Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Hymn of Praise
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise his name, you servants of the Lord,
2 who stand in the Lord's house,
in the Temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good;
sing praises to his name, because he is kind.[a]
4 He chose Jacob for himself,
the people of Israel for his own.
5 I know that our Lord is great,
greater than all the gods.
6 He does whatever he wishes
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in the depths below.
7 He brings storm clouds from the ends of the earth;
he makes lightning for the storms,
and he brings out the wind from his storeroom.
8 In Egypt he killed all the first-born
of people and animals alike.
9 There he performed miracles and wonders
to punish the king and all his officials.
10 He destroyed many nations
and killed powerful kings:
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kings in Canaan.
12 He gave their lands to his people;
he gave them to Israel.
13 Lord, you will always be proclaimed as God;
all generations will remember you.
14 The Lord will defend his people;
he will take pity on his servants.
15 (A)The gods of the nations are made of silver and gold;
they are formed by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
and eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear;
they are not even able to breathe.
18 May all who made them and who trust in them
become[b] like the idols they have made!
19 Praise the Lord, people of Israel;
praise him, you priests of God!
20 Praise the Lord, you Levites;
praise him, all you that worship him!
21 Praise the Lord in Zion,
in Jerusalem, his home.
Praise the Lord!
Noah, Danel, and Job
12 The Lord spoke to me. 13 “Mortal man,” he said, “if a country sins and is unfaithful to me, I will reach out and destroy its supply of food. I will send a famine and kill people and animals alike. 14 Even if those three men, Noah, Danel,[a] and Job, were living there, their goodness would save only their own lives.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
15 “Or I might send wild animals to kill the people, making the land so dangerous that no one could travel through it, 16 and even if those three men lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their own children. They would save only their own lives, and the land would become a wilderness.
17 “Or I might bring war on that country and send destructive weapons to wipe out people and animals alike, 18 and even if those three men lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their children, but only their own lives.
19 “If I send an epidemic on that country and in my anger take many lives, killing people and animals, 20 even if Noah, Danel, and Job lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their own children. Their goodness would save only their own lives.”
21 (A)This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “I will send my four worst punishments on Jerusalem—war, famine, wild animals, and disease—to destroy people and animals alike. 22 If some survive and save their children, look at them when they come to you. See how evil they are, and be convinced that the punishment I am bringing on Jerusalem is justified; 23 then you will know that there was good reason for everything I did.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
A Woman's Faith(A)
24 Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”
28 “Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”
29 So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!”
30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.