); Isaiah 49:13-23 (God comforts the suffering); Matthew 18:1-14 (Become like a child) (New American Standard Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 (A)Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the (B)Lord has comforted His people
And will (C)have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but (D)I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have (E)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your (F)walls are continually before Me.
17 Your [a]builders hurry;
Your (G)destroyers and devastators
Will leave you.
18 (H)Raise your eyes and look around;
(I)All of them gather together, (J)they come to you.
(K)As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will certainly (L)put them all on as [b]jewelry and bind them on as a bride.
19 For (M)your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land—
Now you will certainly be (N)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who (O)swallowed you will be far away.
20 The (P)children [c]you lost will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 Then you will (Q)say in your heart,
‘Who has fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And (R)cannot conceive, and I am an (S)exile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was (T)left alone;
[d](U)Where are these from?’”
22 This is what the Lord [e]God says:
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My (V)flag to the peoples;
And they will (W)bring your sons [f]in their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 (X)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will (Y)bow down to you with their faces to the ground
And (Z)lick the dust from your feet;
And you will (AA)know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully (AB)wait for Me will (AC)not be put to shame.
Rank in the Kingdom
18 (A)At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [b]change and (C)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; 6 but (D)whoever (E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to [c]sin, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its [e]stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that [f]stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the [g]stumbling block comes!
8 “And (G)if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And (H)if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the [h](I)fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that (J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.[i]
Ninety-nine Plus One
12 “What do you think? (K)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.