Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Ascents. By David.
124 If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,
let Israel now say,
2 if it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their wrath was kindled against us,
4 then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
the stream would have gone over our soul.
5 Then the proud waters would have gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be Yahweh,
who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare.
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in Yahweh’s name,
who made heaven and earth.
54 “Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth!
Break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child!
For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,” says Yahweh.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations;
don’t spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out on the right hand and on the left;
and your offspring will possess the nations
and settle in desolate cities.
4 “Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed.
Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed.
For you will forget the shame of your youth.
You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Armies is his name.
The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer.
He will be called the God of the whole earth.
6 For Yahweh has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God.
7 “For a small moment I have forsaken you,
but I will gather you with great mercies.
8 In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says Yahweh your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to me;
for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart,
and the hills be removed,
but my loving kindness will not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace will not be removed,”
says Yahweh who has mercy on you.
23 “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
25 “Behold, I have told you beforehand.
26 “If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. 27 For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures[a] gather together.
29 “But immediately after the suffering[b] of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;(A) 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
32 “Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33 Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors. 34 Most certainly I tell you, this generation[c] will not pass away until all these things are accomplished. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
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