); Isaiah 49:13-23 (God comforts the suffering); Matthew 18:1-14 (Become like a child) (Expanded Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the ·skies [heavens].
Praise him ·high above the earth [in the heights].
2 Praise him, all you ·angels [messengers].
Praise him, all ·you armies of heaven [his hosts; C the angelic army].
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you ·shining stars [L stars of light].
4 Praise him, ·highest heavens [L heaven of heavens]
and you waters above the ·sky [heavens].
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because ·they were created by his command [L he commands and they were created; Gen. 1].
6 He ·put them in place [L made them stand] forever and ever;
he made a ·law [statute; requirement; ordinance] that will never ·change [pass].
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea ·animals [monsters; C like Leviathan; 74:12–17; 104:26; Gen. 1:21; Job 3:8; 41; Is. 27:1] and all the ·oceans [deeps],
8 ·lightning [L fire] and hail, snow and ·mist [cloud; or smoke],
and stormy winds that ·obey him [L do his word],
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all ·nations [peoples],
princes and all ·rulers [judges] of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and ·children [youth].
13 Praise the name of the Lord,
because ·he [L his name] alone is ·great [exalted].
·He is more wonderful than [L His splendor is over] heaven and earth.
14 God has ·given his people a king [exalted/raised a horn over his people; C an animal’s horn symbolizes power].
He should be praised by all ·who belong to him [his saints/loyal ones];
he should be praised by the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the people ·closest to his heart [L nearest to him].
Praise the Lord!
13 Heavens, shout with joy;
earth, be happy;
mountains, burst into song,
because the Lord comforts his people
and will have ·pity [compassion] on ·those who suffer [the oppressed].
Jerusalem and Her Children
14 But ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] said, “The Lord has ·left [abandoned; forsaken] me;
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 The Lord answers, “Can a woman forget the baby she nurses?
Can she feel no kindness for the child ·to which she gave birth [of her womb]?
Even if she could forget her children,
I will not forget you.
16 See, I have ·written [engraved; inscribed] your name on my ·hand [palms].
·Jerusalem, I always think about your walls [L Your walls are always before me; C destroyed by the Babylonians].
17 Your children ·will soon return to you [L hurry; hasten],
and the people who defeated you and destroyed you will leave.
18 ·Look up [L Lift up your eyes] and look around you.
All your children are gathering to return to you.”
The Lord says, “As surely as I live,
·your children will be [L you will wear them all] like ·jewels [or ornaments]
·that a bride wears proudly [L you will put them on like a bride].
19 “You were destroyed and defeated,
and your land was made ·useless [desolate].
But now you will have more people than the land can hold,
and those people who ·destroyed [devoured] you will be far away.
20 The children ·born to you while you were sad [L of your bereavement]
will say to you,
‘This place is too small for us.
Give us a bigger place to live.’
21 Then you will say ·to yourself [L in your heart],
‘Who ·gave me all these children [bore me these]?
I was ·sad [bereaved] and ·lonely [barren],
·defeated [rejected] and ·separated from my people [exiled].
So who reared these children?
I was left all alone.
Where did all these children come from?’”
22 This is what the Lord God says:
“See, I will lift my hand ·to signal [L to] the nations;
I will raise my banner for all the people to see.
Then they will bring your sons back to you in their ·arms [L bosom; lap],
and they will carry your daughters on their shoulders [C Jews returning from exile are pictured as children returning to their parents].
23 Kings will ·teach your children [be guardians/foster parents],
and ·daughters of kings [princesses; or queens] will take care of them.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground
and ·kiss the dirt [lick the dust] at your feet.
Then you will know I am the Lord.
Anyone who ·trusts in [hopes in; waits on] me will not be ·disappointed [or ashamed].”
Who Is the Greatest?(A)
18 At that time the ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his ·followers [disciples]. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must ·change [or turn from your sins; convert; L turn] and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven [L therefore] is the one who makes himself humble [and becomes] like this [little] child.
5 “[L And] Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] a child ·in my name [C as a representative or follower of Jesus] ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me [C indicates concern for the lowly; children had low social status]. 6 If someone causes one of these little children who believes in me to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], it would be better for that person to have a ·large stone [large millstone; L millstone of a donkey] tied around the neck and be ·drowned [L thrown] in the [L depths of the] sea. 7 ·How terrible for [L Woe to] ·the people of the world [L the world] because of ·the things that cause them to sin [temptations to sin; L stumbling blocks]. ·Such things will happen [L It is necessary for stumbling blocks to come], but ·how terrible for [L woe to] the one ·who causes them to happen [L through whom the stumbling block comes]! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you ·to lose part of your body and live forever [L to enter life maimed or crippled] than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the ·fire that burns forever [eternal fire]. 9 If your eye causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], ·take [tear; gouge] it out and throw it away. It is better for you to ·have only one eye and live forever [L enter life one-eyed] than to have two eyes and be thrown into the ·fire of hell [L Gehenna of fire; 5:22].
A Lost Sheep(B)
10 “Be careful [Watch out; or See that you…]. Don’t ·think these little children are worth nothing [L despise/look down on one of these little ones]. [L For] I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always ·with [in the presence of; L see the face of] my Father in heaven. |11 The Son of Man came to save ·lost people [that which was lost].|[a]
12 “[L What do you think?] If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep ·gets lost [goes astray; wanders off], ·he will [L won’t he…?] leave the other ninety-nine on the ·hill [L hills; mountains] and go to look for the lost sheep. 13 I tell you the truth, if he finds it he ·is happier about [rejoices more over] that one sheep than ·about [over] the ninety-nine that ·were never lost [never went astray/wandered off]. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven ·does not want [is not willing that] any of these little children to ·be lost [perish].
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