Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Wishing to Be in the Temple
For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 Lord All-Powerful,
how lovely is your Temple!
2 I want more than anything
to be in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
My whole being wants
to be with the living God.
3 The sparrows have found a home,
and the swallows have nests.
They raise their young near your altars,
Lord All-Powerful, my King and my God.
4 Happy are the people who live at your Temple;
they are always praising you. Selah
5 Happy are those whose strength comes from you,
who want to travel to Jerusalem.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it like a spring.
The autumn rains fill it with pools of water.
7 The people get stronger as they go,
and everyone meets with God in Jerusalem.
17 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Now, think about these things!
Call for the women who cry at funerals to come.
Send for those women who are good at that job.
18 Let them come quickly
and cry loudly for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears,
and streams of water will flow from our eyelids.
19 The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem:
‘We are truly ruined!
We are truly ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20 Now, women of Judah, listen to the word of the Lord ;
open your ears to hear the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to cry loudly.
Teach one another a funeral song.
21 Death has climbed in through our windows
and has entered our strong cities.
Death has taken away our children who play in the streets
and the young men who meet in the city squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The dead bodies of people will lie
in the open field like dung.
They will lie like grain a farmer has cut,
but there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not brag about their wisdom.
The strong must not brag about their strength.
The rich must not brag about their money.
24 But if people want to brag, let them brag
that they understand and know me.
Let them brag that I am the Lord,
and that I am kind and fair,
and that I do things that are right on earth.
This kind of bragging pleases me,” says the Lord.
25 The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh: 26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and the desert people who cut their hair short. The men in all those countries are not circumcised. And the whole family of Israel does not give itself to serving me.”
Obey the Teachings
10 But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my goal, faith, patience, and love. You know I never give up. 11 You know how I have been hurt and have suffered, as in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I have suffered, but the Lord saved me from all those troubles. 12 Everyone who wants to live as God desires, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. 13 But people who are evil and cheat others will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.
14 But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. 15 Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.