in him.
Let all nations call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.
The King’s Troubling Dream
2 Now[a] in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 So the king said to call the magicians[b] and the conjurers[c] and the sorcerers and the astrologers[d] to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood before[e] the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream[f] and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
4 And the astrologers[g] said to the king in Aramaic,[h] “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation.” 5 The king answered and said to the astrologers,[i] “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its explanation,[j] then you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins. 6 But if you tell me the dream and its explanation, you will receive gifts and rewards[k] and great honor from me. Therefore, tell me the dream and its explanation.”[l] 7 They answered once more and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will make the explanation known.” 8 The king answered and said, “Certainly[m] I know that you are trying to gain time[n] because[o] you have seen that this matter is firmly decreed by me,[p] 9 for if you do not make the dream known to me, your verdict is fixed,[q] and you have conspired to say a lying and deceitful word to me until the circumstances[r] will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation.” 10 The astrologers[s] answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; in fact,[t] no great and powerful king has ever asked a thing like this of any magician[u] or conjurer[v] or astrologer.[w] 11 And the thing that the king is asking is too difficult and there is no one who[x] can reveal it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with mortals.”[y]
12 Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said that all the wise men of Babylon are to be destroyed. 13 And the decree was issued, and the wise men were on the verge of being executed,[z] and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed. 14 Then Daniel responded prudently and discretely to Arioch, the commander of the imperial guard of the king, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked[aa] and said to Arioch, the royal official of the king, “Why[ab] is the decree from the king so severe?” Then Arioch explained the matter[ac] to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and he would tell the king[ad] the explanation.[ae]
17 Then Daniel went to his home, and he made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven[af] concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.
19 Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Appeal for New Behavior
17 This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles walk: in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, 19 who, becoming callous, gave themselves over to licentiousness, for the pursuit of all uncleanness in greediness.
20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard about him, and you were taught by him (just as truth is in Jesus), 22 that you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires, 23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth.
Old Behavior, New Behavior, and Motivation
25 Therefore, putting aside the lie, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor,[a] because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin;[b] do not let the sun set on your anger, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 The one who steals must steal no longer, but instead must labor, working with his own hands what is good, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need. 29 No rotten word must proceed[c] from your mouth, but only something good for the building up of the need, in order that it may give grace to those who hear, 30 and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, and rage, and wrath, and clamor, and abusive speech, must be removed from you, together with all wickedness. 32 Become[d] kind toward one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as also God in Christ has forgiven you.
Imitators of God
5 Therefore become imitators of God, as beloved children,
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