Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm (A)of Solomon.
72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
2 (B)He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
3 (C)The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 (D)He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will [a]break in pieces the oppressor.
5 [b]They shall fear You
(E)As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 (F)He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,
(G)And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
8 (H)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 (I)Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
(J)And His enemies will lick the dust.
10 (K)The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 (L)Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
12 For He (M)will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And (N)precious shall be their blood in His sight.
15 And He shall live;
And the gold of (O)Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
(P)And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 (Q)His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And (R)men shall be blessed in Him;
(S)All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 (T)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
(U)Who only does wondrous things!
19 And (V)blessed be His glorious name forever!
(W)And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; (A)and his spirit was so troubled that (B)his sleep left him. 2 (C)Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to [a]know the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, (D)“O[b] king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My [c]decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be (E)cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 (F)However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the [d]time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can [e]give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a [f]difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king (G)except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought (H)Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so [g]urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.
16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 (I)that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel (J)in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should (A)no longer walk as [a]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the (B)blindness of their heart; 19 (C)who, being past feeling, (D)have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you (E)put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and (F)be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you (G)put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Spirit
25 Therefore, putting away lying, (H)“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for (I)we are members of one another. 26 (J)“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 (K)nor give [b]place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather (L)let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something (M)to give him who has need. 29 (N)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but (O)what is good for necessary [c]edification, (P)that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And (Q)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (R)Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [d]clamor, and (S)evil speaking be put away from you, (T)with all malice. 32 And (U)be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (V)forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Walk in Love
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.