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Cyrus, God’s Instrument

45Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
   whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
   and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
   and the gates shall not be closed:
⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob,
   and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
   I surname you, though you do not know me.
⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other;
   besides me there is no god.
   I arm you, though you do not know me,
⁶ so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
   and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
   I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Psalm 96

Praise to God Who Comes in Judgement

¹ O sing to the Lord a new song;
   sing to the Lord, all the earth.
³ Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvellous works among all the peoples.
⁴ For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   he is to be revered above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
   but the Lord made the heavens.
⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
   bring an offering, and come into his courts.
⁹ Worship the Lord in holy splendour;
   tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!
   The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
   He will judge the peoples with equity.’

THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO THE

Thessalonians

Salutation

1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly ³remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, brothers and sisters^* beloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake.

The Question about Paying Taxes

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ ²¹They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’