Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to God in Creation and Redemption
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
(A)Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
2 (B)You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In (C)the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, (E)for it is pleasant.
4 For (F)the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [a]special treasure.
5 For I know that (G)the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
6 (H)Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
7 (I)He causes the [b]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
(J)He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His (K)treasuries.
8 (L)He [c]destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
[d]Both of man and beast.
9 (M)He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
(N)Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 (O)He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And (P)all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 (Q)And gave their land as a [e]heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 (R)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 (S)For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.
15 (T)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
19 (U)Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord (V)out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its (A)supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. 14 (B)Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves (C)by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
15 “If I cause (D)wild beasts to pass through the land, and they [a]empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even (E)though these three men were [b]in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be (F)desolate.
17 “Or if (G)I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I (H)cut off man and beast from it, 18 even (I)though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
19 “Or if I send (J)a pestilence into that land and (K)pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even (L)though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
21 For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when (M)I send My four [c]severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 (N)Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be (O)brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and (P)you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing (Q)without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.
A Gentile Shows Her Faith(A)
24 (B)From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre [a]and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be (C)hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and (D)fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a [b]Greek, a [c]Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept [d]asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.