Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
33 He turned[a] streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
34 and a fruitful land into a barren place,[b]
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
35 As for his people,[c] he turned[d] a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
37 They cultivated[e] fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit.[f]
38 He blessed[g] them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number.[h]
39 As for their enemies,[i] they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress[j] and suffering.
40 He would pour[k] contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
41 Yet he protected[l] the needy from oppression,
and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner[m] shuts his mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things.
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love.
The Lord Gives an Invitation
55 “Hey,[a] all who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.[b]
2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?[c]
Why spend[d] your hard-earned money[e] on something that will not satisfy?
Listen carefully[f] to me and eat what is nourishing![g]
Enjoy fine food.[h]
3 Pay attention and come to me.
Listen, so you can live.[i]
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to[j] you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.[k]
4 Look, I made him a witness to nations,[l]
a ruler and commander of nations.”
5 Look, you will summon nations[m] you did not previously know;
nations[n] that did not previously know you will run to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,[o]
for he bestows honor on you.
6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;[p]
call to him while he is nearby!
7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle[q]
and sinful people their plans.[r]
They should return[s] to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,[t]
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.[u]
8 “Indeed,[v] my plans[w] are not like[x] your plans,
and my deeds[y] are not like[z] your deeds,” says the Lord,
9 “for just as the sky[aa] is higher than the earth,
so my deeds[ab] are superior to[ac] your deeds
and my plans[ad] superior to your plans.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
8 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So[a] Jesus[b] called his disciples and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 His disciples answered him, “Where can someone get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” 5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.” 6 Then[c] he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. After he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples to serve. So[d] they served the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish. After giving thanks for these, he told them to serve these as well. 8 Everyone[e] ate and was satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 There were about 4,000[f] who ate.[g] Then he dismissed them.[h] 10 Immediately he got into a boat[i] with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.[j]
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