Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to God the King
A song of praise. Of David.
145 I praise your greatness, my God the King.
I will praise you forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great. He is worthy of our praise.
No one can understand how great he is.
4 Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,
5 wonderful majesty and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.
6 They will tell about the amazing things you do.
I will tell how great you are.
7 They will remember your great goodness.
They will sing about your fairness.
8 The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He is merciful to all he has made.
10 Lord, everything you have made will praise you.
Those who belong to you will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom.
They will speak about your power.
12 Then everyone will know what powerful things you do.
They will know about the glory and majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will continue forever.
And you will be King from now on.
The Lord will keep his promises.
With love he takes care of all he has made.
14 The Lord helps those who have been defeated.
He takes care of those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for food.
And you give it to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
17 Everything the Lord does is right.
With love he takes care of all he has made.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.
19 He gives those who fear him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him.
But he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
9 My sister, my bride,
you have thrilled my heart.
You have thrilled my heart
with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel from your necklace.
10 Your love is so sweet, my sister, my bride!
Your love is better than wine.
Your perfume smells better than any spice.
11 My bride, your lips drip honey.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes smell like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 My sister, my bride, you are like a garden locked up.
You are like a spring with a wall around it, a fountain that is closed.
13 Your limbs are like an orchard
of pomegranates and all the best fruit.
It is filled with flowers and nard.
14 It also has saffron, calamus and cinnamon.
It is filled with trees of incense, myrrh and aloes—
all the best spices.
15 You are like a garden fountain—
a well of fresh water
flowing down from the mountains of Lebanon.
The Woman Speaks
16 Awake, north wind!
Come, you south wind!
Blow on my garden.
Let its sweet smells flow out.
Let my lover enter the garden.
And let him eat its best fruits.
The Man Speaks
5 I have entered my garden, my sister, my bride.
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey.
I have drunk my wine and my milk.
The Friends Speak
Eat, friends, and drink.
Yes, drink deeply, lovers.
Jesus Answers a Question
33 They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often give up eating[a] and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
34 Jesus said to them, “When there is a wedding, you cannot make the friends of the bridegroom give up eating while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then his friends will give up eating.”
36 Jesus told them this story: “No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. If he does, he ruins the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat will not be the same as the old cloth. 37 People never pour new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If they do, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will spill out. Then the leather bags for holding wine will be ruined. 38 People always put new wine into new leather bags. 39 No one after drinking old wine wants new wine because he says, ‘The old wine is better.’”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.