Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 For as the (A)rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing (B)seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My (C)word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will (D)not return to Me empty,
Without (E)accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.
12 For you will go out with (F)joy
And be led in (G)peace;
The (H)mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you,
And all the (I)trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the (J)thorn bush, the (K)juniper will come up,
And instead of the (L)stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up;
And [a]it will be a [b](M)memorial to the Lord,
An everlasting (N)sign which (O)will not be eliminated.”
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [a]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the (A)vow will be fulfilled for You.
2 You who hear prayer,
To You (B)all [b]mankind comes.
3 [c](C)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You [d](D)forgive them.
4 (E)Blessed is the one You (F)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be (G)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (H)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, (I)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (J)ends of the earth and the farthest [e](K)sea;
6 Who (L)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is (M)encircled with might;
7 Who (N)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (O)turmoil of the nations.
8 They who dwell at the (P)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [f]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (A)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (B)enrich it;
The [a](C)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (D)grain, for so You prepare [b]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [c]settle its ridges,
You soften it (E)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [d]with Your (F)goodness,
And Your [e]paths (G)drip with fatness.
12 (H)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (I)hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (J)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (K)covered with grain;
They (L)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Deliverance from Bondage
8 Therefore there is now no (A)condemnation at all for those who are (B)in (C)Christ Jesus. 2 For (D)the law of the Spirit of life [a]in (E)Christ Jesus (F)has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For (G)what the Law could not do, [b](H)weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in (I)the likeness of [c]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the (J)requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who (K)do not walk [d]according to the flesh but [e]according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on (L)the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, (M)the things of the Spirit. 6 (N)For the mind [f]set on the flesh is (O)death, but the mind [g]set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind [h]set on the flesh is (P)hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are (Q)in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not (R)in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God (S)dwells in you. But (T)if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 (U)If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is [i]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who (V)raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (W)He who raised (X)Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [j]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Jesus Teaches in Parables
13 On that day Jesus had gone out of (A)the house and was sitting (B)by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so (C)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He told them many things in (D)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell [a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a (E)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. 9 (F)The one who has ears, [b]let him hear.”
The Sower Explained
18 “(A)Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears (B)the [a]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, (C)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. 20 The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the [b]word, immediately he [c](D)falls away. 22 And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of (E)the [d]world and the (F)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it [e]becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some (G)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.