Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. 25 There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number. 26 The ships sail there. And the very large sea animal You have made plays in it.
27 They all wait for You to give them their food at the right time. 28 You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand and they are filled with good things. 29 They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 They are made when You send Your Spirit. And You make the land of the earth new again.
31 May the shining-greatness of the Lord last forever. May the Lord be glad in His works. 32 He looks at the earth and it shakes with fear. He touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May the words of my heart be pleasing to Him. As for me, I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
The Tower at Babylon
11 Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. 2 And as men traveled in the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and made their home there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make blocks and burn them until they are hard.” They used blocks for stone, and tar to hold them together. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, with a tower that touches the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves, or else we may be sent everywhere over the whole earth.”
5 Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “See, they are one people, and they all have the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do. Now all they plan to do will be possible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down and mix up their language so they will not understand what each other says.” 8 So the Lord sent them everywhere over the whole earth. And they stopped building the city. 9 So the name of the city was Babel, because there the Lord mixed up the language of the whole earth. The Lord sent the people everywhere over the whole earth.
Our Body Is Like the Body of Christ
12 Our own body has many parts. When all these many parts are put together, they are only one body. The body of Christ is like this. 13 It is the same way with us. Jews or those who are not Jews, men who are owned by someone or men who are free to do what they want to do, have all been baptized into the one body by the same Holy Spirit. We have all received the one Spirit.
14 The body is not one part, but many parts. 15 If the foot should say, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that would not stop it from being a part of the body. 16 If the ear should say, “I am not a part of the body because I am not an eye,” that would not stop it from being a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye how would it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how would it smell? 18 But God has put all the parts into the body just as He wants to have them. 19 If all the parts were the same, it could not be a body. 20 But now there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Or the head cannot say to the feet, “I do not need you.” 22 Some of the parts we think are weak and not important are very important. 23 We take good care of and cover with clothes the parts of the body that look less important. The parts which do not look beautiful have an important work to do. 24 The parts that can be seen do not need as much care. God has made the body so more care is given to the parts that need it most. 25 This is so the body will not be divided into parts. All the parts care for each other. 26 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. If one part is given special care, the other parts are happy.
The Body of Christ
27 You are all a part of the body of Christ.
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