Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song to praise God
135 Hallelujah![a]
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord!
2 You serve the Lord in his temple.
You serve him in the temple yards.
3 The Lord is good, so praise him!
His name is good and great,
so praise him with songs!
4 The Lord chose Jacob's family for himself.
Yes, he chose Israel's people to belong to him.[b]
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than any other god.
6 He does whatever he decides to do.
He rules the sky and the earth,
and the deepest parts of the sea.
7 The Lord causes clouds to rise up all over the earth.
He sends lightning with the storms of rain.
He sends out the wind from its place,
so that it blows where he chooses.
8 God destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt,
both men and animals.[c]
9 He did great miracles in Egypt.
He warned Pharaoh and his officers
that he would punish them.
10 He destroyed many nations
and he killed powerful kings.
11 He killed Sihon, the king of the Amorites.
He killed Og, the king of Bashan,
and all the other kings of Canaan.
12 He gave their land to his people, the Israelites.
The land would belong to them and to their descendants.
13 Lord, people will always remember your name.
You will always be famous.
14 The Lord shows that his people are right.
He is kind to those who serve him.
15 Other nations make idols with silver and gold.
People worship things that they have made with their hands!
16 Their idols have mouths, but they cannot speak!
They have eyes, but they cannot see!
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear!
They cannot even breathe!
18 The people who made them will become as they are.
Everyone who trusts in idols
will become as useless as their idols are.[d]
19 Israel's family, praise the Lord!
Descendants of Aaron, praise the Lord!
20 Descendants of Levi, praise the Lord!
Everyone who serves the Lord, praise him!
21 Everyone in Zion should praise the Lord.
He is the one who has his home in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
12 The Lord gave this message to me: 13 ‘Son of man, the people of a whole nation may choose not to obey me. Then I would punish them because of their sins. I might stop the people getting any food to eat. Then there would be a famine that kills both people and animals. 14 If that happens, I would only save the righteous people who lived there. If men like Noah, Daniel and Job lived there, I would save them. But nobody else would escape. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
15 Or I might send wild animals to kill the people of that nation. Nobody would travel through that place. The wild animals would make it too dangerous to travel there. 16 I promise you this, as surely as I live: if those three righteous men lived there, they would only save themselves. They could not even save the lives of their own children. The whole land would become an empty place. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
17 Or I might bring an enemy to attack that nation. I would say, “Soldiers with swords should destroy the whole land.” I would cause them to kill both people and animals. 18 I promise you this, as surely as I live: if those three righteous men lived there, they would only save themselves. They could not even save the lives of their own children. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
19 Or I might punish that nation with a terrible disease. Because I am very angry with those people, I would cause people and animals to die in that place. 20 I promise you this, as surely as I live: if Noah, Daniel and Job lived there, they would only save themselves because they are righteous people. They could not save the lives even of their own children. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
21 This is what the Almighty Lord says: It will be terrible for Jerusalem's people when I punish them in all these four ways. I will send enemy soldiers with swords. I will send famine. I will send wild animals. And I will send disease. That will cause both people and animals to die. 22 But some people will still be alive. Some sons and daughters will come out from the city. They will come to you here in Babylon. You will see the way that those people have lived. You will see the things that they have done. Then you will not be upset that I have punished Jerusalem in all these ways. 23 Yes, when you see what they are like, you will no longer be upset. You will know that I have punished the people of Jerusalem as they deserved. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
Jesus travels out of Israel
24 Jesus left that place. He went away to the region around Tyre. He went into a house. He did not want anyone to know that he was there. But it was not possible to keep this a secret. 25 Immediately, a certain woman heard that he was there. This woman had a daughter who had a bad spirit in her. The woman came to Jesus and she went down on her knees by his feet. 26 She was not a Jew. Her family was from Phoenicia in the country of Syria. She asked Jesus to make the bad spirit go out of her daughter.
27 Jesus said to the woman, ‘First, the children must eat all that they want. It is not right to take food from the children and then throw it to the dogs.’
28 The woman replied, ‘Yes, sir. That is true. But small pieces of food drop while the children eat. And the dogs under the table eat those pieces.’
29 ‘That is a good answer,’ Jesus replied. ‘Now the bad spirit has left your daughter. You may go.’
30 The woman went to her home. She saw her child, who was lying on the bed. The bad spirit had left the girl.
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