Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Eternal!
It is good to sing praises to our God,
for praise is beautiful and pleasant.
2 The Eternal, Architect of earth, is building Jerusalem,
finding the lost, gathering Israel’s outcasts.
3 He binds their wounds,
heals the sorrows of their hearts.
4 He counts all the stars within His hands,
carefully fixing their number
and giving them names.
5 Our Lord is great. Nothing is impossible with His overwhelming power.
He is loving, compassionate, and wise beyond all measure.
6 The Eternal will lift up the lowly
but throw down the wicked to the earth.
Psalm 147 is a postexilic hymn of praise to God as Creator and Sustainer. It celebrates the rebuilding of the walls and gates that protect Jerusalem. God secures the city, grants peace to the border towns, and controls the elements.
7 Open your mouths with thanks!
Sing praises to the Eternal!
Strum the harp in unending praise to our God
8 Who blankets the heavens with clouds,
sends rain to water the thirsty earth,
and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside.
9 He opens His hands to feed all the animals
and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry.
10 He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses;
He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter.
11 But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him,
those who invest hope in His unfailing love.
20 He has not treated any other nation in such a way;
they live unaware of His commands.
Praise the Eternal!
46 Bel and Nebo wobble and duck, as their images
sway on the backs of oxen and donkeys—such a heavy burden
For the weary animals—as they are carried about.
2 These “gods” bow and sink together, unable to escape the coming invasion;
they march off into captivity.
The gods of the nations must have looked rather odd riding on the backs of animals. Even gods of the once-feared Babylonians, Bel and Nebo, are nothing but dead weight.
3 Eternal One: Listen, you who count yourselves among Jacob’s descendants,
all the remnant of Israel.
It is you, not I, who have been carried from before you were born.
Indeed, when you were still in the womb, I was taking care of you.
4 And when you are old, I will still be there, carrying you.
When your limbs grow tired, your eyes are weak,
And your hair a silvery gray, I will carry you as I always have.
I will carry you and save you.
5 Does anyone compare to Me? Can you find any likeness?
Who or what might be My equal or even close to Me?
6 What about those who use precious materials for gods—
hiring artisans to carefully craft gold, silver, jewels,
And exotic wood into a god—
then they bow down and worship it!
7 Their god is a mere object. They have to lug it around on their shoulders
before they can stand it up in its proper place.
It just sits there, unmoving until they pick it up again.
It never speaks, never answers.
It cannot help them, no matter how desperate they are.
8 Remember that—and don’t be tempted to conform!
Think about it, you rebels.
9 Remember the old days. For I am God; there is no other.
I am God; there are no other gods like Me.
10 From the beginning I declare how things will end;
from times long past, I tell what is yet to be, saying:
“My intentions will come to pass.
I will make things happen as I determine they should.”
11 I am the one who called Cyrus, the bird of prey from the east;
from a land far away I summoned him to do what I intend.
My word went out, and I will see it done.
My plan has been made, and I will see it through.
12 Listen closely, you strong-willed people
who have veered far from the right path.
13 It won’t be long until I make things right;
My salvation is getting closer and closer; it won’t be delayed.
I am ready to rescue Zion, My chosen place,
and display My beauty and splendor to Israel, My chosen people.
9 Jesus left the field and went to the synagogue, 10 and there He met a man with a shriveled hand. The Pharisees wanted to set up Jesus.
Pharisees: Well, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath too?
Jesus: 11 Look, imagine that one of you has a sheep that falls into a ditch on the Sabbath—what would you do?
Jesus—who can see the Pharisees are testing Him and basically have missed the point—is growing a little testy. The Pharisees say nothing.
(to the Pharisees) You would dive in and rescue your sheep. 12 Now what is more valuable, a person or a sheep? So what do you think—should I heal this man on the Sabbath? Isn’t it lawful to do good deeds on the Sabbath? 13 (to the man with the shriveled hand) Stretch out your hand.
As the man did so, his hand was completely healed, as good as new.
14 The Pharisees went and mapped out plans to destroy Jesus.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.