Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Free Offer of Mercy
55 “Ho! Every one who (A)thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have (B)no [a]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy (C)wine and milk
(D)Without money and without cost.
2 “Why do you [b]spend money for what is (E)not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and (F)eat what is good,
And (G)delight yourself in abundance.
3 “(H)Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that [c]you may (I)live;
And I will make (J)an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the (K)faithful mercies [d]shown to David.
4 “Behold, I have made (L)him a witness to the peoples,
A (M)leader and commander for the peoples.
5 “Behold, you will call a (N)nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will (O)run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has (P)glorified you.”
14 The Lord (A)sustains all who fall
And (B)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all [a]look to You,
And You (C)give them their food in due time.
16 You (D)open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is (E)righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
18 The Lord is (F)near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him (G)in truth.
19 He will (H)fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also (I)hear their cry and will save them.
20 The Lord (J)keeps all who love Him,
But all the (K)wicked He will destroy.
21 My (L)mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And (M)all flesh will (N)bless His holy name forever and ever.
Solicitude for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons, and (G)the glory and (H)the covenants and (I)the giving of the Law and (J)the temple service and (K)the promises, 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is [b]the Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
Five Thousand Fed
13 (A)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the [a]people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He went [b]ashore, He (B)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and (C)healed their sick.
15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already [c]late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 They *said to Him, “We have here only (D)five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Ordering the [d]people to [e]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (E)blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full (F)baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.