Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord the Defense of His People
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our (A)side,”
(B)Let Israel now say—
2 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (C)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have [a]gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters
Would have [b]gone over our soul.”
A Perpetual Covenant of Peace
54 “Sing, O (A)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge(B) the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will (C)inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
4 “Do(D) not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 (E)For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called (F)the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord (G)has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
7 “For(H) a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies (I)I will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
(J)But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of (K)Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with (L)you, nor rebuke you.
10 For (M)the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
(N)But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
23 (A)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For (B)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, (C)if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 (D)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 (E)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
The Coming of the Son of Man(F)
29 (G)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days (H)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 (I)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, (J)and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 (K)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His [a]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree(L)
32 “Now learn (M)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know (N)that [b]it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, (O)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 (P)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.