Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Give the King Your Judgments
Of Solomon.
72 O God, give the king (A)Your judgments,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)render judgment to Your people with righteousness
And (D)Your [c]afflicted with justice.
3 Let the mountains lift up [d](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [e]May he (F)give justice to the [f]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [g]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [h]as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.
6 [i]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [j]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
And (K)abundance of peace until the moon is no more.
8 May he also have dominion (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [k]Let (M)the desert creatures (N)kneel before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [l]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the (Q)coastlands bring a present;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tribute.
11 [m]And let all (U)kings bow down to him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [n]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [o]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will (Y)redeem their [p]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live! And may they give to him the (AA)gold of Sheba;
And let each pray for him continually;
Let each bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
May its fruit wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city blossom like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [q]increase [r](AE)as long as the sun shines;
Let all nations [s](AF)be blessed in him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wondrous deeds.
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 [t]The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.
24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: “(A)Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly (B)brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him: “I have found a man among the [a](C)exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king answered and 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 mystery about which the king is asking, neither (E)wise men, conjurers, [b]magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a (F)God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the [c](G)last days. This was your dream and the (H)visions of your head while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts [d]turned to what would happen [e]in the future; and (I)He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will happen. 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me by any (J)wisdom which is in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may know the (K)thoughts of your heart.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
31 “You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great [f]image; that image, which was large and [g]of extraordinary splendor, was rising up in front of you, and its appearance was [h](L)awesome. 32 The (M)head of that image was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You [i]continued looking until a (N)stone was cut out (O)without hands, and it struck the image 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 [j]all at the same time and became (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 image became a great (S)mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream; now we will say (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 [k]kingdom, the (V)power, the strength, and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men inhabit, or the (W)beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has made you rule with power over them all. You are the head of gold. 39 But after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule with power over all the earth. 40 Then there will be a (X)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. 41 Now 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 in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with [l]common clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with [m]common clay; they will combine with one another [n]in the seed of men; but they will not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the (Y)God of heaven will (Z)cause a (AA)kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be [o]left for another people; it will (AB)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that a (AC)stone was cut out of 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 happen [p]in the future; so the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel and Friends Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did (AF)homage to Daniel and said for them to present to him an offering and [q](AG)fragrant incense. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly (AH)your God is a (AI)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a (AJ)revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king [r](AK)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him rule with power over the whole (AL)province of Babylon and chief [s]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel sought 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 [t](AO)court.
15 Therefore look carefully how you (A)walk, not (B)as unwise but as wise, 16 (C)redeeming the time, because (D)the days are evil. 17 On account of this, do not be foolish, but (E)understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And (F)do not get drunk with wine, [a]for that is (G)dissipation, but be (H)filled with the Spirit, 19 (I)speaking to [b]one another in (J)psalms and (K)hymns and spiritual (L)songs, (M)singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 (N)always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to [c](O)God, even the Father;
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