Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The King who brings peace
11 A descendant of Jesse will appear, like a new branch that grows from a tree stump. The roots of the tree will give new fruit![a]
2 The Spirit of the Lord will be with him.
The Spirit will make him wise,
so that he understands things.
The Spirit will show him what is right,
and he will have the power to do it.
The Spirit will cause him to know the Lord
and to serve him truly.
3 To obey the Lord will make him very happy. He will not judge people because of what he sees with his eyes. He will not judge them because of what he hears about them with his ears.
4 But he will judge poor people with true justice. He will decide to do what is right for all the helpless people. He will have authority everywhere in the land. The words that he speaks will bring death to wicked people. 5 He will wear justice like a belt round his clothes. He will always be honest and true.
6 When he is king, wolves will live beside lambs! Leopards will lie down with young goats! Young cows and lions will feed together, and a young child will take care of them!
7 Cows and bears will feed together. Even their children will lie down side by side. Lions will eat grass, as cows do.
8 If a baby plays near the hole where a snake lives, he will be safe. A young child may even put his hand into the hole of a dangerous snake.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy anything else anywhere on my holy mountain. Instead, people will know the Lord all over the earth, as water fills the whole sea.
10 On that day, King David's descendant, the root of Jesse, will appear. He will be like a clear sign to all nations. They will come to him, so that he leads them. The place where he lives as king will be wonderful.
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.
18 Praise the Lord, Israel's God,
as he deserves.
Only he does such wonderful things.
19 Praise his great name for ever!
May his glory fill the whole earth!
Amen! May that all happen!
4 Everything that people wrote in the Bible in past times is there to teach us something. Those words help us to be patient and strong. As a result, we can trust God to do what he has promised.
5 It is God himself who helps us to be patient and strong. So I pray that he will help you to agree with each other and to be friends. That is how Christ Jesus wants you to live. 6 As a result, all of you will praise God together with the same thoughts. You will all agree that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is very great.
Christ saves both Jews and Gentiles
7 Christ has accepted you, so you must accept each other. In that way you will be praising God. 8 Remember this: Christ became a servant of the Jews so that they could understand God's true message. He showed them that God has now done what he promised to their ancestors.[a] 9 The Gentiles also praise God because he has been kind to them. This is written in the Bible:
‘I will tell the Gentiles about you, God.
I will praise you with songs, to show how great you are.’[b]
10 It says also in the Bible:
‘Be very happy, you Gentiles!
Praise God together with his people.’[c]
11 It also says this:
‘Say how great the Lord is, all you Gentiles.
All people, from every country, should say how great he is.’[d]
12 God's prophet Isaiah says this:
‘The root of Jesse will arrive.
He will come to rule the Gentiles.
The Gentiles will trust him to save them.’[e]
13 God is the one who causes us to hope for good things. I pray that God will bless you very much. I pray that he will cause you to be happy and to have peace in your minds. He will do this because you believe in him. As a result, God's Holy Spirit will make you strong with his power, so that you hope even more certainly.
John the Baptist prepares a way for Jesus
3 While Jesus still lived in Nazareth, a man called John the Baptist was speaking a message from God. He was doing this in the wilderness in Judea.[a] 2 He told people, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Do this now, because the kingdom of heaven has come very near.’
3 God's prophet Isaiah spoke about this man John long ago. He said:
‘Somebody's voice is shouting in the wilderness,
“The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him to follow.
Make the paths straight for him.” ’[b]
4 John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.[c]
5 Many people went to listen to John. They lived in Jerusalem and all over the country called Judea and many other places near the Jordan River. 6 The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River.[d]
7 Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to John.[e] They wanted John to baptize them. He said to them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes. God is angry. You are trying to run away from him. But he will soon punish people like you. 8 You have to show that you are sorry. Change how you live. Stop doing things that God does not like. 9 Do not say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. God will surely not punish us.” Listen! God can take these stones and make children for Abraham out of them! 10 You are like trees that have bad fruit. God has an axe ready to use. He will cut down every tree that does not make good fruit. He will throw those trees into the fire.
11 I baptize you with water. This shows that you want to change the way that you live. But another person will come soon.[f] He is greater than I am. I am not good enough even to carry his shoes for him. This other person will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is like a farmer that brings the wheat home from his field. He uses a special tool to throw the wheat up in the air. He does this to make the wheat seeds separate from what remains. Then he cleans his yard. He carefully stores all the seeds to keep them safe. But he burns everything else in a great fire that nobody can put out.’
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