Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient[a] and demonstrates great loyal love.[b]
9 The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.[c]
10 All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
12 so that mankind[d] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,[e]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
14 [f] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.[g]
Vision Five: The Menorah
4 The angelic messenger[a] who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied,[b] “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top. There are seven lamps at the top, with seven[c] pipes going to the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.”[d] 4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these,[e] sir?” 5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’[f] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Oracle of Response
7 “What are you, you great mountain?[g] Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple[h] capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’[i] because of this.”
21 On that same occasion[a] Jesus[b] rejoiced[c] in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise[d] you, Father, Lord[e] of heaven and earth, because[f] you have hidden these things from the wise[g] and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.[h] Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.[i] 22 All things have been given to me by my Father.[j] No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides[k] to reveal him.”
23 Then[l] Jesus[m] turned[n] to his[o] disciples and said privately, “Blessed[p] are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see[q] what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
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