Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 126
Zion’s Restoration
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[a]
we were like those who dream.(A)
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,(B)
and our tongues with shouts of joy.(C)
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”(D)
3 The Lord had done great things for us;
we were joyful.(E)
13 You come out to save Your people,
to save Your anointed.[a]
You crush the leader of the house of the wicked
and strip him from foot[b] to neck.
14 You pierce his head
with his own spears;
his warriors storm out to scatter us,
gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak.
15 You tread the sea with Your horses,
stirring up the great waters.(A)
Habakkuk’s Confidence in God Expressed
16 I heard, and I trembled within;(B)
my lips quivered at the sound.
Rottenness entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress
to come against the people invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will triumph in Yahweh;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!(C)
19 Yahweh my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer(D)
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!(E)
For the choir director: on[c] stringed instruments.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’(A)
29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing.
“‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two did his father’s will?”
“The first,” they said.
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness,(B) and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
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