Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
24 Lord, you have made very many different things!
You were very wise in the way that you have made them all.
The earth is full of the living things
that you have made.[a]
25 Look at the sea, which is deep and wide!
It is full of living things,
that are both large and small.
They are more than anyone can count.
26 Ships travel on the sea.
You made the monster, Leviathan,
to swim and to play in the sea.
27 All these living things wait for you
to give them their food when they need it.
28 When you give it to them, they take it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they have plenty of good things.
29 When you turn away from them,
they become very afraid.
When you take away their breath,
they die and they return to the dust.
30 But when you breathe into anything,
it receives life.
In that way, you bring new life to the earth.
31 I pray that the glory of the Lord
will continue for ever!
I pray that the Lord will be happy
with everything that he has made!
32 When he looks down at the earth,
it shakes!
When he touches the mountains,
they pour out smoke!
33 All my life, I will sing to praise the Lord.
I will always sing songs to praise my God,
for as long as I live.
34 I want my song to make him happy.
I will be happy,
because of what the Lord has done.
35 I pray that wicked people will disappear from the earth.
May they disappear for ever!
I say to myself, ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!’
The valley of dry bones[a]
37 The Lord took hold of me with great power. In a vision, the Lord's Spirit took me to the middle of a valley. Bones covered all the ground there. 2 The Lord made me walk up and down among the bones. I could see many bones there, on the ground in the valley. They were completely dry.
3 He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones become alive again?’
I said, ‘Almighty Lord, only you know the answer.’
4 Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones. Say to them, “Dry bones, listen to the Lord's message! 5 This is what the Almighty Lord says to you bones: Listen! I will put breath into you and you will become alive. 6 I will join you together and I will put meat on you. I will cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and you will become alive. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’[b]
7 So I prophesied, as the Lord had commanded me to do. While I was still speaking, there was a noise. It was the sound of the bones as they knocked against each other when they joined together. 8 While I watched, I saw meat come and join to the bones. Then skin covered them. But there was no breath in them yet.
9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Prophesy to the wind, son of man. Speak my message to the wind. Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Blow from all directions and put breath into these dead bodies! Cause them to become alive again.” ’
10 So I spoke the message that the Lord had commanded me to speak. Breath went into those dead bodies and they became alive. They stood up on their feet. They were as many as a great army.
11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are a picture of all Israel's people. The Israelites are saying, “Our bones are dead and dry. There are no good things that we can hope for. We have come to an end.” 12 So prophesy and say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen, my people! I will soon open up your graves. I will bring you out of your graves. I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 When that happens to you, my people, you will know that I am the Lord. 14 I will put the breath of my Spirit in you, and you will become alive. I will let you live safely in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken. You will know that I have done what I said I would do. That is what the Lordsays.” ’[c]
Jesus appears to his disciples
19 On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting together. They had locked the doors of the room because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Then Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very, very happy when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, in the same way I am now sending you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them. He said, ‘Receive God's Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive a person's sins, God will forgive them too. If you do not forgive them, God will not forgive them.’
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