Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

148 ^(A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord ^(B)from the heavens;
    praise him ^(C)in the heights!
² Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his ^(D)hosts!
³ Praise him, sun and moon,
    praise him, all you shining stars!
⁴ Praise him, you ^(E)highest heavens,
    and you ^(F)waters above the heavens!
^5 (G)Let them praise the name of the Lord!
    For ^(H)he commanded and they were created.
⁶ And he ^(I)established them for ever and ever;
    he gave ^(J)a decree, and it shall not ^(K)pass away.^[a]
7 Praise the Lord ^(L)from the earth,
    you ^(M)great sea creatures and all deeps,
^8 (N)fire and hail, ^(O)snow and mist,
    ^(P)stormy wind ^(Q)fulfilling his word!
^9 (R)Mountains and all hills,
    ^(S)fruit trees and all ^(T)cedars!
^10 (U)Beasts and all livestock,
    creeping things and ^(V)flying birds!
¹¹ Kings of the earth and ^(W)all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
¹² Young men and maidens together,
    old men and children!
^13 (X)Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for ^(Y)his name alone is exalted;
    ^(Z)his majesty is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴ He has ^(AA)raised up a horn for his people,
    ^(AB)praise for all his saints,
    for the people of Israel who are ^(AC)near to him.
^(AD)Praise the Lord!

^5 (A)And now the Lord says,
    he ^(B)who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
    and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for ^(C)I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
    and my God has become my strength—
⁶ he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
    to raise up the tribes of Jacob
    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
^(D)I will make you ^(E)as a light for the nations,
    that ^(F)my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
⁷ Thus says the Lord,
    ^(G)the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
^(H)to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
    the servant of rulers:
^(I)“Kings shall see and arise;
    princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

⁸ Thus says the Lord:
^(J)“In a ^(K)time of favour I have answered you;
    in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you ^(L)and give you
    as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
    ^(M)to apportion the desolate heritages,
^9 (N)saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out’,
    to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
^(O)They shall feed along the ways;
    on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
^10 (P)they shall not hunger or thirst,
    neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them ^(Q)will lead them,
    and by springs of water will guide them.
^11 (R)And I will make all my mountains a road,
    and my highways shall be raised up.
^12 (S)Behold, these shall come from afar,
    and behold, ^(T)these from the north and from the west,^[a]
    and these from the land of Syene.”^[b]
13 (U)Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
    break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord ^(V)has comforted his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted.
¹⁴ But Zion said, ^(W)“The Lord has forsaken me;
    my Lord has forgotten me.”
^15 (X)“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.