Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Jerusalem, the City of God
A song of the sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great; he should be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
2 It is high and beautiful.
It brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is like the high mountains of the north.
It is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its palaces.
He is known as its protection.
4 Kings joined together
and came together to attack the city.
5 But when they saw it, they were amazed.
They ran away in fear.
6 Fear took hold of them.
They hurt like a woman having a baby.
7 You destroyed the large trading ships
with an east wind.
8 First we heard.
And now we have seen that
God will always keep his city safe.
It is the city of the Lord of heaven’s armies,
the city of our God. Selah
9 God, we come into your Temple.
There we think about your love.
10 God, your name is known everywhere.
Everywhere on earth people praise you.
Your right hand is full of goodness.
11 Mount Zion is happy.
All the towns of Judah rejoice
because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 Notice how strong they are. Look at the palaces.
Then you will be able to tell your children about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
Promise to Those Remaining
14 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 15 “Human being, the people still in Jerusalem have spoken about your relatives. And they have spoken about all the people of Israel who are captives with you. The people still in Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far from the Lord. This land was given to us as our property.’
16 “So say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations. I scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have become a Temple to them in the countries where they have gone.’
17 “So say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations. And I will bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.’
18 “They will come to this land. Then they will take away all the hated idols from the land. They will take all the terrible images from there. 19 I will give them a desire to respect me completely. I will put a new way to think inside them. I will take out the stubborn heart like stone from their bodies. Then I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. 20 Then they will live by my rules. They will obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But some people will want to serve their evil statues and hated idols. And I will pay them back for their evil ways, says the Lord God.”
Ezekiel’s Vision Ends
22 Then the living creatures lifted their wings. The wheels went beside them. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from inside Jerusalem. And it stopped on the mountain on the east side of the city. 24 The Spirit lifted me up. And he brought me to the captives who had been taken from Judah to Babylonia. He did this in a vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen ended. 25 And I told the things that the Lord had shown me. I told it to the captives from Judah.
12 We did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God. We received this Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us. 13 When we speak, we do not use words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things. 14 A person who is not spiritual does not accept the gifts that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish. He cannot understand the Spirit’s gifts, because they can only be judged spiritually. 15 But the spiritual person is able to judge all things. Yet no one can judge him. The Scripture says:
16 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has been able to teach him?” Isaiah 40:13
But we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.