Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Praise

150 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His holy place! Praise Him in the heavens of His power! ² Praise Him for His great works! Praise Him for all His greatness!

³ Praise Him with the sound of a horn. Praise Him with harps. ⁴ Praise Him with timbrels and dancing. Praise Him with strings and horns. ⁵ Praise Him with loud sounds. Praise Him with loud and clear sounds. ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

Wisdom—or the Way to Hell

9 Wisdom has built her house. She has made seven pillars to hold it up. ² She has cooked her food, and has mixed her wine, and she has set her table. ³ She has sent out the young women who work for her. She calls from the highest places of the city, ⁴ “Whoever is easy to fool, let him turn in here!” She says to the one without understanding, ⁵ “Come and eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. ⁶ Turn from your foolish way, and live. Walk in the way of understanding.”

The Followers of Jesus Do Not Believe He Was Raised from the Dead ^(A)

⁹ (*It was early on the first day of the week when Jesus was raised from the dead. Mary Magdalene saw Him first. He had put seven demons out of her. ¹⁰ She went and told His followers. They were crying because of much sorrow. ¹¹ But they did not believe her when she said she had seen Him alive.

¹² After that He was seen again by two of His followers as they walked into the country. He did not look like He had looked before to these two people. ¹³ They went and told it to the others. The others did not believe them.

¹⁴ Later He was seen by the eleven followers as they were eating. He spoke to them with sharp words because they did not believe and their hearts were hard. And they did not believe the others who had seen Him since He had been raised from the dead.

Jesus Sends His Followers to Preach ^(B)

¹⁵ He said to them, “You are to go to all the world and preach the Good News to every person. ¹⁶ He who puts his trust in Me and is baptized will be saved from the punishment of sin. But he who does not put his trust in Me is guilty and will be punished forever. ¹⁷ These special powerful works will be done by those who have put their trust in Me. In My name they will put out demons. They will speak with languages they have never learned. ¹⁸ They will pick up snakes. If they drink any poison, it will not hurt them. They will put their hands on the sick and they will be healed.”