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.
Daniel Praises God and Interprets the King’s Dream
24 Therefore[a] Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed[b] to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus he said to him: “You must not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in before the king and I will give the explanation[c] to the king.”
25 Then Arioch quickly[d] brought Daniel in before the king and thus he said to him: “I have found a man among the exiles[e] of Judah[f] who can relate[g] the explanation[h] to the king. 26 The king then asked[i] and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?”[j] 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers,[k] magicians,[l] or diviners are able to make known to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what it is that will be at the end of days. This is your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.
29 “As for you, king,[m] your thoughts on your bed turned to[n] what it was that would be in the future,[o] and the revealer of mysteries has made known to you what that would be. 30 And as for me, it is not because of wisdom that is in me more than any other living person[p] that this mystery is revealed to me, but in order that[q] the explanation[r] may be made known to the king and you will understand[s] the thoughts of your mind.[t]
31 “You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue was huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing there before you, and its appearance was frightening.[u] 32 The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay. 34 You were looking on until[v] a stone was chiseled out[w]—that not by hands—and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all at once[x] broke into pieces[y] and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away and any trace of them could not be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and it filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream, and now we will tell its interpretation to the king. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory, 38 and also human beings wherever they dwell,[z] the animals of the field and the birds[aa] of heaven[ab]—he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them—you are the head of gold. 39 And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third kingdom of bronze that will rule over the whole earth. 40 And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, and just as[ac] iron crushes and smashes everything,[ad] and as iron shatters all of these other metals, so it will crush and it will shatter these nations. 41 And just as[ae] you saw the feet and the toes, partly potter’s clay[af] and partly iron,[ag] it will be a divided kingdom; and some hardness[ah] of the iron will be in it, just as[ai] you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom will be strong and partly brittle.[aj] 43 And in that you saw the iron was mixed with wet clay, so they will mix in marriage[ak] and they will not cling to one another,[al] just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the day of those kings,[am] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never[an] be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation,[ao] and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand forever.[ap] 45 Inasmuch as[aq] you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out[ar] but not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, thereby the great God made known to the king what will be in the future,[as] and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy.”
The King’s Response to Daniel and His God
46 Then the king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell on his face and he paid homage to Daniel; and he commanded them to offer a grain offering and incense offering to him. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly[at] your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request from the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the court of the king.
15 Therefore, consider carefully how you live, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of the time because the days are evil.
Being Filled by the Spirit
17 Because of this do not become foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine (in which is dissipation), but be filled by the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and singing praise in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to the God and Father,
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