Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for (A)giving thanks.
100 (B)Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 (C)Serve the Lord with gladness!
(D)Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that (E)the Lord, he is God!
It is he who (F)made us, and (G)we are his;[a]
we are his (H)people, and (I)the sheep of his pasture.
Comfort for God's People
40 (A)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 (B)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that (C)her warfare[a] is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
3 (D)A voice cries:[b]
(E)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
(F)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 (G)Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 (H)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
(I)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,[c] “What shall I cry?”
(J)All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[d] is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 (K)The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, (L)herald of good news;[e]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[f]
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 (M)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
(N)behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 (O)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
(P)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
(Q)he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
The River of Life
22 Then the angel[a] showed me (A)the river of (B)the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of (C)the street of the city; (D)also, on either side of the river, (E)the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were (F)for the healing of the nations. 3 (G)No longer will there be anything accursed, but (H)the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and (I)his servants will worship him. 4 (J)They will see his face, and (K)his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And (L)night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp (M)or sun, for (N)the Lord God will be their light, and (O)they will reign forever and ever.
Jesus Is Coming
6 And he said to me, (P)“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of (Q)the spirits of the prophets, (R)has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, (S)I am coming soon. (T)Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, (U)John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, (V)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 (W)but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those (X)who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.