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Epiphany Season · Epiphany of the Lord · Year A

Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

The Just and Universal King

January 6, 2026

The Adoration of the Magi, Andrea Mantegna
The Adoration of the Magi, Andrea Mantegna, c. 1500J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (PD-Art)
A close half-length group on a dark ground, with the gifts painted as identifiable objects: a Chinese porcelain cup, an agate vessel, a Turkish censer.May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute; may all kings fall down before him.Andrea MantegnaA Paduan painter obsessed with Roman antiquity and with foreshortening, who painted stone as if he had quarried it himself.J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (PD-Art)Endowed by an oil fortune large enough to buy almost anything, and free to enter, on a hilltop above Los Angeles.J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (PD-Art)
Roman Lectionary
GospelMatt. 2:1-12Mt 2:1-12
Second ReadingEph. 3:2-3a, 5-6Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
First ReadingIsa. 60:1-6Is 60:1-6
Responsorial PsalmPs. 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Overview & Insights

"For he delivers the needy who calls, the poor and him who has no helper." (Psalm 72:12)

This royal psalm prays that Israel's king will judge with God's own justice, defending the poor and rescuing the needy who have no one else to help them. It pictures that reign reaching so far that even the kings of Tarshish and the isles bring tribute, an image the church has long read alongside the Magi's gifts at Epiphany.

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Take it further: Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Commentary

Psalm 72 Commentary: Solomon's Prayer for a Righteous KingPs 72 Commentary: Solomon's Prayer for a Righteous King Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse by verse look at the king who judges the poor with justice.

Psalm 72:1 CommentariesPs 72:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregated classic commentary on the king's righteous reign and the tribute of distant nations.

Psalm 72 - Gill's ExpositionPs 72 - Gill's Exposition StudyLight

John Gill's verse by verse notes on the king's justice for the needy and the gifts of Tarshish and Sheba.

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Agape Bible Study

Catholic study of the Epiphany Sunday readings connecting the psalm's tribute-bearing kings to the Magi.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 72Ps 72 Sefaria

Hebrew text and English translation of the full royal psalm for word by word study.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 72Ps 72 Catena

Verse-by-verse comment from the Fathers on Psalm 72.

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