Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praising God for His Graciousness
135 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Give praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who are standing in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyards of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord,
because the Lord is good;
Sing to his name,
for he is gracious.
4 It is Jacob whom the Lord chose for himself—
Israel as his personal possession.
5 Indeed, I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord[a] surpasses all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all its[b] deep regions.
7 He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth,
fashioning lightning for the rain,
bringing the wind from his storehouses.
8 It was the Lord[c] who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt,
before[d] Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations,
killing many kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and every kingdom of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, exists forever,
and your reputation, Lord, throughout the ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people,
and he will show compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
worked by[e] the hands of human beings.
16 Mouths are attributed to them,
but they cannot speak;
sight is attributed to them,
but they cannot see;
17 ears are attributed to them,
but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who craft them—
and all[f] who trust in them—
will become like them.
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who lives in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
On Noah, Daniel, and Job
12 This message came to me from the Lord: 13 “Son of Man, when a nation[a] sins against me by a treacherous act,[b] I’ll reach out to oppose it, destroying its source of food,[c] by sending famine against it, and by destroying both people and beast within it. 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel,[d] and Job lived in that land, they would only save their own lives on account of their righteousness,” declares the Lord God.
15 “If I were to make wild animals pass throughout the land, so that they kill its residents[e] and it were to become desolate because no one will travel through it due to those wild animals,[f] 16 then even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they wouldn’t be able to deliver even their sons or daughters. They would only save themselves, but the land would become desolate.
17 “Or if I were to bring war to[g] that land and say, ‘Hey, sword! Pass throughout the land so I can destroy both man and beasts in it,’ 18 though these three men lived there, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they couldn’t deliver their own sons and daughters. They would only save themselves.
19 “Or if I were to send a pestilence against that land and pour out my anger in it with bloodshed, destroying both man and beast in it, 20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them, as I live” says the Lord God, “they couldn’t save their own sons or daughters. They would only save their own souls due to their own righteousness.”
21 This is what the Lord God says, “I’m sending four of my most destructive judgments—military invasion,[h] famine, wild animals, and pestilence—into Jerusalem to destroy both human beings and livestock in it. 22 But look! There will be a remnant who escapes, a few sons and daughters to be brought out. Look! They’ll come out to you and you’ll see how they’ve lived and what they’ve done, and you’ll be comforted concerning the catastrophe that I brought on Jerusalem, including everything that I brought against her. 23 They’ll comfort you when you see how they’ve lived and what they’ve done, because you’ll know for certain that I haven’t done anything that I’ve done against them without any reason,”[i] declares the Lord God.
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith(A)
24 Jesus[a] left that place and went to the territory of Tyre and Sidon.[b] He went into a house, not wanting anyone to know he was there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret. 25 In fact, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman happened to be a Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She kept asking him to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 But he kept telling her, “First let the children be filled. It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”
28 But she answered him, “Yes,[c] Lord. Yet even the puppies under the table eat some of the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he told her, “Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home and found her child lying in bed, and the demon was gone.
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