Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Love for Israel
105 Give thanks to the Lord and ·pray to him [L call on his name].
·Tell [L Make known among] the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him; ·sing praises [make a psalm] to him.
Tell about all his ·miracles [wonderful acts].
3 ·Be glad that you are his [L Exult/Glory in his holy name];
let ·those [L the heart of those] who seek the Lord ·be happy [rejoice].
4 ·Depend on [Seek] the Lord and his strength;
always ·go to him for help [L seek his face].
5 Remember the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he has done;
remember his ·wonders [signs] and ·his decisions [L the judgments of his mouth].
6 You are ·descendants [L seed] of his servant Abraham [Gen. 12:1–3],
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His ·laws [justice; judgments] are for all the world.
8 He will ·keep [L remember] his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] forever;
·he will keep his promises always [L the word which he commanded, for a thousand generations].
9 He will keep the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] he ·made [L cut] with Abraham [Gen. 12:1–3; 17:23]
and the ·promise [oath] he made to Isaac [Gen. 26:3–5].
10 He made it a ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for the people of Jacob;
he made it an ·agreement [covenant; agreement] with Israel to last forever.
11 The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan [Gen. 15:18],
·and it will belong to you [L as a portion of your inheritance].”
37 Then he brought them out with silver and gold [Ex. 12:35–36].
·Not one of his people stumbled [L There was no stumbling among the tribe].
38 The Egyptians ·were glad [rejoiced] when they left,
because ·the Egyptians were afraid of them [L dread of them fell on them; C because of the plagues].
39 ·The Lord covered them with a cloud [L He spread out a cloud as a covering]
and ·lit up the night with fire [L a fire to illuminate the night; Ex. 13:21–22].
40 When they asked, he brought them quail
and filled them with bread from heaven [Ex. 16].
41 God ·split [L opened] the rock, and water flowed out;
it ran like a river through the ·desert [wasteland; Ex. 17:1–7].
42 He remembered his holy ·promise [word]
to his servant Abraham [Gen. 12:1–3].
43 So God brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them lands of other nations,
so they received ·what others had worked for [L the labors of peoples].
45 This was so they would ·keep [observe; guard] his ·orders [statutes; ordinances; requirements]
and ·obey [protect] his ·teachings [instructions; laws].
Praise the Lord!
12 This is what the Lord said:
“Your wound cannot be cured;
your injury will not heal [8:22; 10:19; Mic. 1:9; Nah. 3:19].
13 There is no one to ·argue your case [uphold your cause]
and no ·cure [medicine] for your sores.
So you will not be healed.
14 All your lovers [C allied nations] have forgotten you.
They don’t ·care about [L seek] you.
I have ·hurt you [struck you a blow] as an enemy would.
I ·punished [disciplined] you ·very hard [harshly],
because your ·guilt [iniquity] was so great
and your sins were so many.
15 Why are you crying out about your injury?
There is no cure for your pain.
I did these things to you because of your great ·guilt [iniquity],
because of your many sins.
16 But all those ·nations that destroyed you will now be destroyed [L who consumed/devoured you will be consumed/devoured].
All your ·enemies [foes] will become ·captives in other lands [exiles].
Those who ·stole from [L plunder] you will ·have their own things stolen [L be plundered].
Those who took things from you in war will have their own things taken.
17 I will bring back your health
and heal your injuries,” says the Lord,
“because ·other people forced you away [L they called you ‘driven out’/‘an outcast’].
They said about you, ‘No one ·cares about [L seeks] ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]!’”
18 This is what the Lord said:
“I ·will soon make the tents of Jacob’s people as they used to be [L am restoring the fortunes of the tents of Jacob],
and I will have ·pity [compassion] on their houses.
The city will be rebuilt on its ·hill of ruins [mound],
and the king’s palace will stand in its ·proper [traditional] place.
19 ·People in those places will sing songs of praise [L Praise/Thanks will go out from them; Ps. 126].
There will be the sound of laughter.
I will ·give them many children [L multiply them]
so ·their number will not be small [L they will not diminish; Gen. 12:1–3; 22:17; 32:12; 41:49].
I will bring ·honor [glory] to them
so no one will ·look down on [belittle] them.
20 Their ·descendants [children] will be as they were in the old days.
·I will set them up as a strong people [L Their congregation will be established] before me,
and I will punish ·the nations who have hurt them [their oppressors].
21 ·One of their own people will lead them [L Their noble one will be of them];
their ruler will come from among them [Deut. 17:14–20].
·He will come near to me when I invite him [L I will bring him near and he will approach me].
Who would dare to ·come to [approach] me uninvited?” says the Lord.
22 “So you will be my people,
and I will be your God [C they will be in a covenant relationship; Hos. 2:23].”
36 ·Believe [Put your trust] in the light while you still have it so that you will become children of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.
Some People Won’t Believe in Jesus
37 Though Jesus had done many ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] in front of the people, they still did not believe in him. 38 This was to ·bring about [L fulfill] ·what [L the message/word that] Isaiah the prophet had said:
“Lord, who believed ·what we told them [L our message/report]?
Who saw the Lord’s ·power [L arm; C a symbol of his power] in this [Is. 53:1]?”
39 This is why the people could not believe: Isaiah also had said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes,
and he has ·closed their minds [L hardened their heart].
Otherwise they would see with their eyes
and understand in their ·minds [L heart]
and ·come back to me and be healed [L turn/repent, and I would heal them; Is. 6:10].”
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 But many believed in Jesus, even many of the ·leaders [authorities]. But because of the Pharisees, they did not ·say they believed in him [L confess/proclaim him/it] for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 They loved ·praise [glory] from people more than ·praise [glory] from God.
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