Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Peaceful Kingdom
11 (A)The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.
2 The spirit of the Lord will give him wisdom
and the knowledge and skill to rule his people.
He will know the Lord's will and honor him,
3 and find pleasure in obeying him.
He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;
4 (B)he will judge the poor fairly
and defend the rights of the helpless.
At his command the people will be punished,
and evil persons will die.
5 (C)He will rule his people with justice and integrity.
6 (D)Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,
and leopards will lie down with young goats.
Calves and lion cubs will feed[a] together,
and little children will take care of them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together,
and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace.
Lions will eat straw as cattle do.
8 Even a baby will not be harmed
if it plays near a poisonous snake.
9 (E)On Zion, God's sacred hill,
there will be nothing harmful or evil.
The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord
as the seas are full of water.
8 And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd from his lookout tower, watches over his people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours. 9 Why do you cry out so loudly? Why are you suffering like a woman in labor? Is it because you have no king, and your counselors are dead? 10 Twist and groan,[a] people of Jerusalem, like a woman giving birth, for now you will have to leave the city and live in the open country. You will have to go to Babylon, but there the Lord will save you from your enemies. 11 Many nations have gathered to attack you. They say, “Jerusalem must be destroyed! We will see this city in ruins!” 12 But these nations do not know what is in the Lord's mind. They do not realize that they have been gathered together to be punished in the same way that grain is brought in to be threshed.
13 The Lord says, “People of Jerusalem, go and punish your enemies! I will make you as strong as a bull with iron horns and bronze hoofs. You will crush many nations, and the wealth they got by violence you will present to me, the Lord of the whole world.”
31 Jesus continued, “Now to what can I compare the people of this day? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!’ 33 John the Baptist came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ 34 The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ 35 God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by all who accept it.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.