Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Free Offer of Mercy
55 “[a]You there! Everyone who (A)thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have (B)no [b]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy (C)wine and milk
(D)Without money and without cost.
2 Why do you [c]spend money for what is (E)not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and (F)eat what is good,
And (G)delight yourself in abundance.
3 (H)Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that [d]you may (I)live;
And I will make (J)an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the (K)faithful mercies [e]shown to David.
4 Behold, I have made (L)him a witness to the peoples,
A (M)leader and commander for the peoples.
5 Behold, you will call a (N)nation you do not know,
And a nation which does not know you will (O)run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel;
For He has (P)glorified you.”
14 The Lord (A)supports all who fall,
And (B)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all [a]look to You,
And You (C)give them their food in due time.
16 You (D)open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is (E)righteous in all His ways,
And kind in all His works.
18 The Lord is (F)near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him (G)in truth.
19 He will (H)fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also (I)hear their cry for help and save them.
20 The Lord (J)watches over all who love Him,
But He will destroy all the (K)wicked.
21 My (L)mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And (M)all flesh will (N)bless His holy name forever and ever.
Deep Concern for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons and daughters, (G)the glory, (H)the covenants, (I)the giving of the Law, (J)the temple service, and (K)the promises; 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is the [b]Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
Five Thousand Men Fed
13 (A)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the [a]people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He came [b]ashore, He (B)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and (C)healed their sick.
15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!” 17 They *said to Him, “We have nothing here except (D)five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to [c]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up toward heaven. He (E)blessed the food and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces: twelve full (F)baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
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