Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God takes care of his people[a]
105 Thank the Lord!
Make his name famous!
Tell people in all the nations
what he has done.
2 Sing songs and make music
to praise him!
Tell people about the miracles that he has done.
3 Boast about his holy name.[b]
Everybody who wants to worship the Lord
should be very happy!
4 Ask the Lord to help you.
Ask him to give you strength.
Always try to be near him
and worship him.
5 Remember the great things that he has done.
Remember his miracles,
and the commands that he has spoken.[c]
6 Remember that you are descendants of God's servant, Abraham.
You are Jacob's descendants,
and God has chosen you to be his people.
7 He is the Lord, our God.
He rules the whole earth with justice.
8 He will always remember the covenant
that he made with us.
He made that promise to continue for ever.
9 That is the promise that he made to Abraham,
and that he also made to Isaac.
10 He repeated it to Jacob as a law.
It was a covenant with Israel's people
that would continue for ever.[d]
11 He promised Jacob,
‘I will give to you the land of Canaan.
It will belong to you,
and to your descendants.’
37 So the Lord led his people out from Egypt.
They took with them valuable silver and gold things.
Nobody among the Israelite people was too weak to go.
38 The Egyptians were happy when they went,
because they were afraid of the Israelites.[a]
39 The Lord made a cloud to cover them
and a fire to give them light at night.
40 When they asked him for food,
he gave them quails to eat.
He fed them with bread from the sky.
41 He broke a rock,
so that water poured out from it.
It ran as a river through the dry places.
42 Yes, the Lord remembered the holy promise
that he had made to his servant, Abraham.
43 So he led his people out from Egypt,
and they were very happy!
They were the people that he had chosen for himself,
and they shouted with joy!
44 The Lord gave to them
the land of other nations.
They enjoyed the good things
that other people had worked to get.
45 Then God's people could obey his commands
and his laws.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
12 The Lord says this to Zion's people:
‘You have received very bad wounds.
Nobody can make you well again.
13 There is no one who will speak on your behalf.
There is no medicine that can make you well.
14 All your friends have turned away from you.
They do not want to help you in your troubles.
I have hurt you,
in the way that an enemy might attack you.
You have lived in a very wicked way,
and you are guilty of many sins.
So I had to punish you,
to teach you what is right.
15 You complain about your wounds.
You say that your pain will never get better.
But I had to punish you,
because you are very wicked,
and you are guilty of many sins.
16 But I will destroy your enemies who destroyed you.
All of them will go as prisoners to foreign lands.
They took your valuable things for themselves.
Now I will take away their valuable things.
17 People say that nobody takes care of you,
people of Zion.
They say that I have chased you out of your land.
But I will give you back your health.
I will make your wounds better.’
That is what the Lord says.
18 The Lord says,
‘I will bring back Jacob's descendants to their own land.
Enemies have knocked down their houses,
but I will repair the homes where they lived.
I will be kind to them,
so that each family can live safely.
The city will stand again in its right place.
The palace will also stand where it was before.
19 In those places you will hear happy songs,
as people thank God.
People will laugh aloud because they are so happy.
I will make them grow in number.
Their descendants will be many.
I will cause other nations to give them honour.
They will no longer insult my people.
20 Jacob's descendants will be strong again,
as they were long ago.
They will serve me together as one group of people.
I will punish anyone who wants to hurt them.
21 One of their own people will rule them as king.
I will ask him to come near to me,
and he will come near.
Nobody would be brave enough to come near to me,
unless I asked him to come.’
That is what the Lord says.
22 ‘At that time, you will again be my people,
and I will be your God. ’
36 While you still have the light with you, believe in that light. So then you will become children of light.’ When Jesus had said this, he went away. He hid himself from them.[a]
Many people still do not believe in Jesus
37 Jesus had done many miracles that the people themselves had seen. But even then, they still did not believe in him. 38 This showed that the prophet Isaiah had spoken true words when he said:[b]
‘Lord, has anyone believed our message?
You have shown how powerful you are,
but nobody has really understood.’
39 Isaiah spoke also about why the people could not believe.[c] 40 He said:
‘God has made their eyes unable to see.
He has closed their minds.
So they cannot see with their eyes,
and they cannot understand with their minds.
They will not turn to me, so that I can make them well.’
41 Long ago, Isaiah saw the great glory of Christ. That is why he said these things. He was speaking about Jesus.
42 But even at that time, many of the Jewish leaders did believe in Jesus. But they were afraid of the Pharisees. So they did not tell people that they believed. They were afraid that the Pharisees would send them away from their meeting places. 43 The Pharisees wanted other people to praise them, more than they wanted God to praise them.
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