Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
With wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures—
25 so is this great and wide sea,
which is full of innumerable creatures,
living animals both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and there is Leviathan, which You have made to play in it.
27 These all wait upon You,
that You may give them their food in due season.
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When You hide Your face,
they are troubled;
You take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
30 When You send forth Your Spirit,
they are created,
and You renew the surface of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 May my meditation be sweet to Him,
for I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 and He caused me to pass among them all around. And there were very many in the open valley. And they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you so that you live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you and will grow back flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you so that you live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise and a shaking. And the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 When I looked, the sinews and the flesh grew upon them, and the skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the wind; prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain so that they live.” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Pay attention, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves. 14 And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken and performed it, says the Lord.”
The Appearance of Jesus to His Disciples(A)
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were then glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” 22 When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.