Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(A)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(B)Let Israel say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When people rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (C)swallowed us alive,
When their (D)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (E)waters would have flooded over us,
The stream would have [a]swept over our souls;
5 Then the (F)raging waters would have [b]swept over our souls.”
The Fertility of Zion
54 “(A)Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the (B)desolate one will be (C)more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “(D)Enlarge the place of your tent;
[a]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your (E)ropes
And strengthen your (F)pegs.
3 For you will (G)spread out to the right and to the left.
And your [b]descendants will (H)possess nations
And will (I)resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will (J)not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the (K)shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the (L)disgrace of your widowhood.
5 For your (M)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your (N)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the (O)God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife (P)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “[c]For a (Q)brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will (R)gather you.
8 In an [d](S)outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting (T)favor I will (U)have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your (V)Redeemer.
9 “For [e]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would (W)not [f]flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will (X)not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
10 For the (Y)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My [g]favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My (Z)covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says (AA)the Lord who has compassion on you.
23 (A)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [a]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (B)false prophets will arise and will provide great [b](C)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even (D)the [c]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 (E)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the (F)coming of the (G)Son of Man [d]be. 28 (H)Wherever the corpse is, there the [e]vultures will gather.
The Glorious Return
29 “But immediately after the (I)tribulation of those days (J)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (K)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (L)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (M)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (N)He will send forth His angels with (O)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [f](P)elect from (Q)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, [g]recognize that [h]He is near, right (R)at the [i]door. 34 Truly I say to you, (S)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (T)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
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