Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
24 Thereupon, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill the wise men of Babylon; he went and said this to him: “(A)Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me [a]into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly (B)brought Daniel [b]into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the [c](C)exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was (D)Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the secret about which the king has inquired, neither (E)wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a (F)God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the [d](G)latter days. This was your dream and the (H)visions [e]in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts [f]turned to what would take place [g]in the future; and (I)He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me [h]for any (J)wisdom [i]residing in me more than in any other living person, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the (K)thoughts of your [j]mind.
The King’s Dream
31 “You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and [k]of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was [l](L)awesome. 32 The (M)head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You [m]continued watching until a (N)stone was broken off (O)without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and (P)crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces [n]all at the same time, and they were (Q)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that (R)not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great (S)mountain and filled the entire earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; and now we will tell (T)its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the (U)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the [o]kingdom, the (V)power, the strength, and the honor; 38 and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the (W)animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40 Then there will be a (X)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. 41 And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with [p]common clay. 42 And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile. 43 In that you saw the iron mixed with [q]common clay, they will combine with one another [r]in [s]their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery.
The Divine Kingdom
44 And in the days of those kings the (Y)God of heaven will (Z)set up a (AA)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be [t]left for another people; it will (AB)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Just as you saw that a (AC)stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the (AD)great God has made known to the king what (AE)will take place [u]in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid (AF)humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and (AG)incense. 47 The king responded to Daniel and said, “(AH)Your God truly is a (AI)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a (AJ)revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king [v](AK)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire (AL)province of Babylon, and chief [w]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request of the king, and he (AM)appointed (AN)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s [x](AO)court.
15 So then, [a]be careful how you (A)walk, not (B)as unwise people but as wise, 16 [b](C)making the most of your time, because (D)the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but (E)understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And (F)do not get drunk with wine, [c]in which there is (G)debauchery, but be (H)filled with the Spirit, 19 (I)speaking to [d]one another in (J)psalms and (K)hymns and spiritual (L)songs, (M)singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; 20 (N)always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our (O)God and Father;
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