); Isaiah 49:13-23 (God comforts the suffering); Matthew 18:1-14 (Become like a child) (Legacy Standard Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise Yahweh!
148 [a]Praise Yah!
Praise Yahweh (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (E)heavens of heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He caused them to (H)stand forever and ever;
He gave a (I)statute and it will never pass away.
7 Praise Yahweh from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)doing His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged bird;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all [b]judges of the earth;
12 Both choice men as well as virgins;
The old with the young.
13 (A)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For (B)Yahweh has comforted His people
And will (C)have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her infant
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but (D)I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have (E)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your (F)walls are continually before Me.
17 Your [a]builders hurry;
Your (G)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 (H)Lift up your eyes and look around;
(I)All of them gather together; (J)they come to you.
(K)As I live,” declares Yahweh,
“You will surely (L)put on all of them as [b]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
19 For (M)your [c]devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be (N)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who (O)swallowed you will be far away.
20 The (P)children of [d]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 Then you will (Q)say in your heart,
‘Who has borne these for me?
Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children
And am (R)barren, an (S)exile and a wanderer.
And who has reared these?
Behold, I (T)remained alone;
[e](U)From where did these come?’”
22 Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And make high My (V)standard to the peoples;
And they will (W)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders.
23 (X)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will (Y)bow down to you with their [f]faces to the earth
And (Z)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will (AA)know that I am Yahweh;
Those who (AB)hope in Me will (AC)not be put to shame.
Who Is Greatest in Heaven?
18 (A)At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him [b]before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [c]are converted and (C)become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever therefore will humble himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but (D)whoever (E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “(G)And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9 (H)And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the [e](I)fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that (J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [f][(K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
12 “What do you think? (L)If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 In this way, it is not the will [g]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
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