Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
24 (A)O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your (B)possessions—
25 This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
26 There the ships sail about;
There is that (C)Leviathan[a]
Which You have [b]made to play there.
27 (D)These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
28 What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are troubled;
(E)You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 (F)You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.
The Land Refreshed(A)
18 Then the Lord will (B)be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you (C)grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But (D)I will remove far from you (E)the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back (F)toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done [a]monstrous things.”
21 Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done [b]marvelous things!
22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For (G)the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And (H)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the [c]former rain faithfully,
And He (I)will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “So I will restore to you the years (J)that the swarming [d]locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
26 You shall (K)eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to (L)shame.
27 Then you shall know that I am (M)in the midst of Israel:
(N)I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
From Suffering to Glory
18 For I consider that (A)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For (B)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For (C)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of [a]corruption into the glorious (D)liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (E)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have (F)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (G)even we ourselves groan (H)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the (I)redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but (J)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.