Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 65
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 All will stand in awe to praise You.
Praise will sweep through Zion, the Sacred City, O God.
Solemn vows uttered to You will now be performed.
2 You hear us pray in words and silence;
all humanity comes into Your presence.
3 Injustice overwhelms me!
But You forgive our sins, restoring as only You can.
4 You invite us near, drawing us
into Your courts—what an honor and a privilege!
We feast until we’re full on the goodness of Your house,
Your sacred temple made manifest.
5 You leave us breathless when Your awesome works answer us by putting everything right.
God of our liberation—
You are the hope of all creation, from the far corners of the earth
to distant life-giving oceans.
6 With immense power, You erected mountains.
Wrapped in strength, You compelled
7 Choppy seas,
crashing waves,
and crowds of people
To sit in astonished silence.
8 Those who inhabit the boundaries of the earth are awed by Your signs,
strong and subtle hints of Your indelible presence.
Even the dawn and dusk respond to You with joy.
9 You spend time on the good earth,
watering and nourishing the networks of the living.
God’s river is full of water!
By preparing the land,
You have provided us grain for nourishment.
10 You are the gentle equalizer: soaking the furrows,
smoothing soil’s ridges,
Softening sun-baked earth with generous showers,
blessing the fruit of the ground.
11 You crown the year with a fruitful harvest;
the paths are worn down by carts overflowing with unstoppable growth.
12 Barren desert pastures yield fruit;
craggy hills are now dressed for celebration.
13 Meadows are clothed with frolicking flocks of lambs;
valleys are covered with a carpet of autumn-harvest grain;
the land shouts and sings in joyous celebration.
52 Wake up, fair Zion; dress in your strength.
Put on your most elegant clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city.
Never again will outsiders—uncircumcised and the unclean—
who once abused and denigrated you move within your elect borders.
2 So brush off any dust and dirt; rise, take your place of honor, Jerusalem.
Loose the chains from your neck and raise your head in freedom, captive children of Zion.
3 For the Eternal has this to say:
Eternal One: You were taken for nothing,
and it’s nothing for Me to get you back.
4 For the Lord, the Eternal, has this to say:
Eternal One: My people willingly went to live in Egypt long ago;
but now Assyria has oppressed My people for no good reason.
5 So what now? Babylon has assumed it can simply take My people away
with no recompense and no respect.
Their tyrannical rulers jeer and cheer
and continually deride My name.
6 Well, it’s not over. My people will know My name.
At the time that I determine,
My people will see again who I am.
I will tell them, “I am here. And I am ready.”
Jesus (crying out before the people): 44 Anyone who believes in Me is not placing his faith in Me, but in the One who sent Me here. 45 If one sees Me, he sees the One who sent Me. 46 I am here to bring light in this world, freeing everyone who believes in Me from the darkness that blinds him. 47 If anyone listening to My teachings chooses to ignore them, so be it: I have come to liberate the world, not to judge it. 48 However, those who reject Me and My teachings will be judged: in the last day, My words will be their judge 49 because I am not speaking of My own volition and from My own authority. The Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and speak. 50 I know His command is eternal life, so every word I utter originates in Him.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.