Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 Rain and snow fall from the sky
and don’t return without watering the ground.
They cause the plants to sprout and grow,
making seeds for the ·farmer [sower]
and bread for the ·people [L eater].
11 The same thing is true of the words ·I speak [L that go out of my mouth].
They will not return to me empty.
They ·make the things happen that I want to happen [accomplish what I desire/purpose],
and they succeed in doing what I send them to do.
12 “So you will go out with joy [C returning from the Babylonian exile]
and be led out in peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees in the fields will clap their hands [C the earth rejoices at God’s restoration of creation].
13 ·Large cypress [or Juniper; Evergreen] trees will grow where thornbushes were.
Myrtle trees will grow where ·weeds [briers] were.
These things will be ·a reminder of the Lord’s promise [or for the Lord’s honor/renown; L to the Lord for a name],
·and this reminder will never be destroyed [L for an eternal sign that will not be cut off].”
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15].
92 It is good to ·praise [thank] you, Lord,
to ·sing praises to [L make a psalm to the name of] God Most High.
2 It is good to ·tell of [proclaim] your ·love [loyalty] in the morning
and of your ·loyalty [faithfulness] at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and ·with the soft-sounding [melody of the] harp.
4 Lord, you have made me ·happy [rejoice] by what you have done;
I will ·sing [shout] for joy about ·what your hands have done [L the works of your hand].
12 But ·good [righteous] people will ·grow [sprout] like palm trees [1:3; 52:8];
they will ·be tall [grow great] like the cedars of Lebanon [C trees that are strong, majestic, and long-lived].
13 Like trees planted in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord,
they will ·grow strong [sprout] in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit;
they will be healthy and ·fresh [green; verdant].
15 They will ·say [proclaim] that the Lord is ·good [virtuous; full of integrity; upright].
He is my Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4], and there is no wrong in him.
51 But look! I tell you ·this secret [a mystery; 2:1]: We will not all ·sleep in death [L sleep; C a euphemism for death], but we will all be changed. 52 It will ·take only a second [happen in a flash]—as quickly as an eye ·blinks [or twinkles]—when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised ·to live forever [imperishable; incorruptible], and we will be changed [1 Thess. 4:13–17]. 53 [L For] This body that ·can be destroyed [is perishable/corruptible] must clothe itself with ·something that can never be destroyed [the imperishable/incorruptible]. And this ·body that dies [L mortal] must clothe itself with ·something that can never die [immortality]. 54 So when this body that ·can be destroyed [is perishable/corruptible] will clothe itself with that which ·can never be destroyed [is imperishable/incorruptible], and this ·body that dies [L mortal] will clothe itself with ·that which can never die [immortality], then this Scripture will ·be made true [come to pass]:
“Death is ·destroyed forever [L swallowed up] in victory [Is. 25:8].”
55 “[L O] Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your ·pain [L sting; Hos. 13:14]?”
56 Death’s ·power to hurt [L sting] is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So my ·dear [beloved] brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always ·give yourselves fully to [excel in] the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is ·never wasted [not useless/in vain].
39 Jesus told them this ·story [parable]: “Can a blind person ·lead [guide] another blind person? No! Both of them will fall into a ·ditch [pit; hole]. 40 A ·student [disciple] is not ·better than [above] the teacher, but ·the student [L everyone] who has been fully trained will be like the teacher.
41 “Why do you notice the ·little piece of dust [speck; tiny splinter] in your ·friend’s [L brother’s (or sister’s)] eye, but you don’t ·notice [consider] the ·big piece of wood [log; plank; beam] in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your ·friend [L brother], ‘·Friend [L Brother], let me take that ·little piece of dust [speck; tiny splinter] out of your eye’ when you cannot see that ·big piece of wood [log; plank; beam] in your own eye! You hypocrite! First, take the ·wood [log; plank; beam] out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the ·dust [speck; tiny splinter] out of your friend’s [L brother’s] eye.
Two Kinds of Fruit(A)
43 “[L For] A good tree does not produce ·bad [rotten] fruit, nor does a ·bad [rotten] tree produce good fruit. 44 [L For] Each tree is ·known [identified] by its own fruit. [L For] People don’t ·gather [pick] figs from thornbushes, and they don’t get grapes from ·bushes [brambles; briers]. 45 Good people bring good things out of the good ·they stored [treasured] in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil ·they stored [treasured] in their hearts. ·People speak the things that are in their hearts [L For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart].
Two Kinds of People(B)
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me and ·hears [listens to] my words and ·obeys [acts on them]. 48 That person is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the floods came, the ·water [L river] ·tried to wash the house away [L swept/burst against that house], but it could not shake it, because the house was built well. 49 But the one who ·hears [listens to] my words and does not ·obey [act on them] is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. When the ·floods [L river] ·came [swept/burst against it], the house quickly ·fell [collapsed] and was completely destroyed.”
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