Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A maskil from Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing forever about the Lord’s love.
I will sing about his faithfulness forever and ever!
2 I will say, “Your faithful love will last forever.
Your loyalty is like the sky—there is no end to it!”
3 You said, “I made an agreement with my chosen king.
I made this promise to my servant David:
4 ‘There will always be someone from your family to rule.
I will make your kingdom continue forever and ever.’” Selah
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for the amazing things you do.
The assembly of holy ones sings about your loyalty.
6 No one in heaven is equal to the Lord.
None of the “gods” can compare to the Lord.
7 When God’s holy ones—the angels around his throne—meet together,
they fear and respect him;
he is more awesome than all those around him.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, there is no one like you.
You are strong, Lord, and always faithful.
9 You rule the stormy sea.
You can calm its angry waves.
10 You defeated Rahab.
You scattered your enemies with your own powerful arm.
11 Everything in heaven and earth belongs to you.
You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created everything north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing praises to your name.
13 You have the power!
Your power is great!
Victory is yours!
14 Your kingdom is built on truth and justice.
Love and faithfulness are servants before your throne.
15 Lord, your loyal followers are happy.
They live in the light of your kindness.
16 Your name always makes them happy.
They praise your goodness.
17 You are their amazing strength.
Their power comes from you.
18 The king, our protector, belongs to the Lord,
who is the Holy One of Israel.
The Good Branch
14 This message is from the Lord: “I made a special promise to the people of Israel and Judah. The time is coming when I will do what I promised. 15 At that time I will make a good ‘branch’ grow from David’s family. That branch will do what is good and right for the country. 16 When he rules, Judah will be saved. The people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This will be his name: ‘The Lord Makes Things Right For Us.’”
17 The Lord says, “Someone from David’s family will always sit on the throne and rule the family of Israel. 18 And there will always be priests from the family of Levi. They will always stand before me and offer burnt offerings and sacrifice grain offerings and give sacrifices to me.”
19 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. 20 The Lord says, “I have an agreement with day and night. I agreed that they would continue forever. You cannot change that agreement. Day and night will always come at the right time. If you could change that agreement, 21 then you could change my agreement with David and Levi. Then descendants from David would not be the kings, and the family of Levi would not be priests. 22 But I will give many descendants to my servant David and to the tribe of Levi. They will be as many as the stars in the sky—no one can count all the stars. And they will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore—no one can count the grains of sand.”
23 Jeremiah received this message from the Lord: 24 “Jeremiah, have you heard what the people are saying? They are saying, ‘The Lord turned away from the two families of Israel and Judah. He chose those people, but now he does not even accept them as a nation.’”
25 The Lord says, “If my agreement with day and night does not continue, and if I had not made the laws for the sky and earth, maybe I would leave those people. 26 Then maybe I would turn away from Jacob’s descendants. And then maybe I would not let David’s descendants rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But David is my servant, and I will be kind to those people. I will again cause good things to happen to them.”
Who Is the Trusted Servant?(A)
41 Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story for us or for all people?”
42 The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work? 43 When the master comes and finds him doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant! 44 I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.
45 “But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? He will begin to beat the other servants, men and women. He will eat and drink until he has had too much. 46 Then the master will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servant is not expecting him. Then the master will punish that servant and send him away to be with the other people who don’t obey.
47 “That servant knew what his master wanted him to do. But he did not make himself ready or try to do what his master wanted. So that servant will be punished very much! 48 But what about the servant who does not know what his master wants? He also does things that deserve punishment. But he will get less punishment than the servant who knew what he should do. Whoever has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the one who has been given more.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International