Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)
To the Director: An instruction[a] of the Sons of Korah.
Hope in God When Times of Trouble Come
42 As an antelope pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When may I come and appear in God’s presence?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while people[b] keep asking me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles[c] within me:
I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God,
accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me.
6 My God, my soul feels depressed[d] within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon,
even from the foothills.[e]
7 Deep waters call out to what is deeper still;[f]
at the roar of your waterfalls
all your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
8 By day the Lord will command his gracious love,
and by night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
10 Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
What the Lord will Do for Zion
8 This is this message from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies:
2 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘I’m greatly jealous about Zion, and that makes me furious about her.’
3 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Zion and I will live in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be called, “The City of Truth” and the mountain of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will be called,[a] “The Holy Mountain”.’
4 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘There will yet be old men and old women sitting in the parks[b] of Jerusalem, each one of them holding canes in their hands due to their old age! 5 The city parks[c] will be filled with boys and girls. They will play in the city’s[d] open parks.’
6 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘It may seem impossible to the survivors of this people, but is it impossible for me?’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
7 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Look! After having saved my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west, 8 I will also bring them back to live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will truly be their righteous God.’”
An Exhortation to Rebuild the Temple
9 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Be strong so the Temple can be built, you who are now listening to this message spoken by the prophets when the foundation was laid to the Temple of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 10 Before then, everyone was unemployed—even the draft animals—and no one was safe coming or going because of the enemy, because I caused everyone to oppose each other.[e]
11 “‘But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 12 ‘For there will be a sowing of peace: the vine will produce its fruit, the earth will produce its full[f] yield, the sky will produce its dew, and I will make the survivors of this people inherit all these things. 13 Furthermore, house of Judah and house of Israel, even though you used to be a curse among the nations, now I will surely save you, and you will be a blessing. Stop being afraid. Instead, grow stronger.’”[g]
The Lord will Do Good to Jerusalem and Judah
14 “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Just as I intended to bring harm to you when your ancestors angered me,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, ‘and I did not relent, 15 so I have decided at this time[h] to do good things for Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. So stop being afraid. 16 Here’s what you must do: tell the truth to your neighbors, administer true and peaceful justice in your courtrooms,[i] 17 don’t plot evil in your heart against a neighbor, and don’t tolerate[j] false testimonies,[k] because I hate all these things,’ declares the Lord.”
Jesus Heals Many People(A)
14 When Jesus went into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s[a] mother-in-law lying in bed, sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began serving him.
16 When evening came, people[b] brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He drove out the spirits by speaking a command[c] and healed everyone who was sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“It was he who took our illnesses away
and removed our diseases.”[d]
Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men(A)
28 When Jesus[a] arrived on the other side in the region of the Gerasenes,[b] two demon-possessed men met him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could travel on that road. 29 Suddenly, they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the proper time?”
30 Now a large herd of pigs was grazing some distance away from them. 31 So the demons began to plead with Jesus,[c] saying, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 He told them, “Go,” and they came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down a steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.
33 Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs ran away, they came into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
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