Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 You do not really want sacrifices and offerings.
I understand that!
You do not ask for burnt offerings
or sin offerings.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am, my God!
The message that is written in the book
tells me what I must do.[a]
8 I want to do what pleases you.
Your law is always in my thoughts.’
9 In the great meeting of your people,
I have told them about your justice.
I cannot keep quiet!
You know that this is true, Lord.
10 I have not hidden the good news about your justice.
I have told everyone that they can trust you,
and that you have the power to save.
I tell the great meeting of your people about your faithful love.
11 You, Lord, will continue to be kind to me.
Please continue to keep me safe,
because of your faithful love.
12 There are many dangerous troubles all around me.
They are too many to count!
My sins are too strong for me.
They are more than all the hairs on my head!
So I am weak and I cannot see clearly.
13 Lord, please save me!
Lord, come quickly to help me!
14 Chase away the people who want to kill me!
Cause them to become ashamed and confused.
Chase away the people who want to hurt me,
so that they run away in shame.
15 When people laugh at me,
make them sorry for what they have done.
16 Lord, may those who come to you be very happy,
because you have saved them.
They should never stop saying,
‘Praise the Lord!’
17 But I am poor and weak, my Lord.
Please continue to think about me.
You are the one who helps me and who saves me.
My God, come quickly to help me!
12 So listen to me, descendants of Jacob!
I called you to belong to me, you Israelite people.
I am the only One.
I am the first, and I am also the last.
13 I created the earth with my own hand.
With my right hand, I hung up the sky like a curtain.
When I call to the stars,
they all appear in their places.
14 All of you, come together and listen to me.
Not one of your idols has said
what will happen now.
I, the Lord, have chosen a friend to attack Babylon.
He will do what I want.
He will have the power to punish the Babylonians.
15 Yes, that is what I have commanded.
I have called him to do this work.
I have shown him what he must do,
and he will do it!
16 Come near to me! Listen to my message!
From the beginning, I have not spoken secretly.
When these things happen, I will already be there.’
Now the Almighty Lord has sent me, with the power of his Spirit.[a]
17 The Lord is your Redeemer, Israel's Holy God. He says,
‘I am the Lord your God.
I teach you what will be good for you.
I lead you along a good path in life.
18 You should have obeyed my commands.
Then you would have had peace in your lives,
like a river that runs quietly.
You would have been safe and well,
like the strong waves in the sea.
19 You would have had many descendants,
as much as the sand on the shore of the sea.
I would not need to destroy them.
Their family name would continue for ever.’
20 Now leave Babylon as free people!
No longer serve the Babylonians!
Shout the news with joy!
Tell everyone about it, all over the world.
Tell them that the Lord has redeemed his people,
his servants, the Israelites.
21 When he led them through the desert,
they did not become thirsty.
He broke open a rock for them,
so that water poured out.
They could drink as much as they needed.
14 Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’[a]
15 Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’[b]
16 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before.
17 Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.[c] If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins. Then there will be nothing to spoil the wine or the wineskins.’[d]
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