Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Deliverance
126 When the Lord brought us back to Jerusalem,[a]
it was like a dream!
2 How we laughed, how we sang for joy!
Then the other nations said about us,
“The Lord did great things for them.”
3 Indeed he did great things for us;
how happy we were!
4 Lord, make us prosperous again,[b]
just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.
5 Let those who wept as they planted their crops,
gather the harvest with joy!
6 Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed
will come back singing for joy,
as they bring in the harvest.
13 You went out to save your people,
to save your chosen king.
You struck down the leader of the wicked
and completely destroyed his followers.[a]
14 Your arrows pierced the commander of his army
when it came like a storm to scatter us,
gloating like those who secretly oppress the poor.[b]
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
and the mighty waters foamed.
16 I hear all this, and I tremble;
my lips quiver with fear.
My body goes limp,
and my feet stumble[c] beneath me.
I will quietly wait for the time to come
when God will punish those who attack us.
17 Even though the fig trees have no fruit
and no grapes grow on the vines,
even though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no grain,
even though the sheep all die
and the cattle stalls are empty,
18 I will still be joyful and glad,
because the Lord God is my savior.
19 (A)The Sovereign Lord gives me strength.
He makes me sure-footed as a deer
and keeps me safe on the mountains.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 ‘I don't want to,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. ‘Yes, sir,’ he answered, but he did not go. 31 Which one of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The older one,” they answered.
So Jesus said to them, “I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 (A)For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.