Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his own. ^13-15 The Lord gazes down upon mankind from heaven where he lives. He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.

^16-17 The best-equipped army cannot save a king—for great strength is not enough to save anyone. A war horse is a poor risk for winning victories—it is strong, but it cannot save.

^18-19 But the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear him, who rely upon his steady love. He will keep them from death even in times of famine! ²⁰ We depend upon the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us; he protects us like a shield. ²¹ No wonder we are happy in the Lord! For we are trusting him. We trust his holy name. ²² Yes, Lord, let your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in you alone.

⁴ Here is a summary of the events in the creation of the heavens and earth when the Lord God made them.

⁵ There were no plants or grain sprouting up across the earth at first, for the Lord God hadn’t sent any rain; nor was there anyone to farm the soil. ⁶ (However, water welled up from the ground at certain places and flowed across the land.)

⁷ The time came when the Lord God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground^[a] and breathed into it the breath of life. And man became a living person.

⁴² In the same way, our earthly bodies which die and decay are different from the bodies we shall have when we come back to life again, for they will never die. ⁴³ The bodies we have now embarrass us, for they become sick and die; but they will be full of glory when we come back to life again. Yes, they are weak, dying bodies now, but when we live again they will be full of strength. ⁴⁴ They are just human bodies at death, but when they come back to life they will be superhuman bodies. For just as there are natural, human bodies, there are also supernatural, spiritual bodies.

⁴⁵ The Scriptures tell us that the first man, Adam, was given a natural, human body^[a] but Christ is more than that, for he was life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶ First, then, we have these human bodies, and later on God gives us spiritual, heavenly bodies. ⁴⁷ Adam was made from the dust of the earth, but Christ came from heaven above. ⁴⁸ Every human being has a body just like Adam’s, made of dust, but all who become Christ’s will have the same kind of body as his—a body from heaven. ⁴⁹ Just as each of us now has a body like Adam’s, so we shall some day have a body like Christ’s.