Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 135[a]
135 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 who serve[b] in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant.[c]
4 Indeed,[d] the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession.[e]
5 Yes,[f] I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He performed awesome deeds[g] and acts of judgment[h]
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name endures,[i]
your reputation, O Lord, lasts.[j]
14 For the Lord vindicates[k] his people,
and has compassion on his servants.[l]
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold;
they are man-made.[m]
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe.[n]
18 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
19 O family[p] of Israel, praise the Lord.
O family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You loyal followers[q] of the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion[r]—
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Judah Will Celebrate
26 At that time[a] this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s[b] deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure.[c]
2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter—
one that remains trustworthy.
3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you.[d]
4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward,[e]
even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector![f]
5 Indeed,[g] the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,
he brings down an elevated town;
he brings it down to the ground,[h]
he throws it down to the dust.
6 It is trampled underfoot
by the feet of the oppressed,
by the soles of the poor.”
God’s People Anticipate Vindication
7 [i] The way of the righteous is level,
the path of the righteous that you prepare is straight.[j]
8 Yes, as your judgments unfold,[k]
O Lord, we wait for you.
We desire your fame and reputation to grow.[l]
9 I[m] look for[n] you during the night;
my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,
for when your judgments come upon the earth,
those who live in the world learn about justice.[o]
10 If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice.[p]
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly;[q]
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
11 O Lord, you are ready to act,[r]
but they don’t even notice.
They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind;[s]
yes, fire will consume your enemies.[t]
12 O Lord, you make us secure,[u]
for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us.[v]
13 O Lord, our God,
masters other than you have ruled us,
but we praise your name alone.
14 The dead do not come back to life,
the spirits of the dead do not rise.[w]
That is because[x] you came in judgment[y] and destroyed them,
you wiped out all memory of them.
15 You have made the nation larger,[z] O Lord;
you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor;[aa]
you have extended all the borders of the land.
Marriage and the Resurrection
18 Sadducees[a] (who say there is no resurrection)[b] also came to him and asked him,[c] 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man[d] must marry[e] the widow and father children[f] for his brother.’[g] 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married,[h] and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again,[i] whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”[j] 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived[k] for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels[l] in heaven. 26 Now as for the dead being raised,[m] have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush,[n] how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the[o] God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[p] 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living.[q] You are badly mistaken!”
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