Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
25 Because of what you have done,
I will praise you in the whole community of those who worship you.
In front of those who respect you,
I will keep my promises.
26 Those who are poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek the Lord will praise him.
May their hearts be filled with new hope!
27 People from one end of the earth to the other
will remember and turn to the Lord.
The people of all the nations
will bow down in front of him.
28 The Lord is King.
He rules over the nations.
29 All rich people of the earth will feast and worship God.
All who go down to the grave will kneel in front of him.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive will kneel.
30 Those who are not yet born will serve him.
Those who are born later will be told about the Lord.
31 And they will tell people who have not yet been born,
“The Lord has done what is right!”
7 “You Israelites are just like
the people of Cush to me,”
announces the Lord.
“I brought Israel up from Egypt.
I also brought the Philistines from Crete
and the Arameans from Kir.
8 “I am the Lord and King.
My eyes are watching the sinful kingdom of Israel.
I will wipe it off the face of the earth.
But I will not totally destroy the people of Jacob,”
announces the Lord.
9 “I will give an order.
I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations.
They will be like grain that is shaken through a screen.
Not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
will be killed by swords.
They say, ‘Nothing bad will ever happen to us.’
Israel Will Be Made Like New Again
11 “The time will come when I will set up
David’s fallen shelter.
I will repair its broken walls.
I will rebuild what was destroyed.
I will make it what it used to be.
12 Then my people will take control of those
who are left alive in Edom.
They will also possess all the nations
that belong to me,”
announces the Lord.
He will do all these things.
13 “The days are coming,” announces the Lord.
“At that time those who plow the land
will catch up with those who harvest the crops.
Those who stomp on grapes
will catch up with those who plant the vines.
Fresh wine will drip from the mountains.
It will flow down from all the hills.
14 I will bring my people Israel back home.
I will bless them with great success again.
They will rebuild the destroyed cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce.
They will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land.
They will never again be removed
from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
The Story of the Mustard Seed
30 Again Jesus said, “What can we say God’s kingdom is like? What story can we use to explain it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 But when you plant the seed, it grows. It becomes the largest of all garden plants. Its branches are so big that birds can rest in its shade.”
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