Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise God for What He Has Done
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 Sing about his glory!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “Your works are amazing!
Because your power is great,
your enemies fall before you.
4 All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done,
the amazing things he has done for people.
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
The people crossed the river on foot.
So let us rejoice because of what he did.
7 He rules forever with his power.
He keeps his eye on the nations,
so people should not turn against him. Selah
8 You people, praise our God;
loudly sing his praise.
9 He protects our lives
and does not let us be defeated.
10 All the land south of Jerusalem from Geba to Rimmon will be turned into a plain. Jerusalem will be raised up, but it will stay in the same place. The city will reach from the Benjamin Gate and to the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 People will live there, and it will never be destroyed again. Jerusalem will be safe.
12 But the Lord will bring a terrible disease on the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot away while they are still standing up. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 At that time the Lord will cause panic. Everybody will grab his neighbor, and they will attack each other. 14 The people of Judah will fight in Jerusalem. And the wealth of the nations around them will be collected—much gold, silver, and clothes. 15 A similar disease will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals in the camps.
16 All of those left alive of the people who came to fight Jerusalem will come back to Jerusalem year after year to worship the King, the Lord All-Powerful, and to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 17 Anyone from the nations who does not go to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord All-Powerful, will not have rain fall on his land. 18 If the Egyptians do not go to Jerusalem, they will not have rain. Then the Lord will send them the same terrible disease he sent the other nations that did not celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment for Egypt and any nation which does not go to celebrate the Feast of Shelters.
20 At that time the horses’ bells will have written on them: holy to the lord. The cooking pots in the Temple of the Lord will be like the holy altar bowls. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord All-Powerful, and everyone who offers sacrifices will be able to take food from them and cook in them. At that time there will not be any buyers or sellers in the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful.
Jesus Sends Out the Apostles
9 Jesus called the twelve apostles together and gave them power and authority over all demons and the ability to heal sicknesses. 2 He sent the apostles out to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your trip, neither a walking stick, bag, bread, money, or extra clothes. 4 When you enter a house, stay there until it is time to leave. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off of your feet[a] as you leave the town, as a warning to them.”
6 So the apostles went out and traveled through all the towns, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.