Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord the Shepherd
A song of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd.
I have everything I need.
2 He gives me rest in green pastures.
He leads me to calm water.
3 He gives me new strength.
For the good of his name,
he leads me on paths that are right.
4 Even if I walk
through a very dark valley,
I will not be afraid
because you are with me.
Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a meal for me
in front of my enemies.
You pour oil of blessing on my head.[a]
You give me more than I can hold.
6 Surely your goodness and love will be with me
all my life.
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
17 There are terrors, holes and traps
for the people of the earth.
18 Anyone who tries to escape from the sound of terror
will fall into a hole.
Anyone who climbs out of the hole
will be caught in a trap.
The clouds in the sky will pour out rain.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth will be broken up.
And the earth will split open.
The earth will shake violently.
20 The earth will stumble around like a man who is drunk.
It will shake like a hut in a storm.
Its sin is like a heavy weight on its back.
The earth will fall and never rise again.
21 At that time the Lord will punish
the powers in the sky above
and the rulers on earth below.
22 They will be gathered together.
They will be thrown into a pit as prisoners.
They will be shut up in prison.
After much time they will be punished.
23 The moon will be embarrassed.
The sun will be ashamed.
This will happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies will rule as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s leaders will see his greatness.
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
18 One day the followers of John[a] and the Pharisees were giving up eating.[b] Some people came to Jesus and said, “John’s followers and the followers of the Pharisees give up eating. But your followers don’t. Why?”
19 Jesus answered, “When there is a wedding, the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They do not give up eating while the bridegroom is still there. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then the friends will be sad and will give up eating.
21 “When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 22 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If he does, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will be ruined along with the bags for the wine. People always put new wine into new leather bags.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.