Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 That is what those whom the Lord has saved should say.
He has saved them from the enemy
3 and has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south.
33 He changed rivers into a desert
and springs of water into dry ground.
34 He made fertile land salty,
because the people there did evil.
35 He changed the desert into pools of water
and dry ground into springs of water.
36 He had the hungry settle there
so they could build a city in which to live.
37 They planted seeds in the fields and vineyards,
and they had a good harvest.
38 God blessed them, and they grew in number.
Their cattle did not become fewer.
39 Because of disaster, troubles, and sadness,
their families grew smaller and weaker.
40 He showed he was displeased with their leaders
and made them wander in a pathless desert.
41 But he lifted the poor out of their suffering
and made their families grow like flocks of sheep.
42 Good people see this and are happy,
but the wicked say nothing.
43 Whoever is wise will remember these things
and will think about the love of the Lord.
God Gives What Is Good
55 The Lord says, “All you who are thirsty,
come and drink.
Those of you who do not have money,
come, buy and eat!
Come buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend your money on something that is not real food?
Why work for something that doesn’t really satisfy you?
Listen closely to me, and you will eat what is good;
your soul will enjoy the rich food that satisfies.
3 Come to me and listen;
listen to me so you may live.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever.
I will give you the blessings I promised to David.
4 I made David a witness of my power for all nations,
a ruler and commander of many nations.
5 You will call for nations that you don’t yet know.
And these nations that do not know you will run to you
because of the Lord your God,
because of the Holy One of Israel who honors you.”
6 So you should look for the Lord before it is too late;
you should call to him while he is near.
7 The wicked should stop doing wrong,
and they should stop their evil thoughts.
They should return to the Lord so he may have mercy on them.
They should come to our God, because he will freely forgive them.
8 The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts.
Your ways are not like my ways.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
More than Four Thousand People Fed
8 Another time there was a great crowd with Jesus that had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his followers and said, 2 “I feel sorry for these people, because they have already been with me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way. Some of them live a long way from here.”
4 Jesus’ followers answered, “How can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town.”
5 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven.”
6 Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, and divided the bread. He gave the pieces to his followers to give to the people, and they did so. 7 The followers also had a few small fish. After Jesus gave thanks for the fish, he told his followers to give them to the people also. 8 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then his followers filled seven baskets with the leftover pieces of food. 9 There were about four thousand people who ate. After they had eaten, Jesus sent them home. 10 Then right away he got into a boat with his followers and went to the area of Dalmanutha.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.