Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Loves Jerusalem
A song of the sons of Korah.
87 The Lord built Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
2 He loves its gates
more than any other place in Israel.
3 City of God,
wonderful things are said about you. Selah
4 God says, “I will put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me.
People from Philistia, Tyre and Cush
will be born there.”
5 They will say about Jerusalem,
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will strengthen her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” Selah
7 They will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Jerusalem.”
Punishment for Judah’s Enemies
3 “In those days and at that time,
I will give Judah and Jerusalem back their riches.
2 I will also gather all the nations together.
I will bring them down into the Valley Where the Lord Judges.
And there I will judge them.
Those nations scattered my own people, Israel.
They forced my people to live in other nations.
They divided up my land.
3 They threw lots for my people.
They traded boys for prostitutes.
And they sold girls to buy wine to drink.
4 “Tyre and Sidon and all of you regions of Philistia! What do you have against me? Are you punishing me for something I did? Or are you doing something to hurt me? Then I will quickly do to you what you have done to me. 5 You took my silver and gold. You took my precious treasures and put them in your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. That way you could send them far from their land.
7 “You sent my people to that faraway place. But I will bring them back. And I will do to you what you have done to them. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. Then they will sell them to the Sabean people far away.” The Lord said this.
Suffering As a Christian
12 My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you. 13 But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. 14 When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. 15 Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. 16 But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name. 17 It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?
18 “It is very hard for a good person to be saved.
Then the wicked person and
the sinner will surely be lost!”[a]
19 So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.