Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to praise the Lord,
to sing praises to God Most High.
2 It is good to tell of your love in the morning
and of your loyalty at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and with the soft-sounding harp.
4 Lord, you have made me happy by what you have done.
I will sing for joy about what your hands have done.
5 Lord, you have done such great things!
How deep are your thoughts!
6 Stupid people don’t know these things.
Fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people grow like the grass.
Evil people seem to do well.
But they will be destroyed forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will be destroyed.
All who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have poured fine oils on me.
11 When I looked, I saw my enemies.
I heard the cries of those who are against me.
12 But good people will grow like palm trees.
They will be tall like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
13 They will be like trees planted in the courtyards of the Lord.
They will grow strong in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit.
They will be healthy and fresh.
15 They will say that the Lord is good.
He is my Rock, and there is no wrong in him.
3 “‘Remember my laws and commands, and obey them. 4 If you do these things, I will give you rains at the right season. The land will produce crops. And the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest. And your grape harvest will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat. You will live safely in your land. 6 I will give peace to your country. You will lie down in peace. No one will make you afraid. I will keep harmful animals out of your country. And armies will not pass through your country.
7 “‘You will chase your enemies and defeat them. You will kill them with your sword. 8 Five of you will chase 100 men. And 100 of you will chase 10,000 men. You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your sword.
9 “‘Then I will show kindness to you. I will let you have many children. I will keep my agreement with you. 10 You will have enough crops to last for more than a year. You will harvest the new crops. And you will have to throw out the old crops to make room for the new ones. 11 Also I will place my Holy Tent among you. I will not turn away from you. 12 I will walk with you and be your God. And you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God. You were slaves in Egypt. You were bent low from the heavy weights you carried as slaves. But I broke the heavy weights that were on your shoulders. I let you walk proudly again.
Punishment for Not Obeying God
14 “‘But you must obey me. You must obey all my commands. 15 If you refuse to obey all my laws and commands, you have broken our agreement. 16 If you do that, I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever. They will destroy your eyes and kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed. And your enemy will eat your crops. 17 I will be against you, and your enemies will defeat you. These enemies hate you. And they will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18 “‘If you still do not obey me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will also break the great cities that make you proud. The skies will not give rain. The earth will not produce crops. 20 You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not grow any crops. Your trees will not give their fruit.
A Life That Pleases God
4 Brothers, now I have some other things to tell you. We taught you how to live in a way that will please God. And you are living that way. Now we ask you and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way more and more. 2 You know what we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy and to stay away from sexual immorality. 4 He wants each one of you to learn how to take a wife[a] in a way that is holy and honorable. 5 Don’t give in to lust like people who do not know God. 6 So do not wrong your brother or cheat him in this way. The Lord will punish people who do those things. We have already told you and warned you about that. 7 God called us to be holy and does not want us to live in sin. 8 So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is refusing to obey God, not man. And God is the One who gives us his Holy Spirit.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.