Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 Lord, you have made very many different things!
You were very wise in the way that you have made them all.
The earth is full of the living things
that you have made.[a]
25 Look at the sea, which is deep and wide!
It is full of living things,
that are both large and small.
They are more than anyone can count.
26 Ships travel on the sea.
You made the monster, Leviathan,
to swim and to play in the sea.
27 All these living things wait for you
to give them their food when they need it.
28 When you give it to them, they take it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they have plenty of good things.
29 When you turn away from them,
they become very afraid.
When you take away their breath,
they die and they return to the dust.
30 But when you breathe into anything,
it receives life.
In that way, you bring new life to the earth.
31 I pray that the glory of the Lord
will continue for ever!
I pray that the Lord will be happy
with everything that he has made!
32 When he looks down at the earth,
it shakes!
When he touches the mountains,
they pour out smoke!
33 All my life, I will sing to praise the Lord.
I will always sing songs to praise my God,
for as long as I live.
34 I want my song to make him happy.
I will be happy,
because of what the Lord has done.
35 I pray that wicked people will disappear from the earth.
May they disappear for ever!
I say to myself, ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!’
The Lord's answer
18 Then the Lord will be careful for his land.
He will be kind to his people.
19 He will answer them and he will say,
‘I am giving you new wine and food and oil.
You will have enough to fill you up.
I will never again let people in other countries laugh about you.
20 I will send the army from the north far from you.
I will push it into empty land where nothing grows.
I will make the front of it go into the sea on the east.
And I will make the back of it go into the sea on the west.
I will make its smell rise up high
because it has done great things.’
21 Do not be afraid, my own land!
Be very happy.
Be sure that the Lord has done great things.
22 Do not be afraid, wild animals.
The fields in the wilderness are becoming green.
Fruit is growing on the trees.
The fig tree and the vine are giving much fruit.
23 Shout with joy, people in Zion!
Be very happy because of the things that the Lord your God has done.
He has given you just enough autumn rain.
He has given you the winter rain,
and the summer rain, as before.
24 He will fill your stores with seeds to make bread.
And he will fill your jars with new wine and oil.
25 ‘I will give you back the years that the locusts have eaten.
I will give you all that the great locust and the young locust,
and other locusts and their groups have eaten.
All that my great army has eaten I will give you.[a]
26 You will have plenty to eat. You will be full.
You will praise the name of the Lord your God.
He has done great things for you.
My people will never again be ashamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel.
You will know that I am the Lord your God.
And you will know that there is no other God.
My people will never again be ashamed.’
The day of the Lord
28 After that, I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will be prophets.
Your old men will dream and
your young men will see pictures in their minds. (The Lord will send these to them.)
29 I will pour out my Spirit on all my servants,
on men and on women in those days.[b]
God has prepared great things for his people
18 During this time now, we have troubles and pain. But I am sure that these troubles are not really very great. One day God will show us all the great things he has prepared for us. That will make the troubles that we have now seem very small. 19 The whole universe that God has made now waits for something great to happen. Everything is waiting with hope to find out who God's children really are.
20 God has caused everything in the universe to lose its purpose. It did not choose to be like that. It was God who decided that it should be like that. Then it could hope for something better in a future time. 21 At that time, the universe will not continue to become worse and worse, as it does now. It will become free from that power. It will be free to enjoy great things from God, as God's children are also free.
22 We know that everything in the universe is still in great pain now. Everything cries together in pain, like a woman who is ready to have a baby. 23 It is the same for us who are believers. We have received God's Spirit as the first of his gifts to us, but we also cry inside ourselves. We are waiting for the time when God will finish his great work. Then we will belong to him completely as his children. Our bodies will be free from the power of sin.
24 Ever since God saved us, we have continued to wait for this to happen. One day, we will receive what we have hoped for. Then we will not need to hope for it any more. Nobody continues to hope for something that he has already.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.