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.
5 And now says (A)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that (B)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (C)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My (D)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [a]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the (E)protected ones of Israel;
I will also make You a (F)light [b]of the nations
So that My salvation may [c]reach to the (G)end of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord, the (H)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
Says to the [d](I)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers:
“(J)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (K)bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“At a (L)favorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will (M)watch over You and (N)make You a covenant of the people,
To [e](O)restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;
9 Saying to those who are (P)bound, ‘[f]Go free,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the roads,
And their pasture will be on all (Q)bare heights.
10 They will (R)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching (S)heat or sun strike them down;
For (T)He who has compassion on them will (U)lead them,
And He will guide them to (V)springs of water.
11 I will make all (W)My mountains a road,
And My (X)highways will be raised up.
12 Behold, these will come (Y)from afar;
And behold, these will come from the (Z)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan.”
13 (AA)Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the (AB)Lord has comforted His people
And will (AC)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 (AD)I will not forget you.
Changed Relationships
46 (A)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His (B)mother and (C)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [[a]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But [b]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
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