Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹ “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his kindness^[c] endures forever.”
² Let this be the prayer of the redeemed of the Lord,
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
³ and gathered together from the lands,^[d]
    from east and west, north and south.
^4 [e]Some wandered in a barren wilderness,
    unable to discover a path to an inhabited city.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,
    and their life was wasting away.
⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
    and he saved them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a direct route
    to a city in which they could dwell.
⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness^[f]
    and for the wonders he does for people.
⁹ He has satisfied the thirsty
    and filled the hungry with good things.
^10 [g]Some sat in darkness and the shadow of death,^[h]
    bound in misery and in chains,
¹¹ because they had rebelled against the words of God
    and spurned the plan of the Most High.
¹² He humbled their hearts with hard labor;^[i]
    when they stumbled, no one was there to offer help.
¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord in their need,
    and he rescued them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death
    and tore their chains to pieces.
¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness
    and for the wonders he does for people.
¹⁶ He has broken down gates of bronze
    and cut through iron bars.

¹⁵ Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
    with no one traveling through you,
I will make you an object of everlasting pride
    and a source of never-ending joy.
¹⁶ You will suck the milk of nations
    and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior
    and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁷ Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
    instead of iron I will bring you silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
    and instead of stone, iron.
I will ensure that you will be governed in peace
    and be ruled with righteousness.
¹⁸ No longer will violence appear in your land,
    nor will devastation and ruin occur within your borders.
You will call your walls “Salvation”
    and your gates “Praise.”
¹⁹ The sun will no longer serve
    as the source of your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon
    afford light to you during the night.
Rather, the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your splendor.
²⁰ Never again will your sun go down,
    nor will your moon withdraw its light.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of mourning will be ended.
²¹ Your people will all be righteous
    and possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I have planted,
    my handiwork to exhibit my glory.
²² The least of you will become a thousand,
    and the weakest will become a mighty nation.
I am the Lord, and I will accomplish all this
    at the appointed time.

“I am^[b] the light of the world.
The one who follows me
will never walk in darkness.
Rather, he will have the light of life.”

“Even though I testify on my own behalf,
my testimony is true,
because I know where I have come from
and where I am going,
whereas you do not know
where I have come from
or where I am going.
¹⁵ You judge by the flesh,
whereas I do not judge anyone.
¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge,
my judgment is true
because it is not I alone who judge,
but it is I and the Father who sent me.
¹⁷ “In your Law it is written
that the testimony of two witnesses is true.
¹⁸ I testify on my own behalf,
and the Father who sent me
also testifies on my behalf.”

“You know neither me nor my Father.
If you knew me,
you would know my Father also.”