Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Call to Praise God
A song of thanks.
100 Shout to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with joy.
Come before him with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people, the sheep he tends.
4 Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving.
Come into his courtyards with songs of praise.
Thank him, and praise his name.
5 The Lord is good. His love continues forever.
His loyalty continues from now on.
Israel’s Punishment Will End
40 Your God says,
“Comfort, comfort my people.
2 Speak kindly to the people of Jerusalem.
Tell them
that their time of service is finished.
Tell them that they have paid for their sins.
Tell them that the Lord has punished Jerusalem
twice for every sin they did.”
3 This is the voice of a man who calls out:
“Prepare in the desert
the way for the Lord.
Make the road in the dry lands
straight for our God.
4 Every valley should be raised up.
Every mountain and hill should be made flat.
The rough ground should be made level.
The rugged ground should be made smooth.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be shown.
All people together will see it.
The Lord himself said these things.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Then I said, “What shall I cry out?”
“Say all people are like the grass.
And all their strength is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass dies, and the flowers fall.
This is because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are like grass.
8 The grass dies, and the flowers fall.
But the word of our God will live forever.”
9 Jerusalem, you have good news to tell.
Go up on a high mountain.
Jerusalem, you have good news to tell.
Shout out loud the good news.
Shout it out and don’t be afraid.
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God.”
10 Look, the Lord God is coming with power.
He will use his power to rule all the people.
Look, he will bring reward for his people.
He will have their payment with him.
11 The Lord takes care of his people like a shepherd.
He gathers the people like lambs in his arms.
He carries them close to him.
He gently leads the mothers of the lambs.
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. The river was shining like crystal. It flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It produces fruit 12 times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all people. 3 Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there. And God’s servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God will give them light. And they will rule like kings forever and ever.
6 The angel said to me, “These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord is the God of the spirits of the prophets. He sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon.”
7 “Listen! I am coming soon! He who obeys the words of prophecy in this book will be happy.”
8 I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me. 9 But the angel said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers the prophets. I am a servant like all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.