Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise to God
12 At that time you will say:
“I praise you, Lord!
You were angry with me.
But you are not angry with me now!
You have comforted me.
2 God is the one who saves me.
I trust him. I am not afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, gives me strength and makes me sing.
He has saved me.”
3 You will receive your salvation with joy.
You will take it as you would draw water from a well.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord, and worship him.
Tell everyone what he has done.
Tell them how great he is.
5 Sing praise to the Lord, because he has done great things.
Let all the world know what he has done.
6 Shout and sing for joy, you people of Jerusalem.
The Holy One of Israel does great things before your eyes.”
15 Truth cannot be found anywhere.
And people who refuse to do evil are attacked.
The Lord looked and could not find any justice.
And he was displeased.
16 He could not find anyone to help the people.
He was surprised that there was no one to help.
So the Lord used his own power to save the people.
His own goodness gave him strength.
17 The Lord covered himself with goodness like armor.
He put on the helmet of salvation.
He put on the clothes of punishment.
And he put on the coat of his strong love.
18 The Lord will pay back his enemies for what they have done.
He will show his anger to those who were against him.
He will punish the people in faraway places.
He will give them the punishment they should have.
19 Then people from the west will fear the Lord.
People in the east will fear his glory.
The Lord will come quickly like a fast-flowing river,
driven by the breath of the Lord.
20 “Then a close relative who will save you will come to Jerusalem.
He will come to the people of Jacob who sinned but turned back to God,”
says the Lord.
21 The Lord says, “I will make an agreement with these people. I promise that my Spirit and my words that I give you will never leave you. They will be with your children and your grandchildren. They will be with you now and forever.”
God’s Kingdom Is Within You
20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the kingdom of God come?”
Jesus answered, “God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you will be able to see with your eyes. 21 People will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is within you.”
22 Then Jesus said to his followers, “The time will come when you will want very much to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you will not be able to see it. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or, ‘Look, here he is!’ Stay where you are; don’t go away and search.
When Jesus Comes Again
24 “The Son of Man will come again. On the day he comes he will shine like lightning, which flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other. 25 But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the people of this time. 26 When the Son of Man comes again, it will be as it was when Noah lived. 27 In the time of Noah, people were eating, drinking, and getting married even on the day when Noah entered the boat. Then the flood came and killed all the people. 28 It will be the same as during the time of Lot. Those people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building. 29 They were doing these things even on the day Lot left Sodom.[a] Then fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and killed them all. 30 This is exactly how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
31 “On that day, if a man is on his roof, he will not have time to go inside and get his things. If a man is in the field, he cannot go back home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife?[b] 33 Whoever tries to keep his life will give up true life. But whoever gives up his life will have true life. 34 At the time when I come again, there may be two people sleeping in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left. 35 There may be two women grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left. 36 [Two men will be in the same field. One man will be taken, but the other man will be left behind.]”[c]
37 The followers asked Jesus, “Where will this be, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “People can always find a dead body by looking for the vultures.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.