Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for God’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name should be praised
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name should be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is supreme over all the nations.
His glory reaches to the skies.
5 No one is like the Lord our God.
He rules from heaven.
6 He bends down to look
at the skies and the earth.
7 The Lord lifts the poor from the dirt.
He takes the helpless from the ashes.
8 And he seats them with princes,
the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who has none.
He makes her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
Israel Is Worthless
17 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 18 “Human being, the people of Israel have become useless like scum to me. They are like the copper, tin, iron and lead left in the furnace. These are left when silver is purified by melting. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: ‘You have become useless like scum. I am going to gather you into Jerusalem. 20 People gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace. Then they melt it in a blazing fire. In the same way I will gather you in my hot anger. I will put you in Jerusalem and melt you. 21 I will gather you. And I will make you feel the heat of my anger. You will be melted in the fire. 22 Silver is melted in the furnace. In the same way you will be melted in the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger against you.’”
Sins of the People
23 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 24 “Human being, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not had rain or showers in a day of anger.’ 25 Israel’s rulers make evil plans. They are like a roaring lion that tears the animal it has caught. They have destroyed lives. They have taken treasure and valuable things. They have caused many women to become widows. 26 Israel’s priests do cruel things to my teachings. They do not honor my holy things. They make no difference between holy and unholy things. They teach there is no difference between clean and unclean things. They do not remember my Sabbaths. So I am dishonored by them. 27 Jerusalem’s leaders are like wolves tearing a dead animal. They have killed people for profit. 28 And the prophets try to cover this up by false visions and by lying. They say, ‘This is what the Lord God says’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people cheat others. They steal. They hurt people who are poor and needy. They cheat foreigners and don’t treat them fairly.
30 “I looked for someone to build up the walls. I looked for someone to stand before me where the walls are broken to defend these people. Then I would not have to destroy them. But I did not find anyone. 31 So I will let them see my anger. I will destroy them with an anger that is like fire. This is because of all the things they have done, says the Lord God.”
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, then no one can defeat us. 32 God let even his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people that God has chosen? No one! God is the One who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is on God’s right side and is begging God for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can troubles or problems or sufferings? If we have no food or clothes, if we are in danger, or even if death comes—can any of these things separate us from Christ’s love? 36 As it is written in the Scriptures:
“For you we are in danger of death all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.” Psalm 44:22
37 But in all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.