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.
The Fertility of Zion
54 “(A)Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the (B)desolate one will be (C)more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “(D)Enlarge the place of your tent;
[a]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your (E)ropes
And strengthen your (F)pegs.
3 For you will (G)spread out to the right and to the left.
And your [b]descendants will (H)possess nations
And will (I)resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will (J)not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the (K)shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the (L)disgrace of your widowhood.
5 For your (M)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your (N)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the (O)God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife (P)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “[c]For a (Q)brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will (R)gather you.
8 In an [d](S)outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting (T)favor I will (U)have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your (V)Redeemer.
9 “For [e]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would (W)not [f]flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will (X)not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
10 For the (Y)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My [g]favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My (Z)covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says (AA)the Lord who has compassion on you.
11 “(AB)Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and (AC)not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And I will (AD)lay your foundations with [h](AE)sapphires.
12 Moreover, I will make your battlements of [i]rubies,
And your gates of [j]crystal,
And your entire [k]wall of precious stones.
13 (AF)All your sons will be [l]taught by the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be (AG)great.
The New Heaven and Earth
21 Then I saw (A)a new heaven and a new earth; for (B)the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw (C)the holy city, (D)new Jerusalem, (E)coming down out of heaven from God, (F)prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, (G)the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will (H)dwell among them, and they shall be His [a]people, and God Himself will be among them[b], 4 and He will (I)wipe away every tear from their eyes; and (J)there will no longer be any death; (K)there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; (L)the first things have passed away.”
5 And (M)He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am (N)making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for (O)these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “[c](P)It is done. I am the (Q)Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (R)I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the (S)water of life, without cost. 7 (T)The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and (U)I will be his God and he will be My son.
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