Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
God gives us strength[a]
81 Sing with joy to praise God!
He is the one who makes us strong!
Shout aloud to the God of Jacob.[b]
2 Start the music! Beat your tambourines!
Make beautiful music on your harps and lyres.
3 Start the New Moon Festival
with the sound of the trumpet.
Also do it on the day of the Full Moon.[c]
4 This is a rule for Israel's people.
The God of Jacob commanded us to do it.
5 When God punished the land of Egypt,
he gave this rule to Joseph's family.
I heard a voice that I did not know.
6 It said: ‘I took the heavy load off your back.
You no longer had to carry those heavy baskets.
7 When you had trouble, you called to me for help
and I made you safe.
I answered your prayers
from the middle of the dark storm.
I tested you at Meribah,
when you had no water in the wilderness.
Selah.
8 I said, “My people, listen to me!
I warn you now.
Listen carefully to me, Israel's people!
9 There must not be any strange god among you.
You must never worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord, your God.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide,
and I will fill it with many good things.”[d]
11 But my people refused to listen to me.
My people, Israel, did not obey me.
12 So I let them follow their own proud ideas.
They could do whatever they wanted to do.
13 But my people should listen to me!
Yes, Israel should obey my commands!
14 Then I would quickly win against their enemies.
I would attack them all.’
15 (Then people who hate the Lord
would fall down with fear in front of him.
They would be ashamed for ever.)
16 ‘But I would feed you, my people, with the best wheat.
I would give you plenty of honey from the rock,
for you to eat and be full.’
4 Listen to what the Lord says, you descendants of Jacob, all you families in Israel. 5 This is the Lord's message to you:
‘I had done nothing wrong against your ancestors,
but they turned away from me.
Instead, they worshipped useless idols.
So they themselves became useless.
6 They did not think to themselves,
“Where is the Lord?
We should ask him to help us.
He brought us safely out of Egypt.
He led us through the wilderness.
It was a place with dry sand and deep holes.
There was no water there and it was dangerous.
Nobody lives in that desert,
and nobody even travels through it.”
7 But I, the Lord, brought you to a good land.
It was a place where fruit grew on trees.
You could eat all those good things,
as well as the crops that you grew there.
You came into the land that I had promised to give to you.
But you spoiled it with your sins.
You made it a disgusting place.
8 Your priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?”
The people who taught my laws did not know me.
Your leaders turned against me.
Your prophets spoke messages from Baal.
They worshipped useless idols.’
9 So the Lord says this:
‘Because of your sins, I will speak against you in court.
I will show that you are guilty,
as well as your children and your grandchildren.
10 No other nation has done what you have done!
Send people across the sea to islands in the west.
Or send them to the deserts in the east.
Let them find out if any other people have done this terrible thing.
11 Have any other nations turned against their gods?
No! They have not done that, even to their false gods!
But my people have turned against me,
the true God who makes them great.’
12 The Lord says,
‘The whole universe should see how terrible this is.
Yes, everything should shake with fear!
13 My people have done two evil things:
I give them life, like a spring of fresh water,
but they have turned away from me.
Instead, they have tried to get water for themselves.
They have dug holes in the ground to store it.
But those holes cannot hold the water.
It quickly runs away.
14 In the middle of the time of the festival, Jesus went to the temple. He started to teach in the yard there. 15 The Jewish leaders were very surprised. They asked, ‘How does this man know so much? He has not learned in our schools.’ 16 Jesus answered, ‘What I teach does not come from me. No, it comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do what God wants will know about my teaching. They will know whether it comes from God, or whether it comes from my own thoughts. 18 A person who teaches his own ideas wants people to think that he himself is great. But I want to show that the one who sent me is great. A person like that is honest and there is nothing false in him. 19 Moses gave God's Law to you. But not one of you obeys that Law. Why are you trying to kill me?’
20 The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon in you! Nobody is trying to kill you!’
21 Jesus replied, ‘I did one miracle on the day of rest, and all of you were surprised. 22 Moses gave you a law that you must circumcise your sons. Your ancestors taught that, even before Moses was born. So you will agree to circumcise a boy, even on the day of rest.[a] 23 You will do that so that you obey Moses' law. So you should not be angry with me because I made a man completely well on the day of rest. 24 Do not quickly decide whether something is right or wrong just because of what you see. Instead, think about it carefully. Then you will judge in a right way.’
The people talk about whether Jesus is the Messiah
25 Some of the people in Jerusalem began to say, ‘This is the man that our leaders want to kill. 26 But look! He is speaking to the crowds, and the leaders are not saying anything against him! Perhaps they really think that he is the Messiah! 27 But we know where this man came from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know that. Nobody will know where he has come from.’
28 Jesus was still teaching in the yard of the temple. He shouted, ‘Yes, you say that you know me. And you know where I came from. But I have not come because I myself decided to come. He who sent me is true. You do not know him. 29 But I know him because I have come from him. He is the one who sent me.’ 30 When they heard this, they tried to take hold of him. But nobody could put their hands on him, because it was not yet the right time. 31 But many people in the crowd believed in Jesus. They said, ‘This man has done so many miracles. Surely he is the Messiah! Nobody could do more miracles than he has done.’
Streams of water that give life to people
37 The last day of the festival was the most important day. On that day, Jesus stood up and he spoke with a loud voice. He said, ‘If anyone is thirsty, he should come to me so that he may drink. 38 It says in the Bible, “God will cause streams of water to pour out from anyone who believes in me. Water that gives life will come out from inside that person.” ’ 39 Jesus was speaking about God's Spirit, who would come to people some time after that. Those people who believed in Jesus would receive God's Spirit at that later time. But God had not yet given his Spirit to people, because he had not yet raised Jesus back up to heaven.[a]
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.