Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
David wrote this song.
An evening prayer[a]
141 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
Come to me quickly!
Please listen to what I am saying.
2 I offer my prayer to you like incense.
Please accept it when I raise my hands to you.
Accept it like a gift that I offer to you in the evening.
3 Lord, keep my mouth safe,
so that I do not speak bad things.
4 Do not let my mind want evil things.
Do not let me join with wicked people,
to do the same bad things that they do.
I do not even want to eat their good food.
5 If a good man hits me because he loves me,
he is being kind to me.
If he shows me that I have done a wrong thing,
that it is like special oil on my head.[b]
I would not refuse it.
I continue to pray against what wicked people do.
6 They will throw their rulers down
from high rocks.
Then they will agree that my words were true.
7 It will be like a farmer who ploughs his field,
and breaks the earth into pieces.
Just like that, they will break the bones of wicked people.
They will throw their bones on the ground
at the entrance to Sheol.
8 But I look to you for help, Almighty Lord.
I need you to keep me safe.
Do not let wicked people kill me.
9 They have prepared traps to catch me.
Do not let me fall into the traps of those evil people.
10 May those bad people fall into their own traps!
Then I will be free from their power.
The Lord returns to the temple
43 Then the man brought me to the east gate. 2 There I suddenly saw the bright glory of the God of Israel as it came from the east. His voice was like the noise of lots of water that pours along a river. The land around shone with the bright light of his glory. 3 I had seen a vision like this when I was beside the Kebar River.[a] I had also seen a vision like this when God came to destroy Jerusalem. I bent down low with my face on the ground. 4 The Lord's bright glory went through the east gate into the temple. 5 Then a spirit lifted me up and took me into the temple's inside yard.[b] As I watched, the Lord's glory filled the temple.
6 While the man stood beside me, I heard a voice come from inside the temple.
7 The Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place where I sit on my throne. It is my home where I will live among Israel's people. Israel's people and their kings will never again spoil the honour of my holy name. They will not turn away from me and worship other gods. They will not put the graves of their kings in this place. 8 Their kings built their palaces too near to my holy temple. There was only a wall between me and them. They did many disgusting things that spoiled the honour of my holy name. As a result, I became very angry with them and I destroyed them. 9 Now they must be faithful to me. They must no longer worship other gods. The must not give honour to the graves of their kings. If they stop doing these things, I will live among them for ever.
10 Son of man, you must describe the temple to Israel's people. It should make them ashamed of their sins. They must study the plan of the temple. 11 Then they will be ashamed of everything that they have done. Explain the temple's plan to them. Describe its shape, its entrances, and everything about it. Explain its rules and its laws. You must write all this down while they watch you. Then they can study the temple's plan and they can obey its rules.
12 This is the most important law about the temple: All the top of the mountain around the temple will be most holy.
37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed God's prophets. They have thrown stones to kill other people that God has sent to you. Many times, I have wanted to bring all of your people near to me. A female bird covers her babies with her body to make them safe. But you would not let me keep you from danger like that. 38 So listen! Your place will now become like a wilderness where nobody lives. 39 And I tell you this. You will not see me again until the day when you say, “May the Lord God bless the man who comes with his authority!” ’[a]
Jesus talks about the temple
24 Jesus left the temple. While he was leaving, his disciples came to him. They began to talk to him about the buildings of the temple. 2 So Jesus said to them, ‘Yes, you can see all these beautiful buildings now. But I tell you this: Enemies will completely destroy them.[b] Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
3 After that, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. While he was alone, his disciples came to him. They said to him, ‘Please tell us when all these things will happen. Also tell us what will show us that you will soon return? What will show us that the world will soon end?’
4 Jesus said, ‘You must be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe them. 5 Many people will say that they have come on my behalf. They will say, “I am the Messiah.” Many people will believe their false words. 6 You will hear about wars. You will hear reports about wars in other places. But you must not be afraid. Those things must happen first, but it is not yet the end of everything. 7 People in one country will attack the people in another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. In some places, people will be hungry, with no food. The ground will shake in many different places. 8 All those things will be like the first pains that a mother has before her baby is born.
9 Then people will take hold of you and they will give you pain. They will even kill some of you. People in every country will hate you because you are my disciples. 10 At that time, many people who believe in me will stop believing. They will put some of my disciples in the power of their rulers. They will hate each other. 11 Also at that time, many people will say that they are prophets from God. Their message is false, but many people will believe them. 12 More and more people everywhere will be doing very bad things. Because of this, many people will no longer love each other in the way that they did before. 13 But God will save the person who remains strong until the end. 14 People will tell the good news about God's kingdom to people all over the world. People in every country will hear the true message from God. Then God will cause the world to come to an end.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.