The Future Glory of Israel
1 wArise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has xrisen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 yAnd nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 zLift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
ayour sons shall come from afar,
band your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,1
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations cshall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
Give the King Your Justice
zOf Solomon.
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 aMay he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you1 bwhile the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, cthroughout all generations!
6 May he be dlike rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may ethe righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 fMay he have dominion gfrom sea to sea,
and hfrom the River2 to the iends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies jlick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kkings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed
1 For this reason I, Paul, a aprisoner of Christ Jesus bon behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the cstewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the dmystery was made known to me by erevelation, fas I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 gwhich was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy hapostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 iThis mystery is1 that the Gentiles are jfellow heirs, kmembers of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a lminister according to the gift of mGod’s grace, which was given me nby the working of his power. 8 To me, othough I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and pto bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery qhidden for ages in2 God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God rmight now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the sheavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal tpurpose that uhe has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have vboldness and waccess with xconfidence through our faith in him.
The Visit of the Wise Men
1 Now after Jesus was fborn in Bethlehem of Judea gin the days of Herod the king, behold, hwise men1 ifrom the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born jking of the Jews? For we saw his kstar when it rose2 and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the lChrist was to be born. 5 They told him, m“In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 n“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will oshepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, pgold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
