Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise to God
12 At that time you will say,
“I praise you, Lord!
You have been angry with me,
but don’t be angry with me now.
Show your love to me.
2 God is the one who saves me.
I trust him, and I am not afraid.
The Lord Yah is my strength.
He saves me, and I sing songs of praise about him.[a]”
3 You people will get your water from the spring of salvation.
Then you will be happy.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord and call out his name!
Tell everyone what he has done
and how wonderful he is.”
5 Sing songs of praise about the Lord,
because he has done great things.
Spread this news about God throughout the whole world.
Let all people know these things.
6 People of Zion, shout about these things!
The Holy One of Israel is with you in a powerful way.
So sing and be happy!
15 Loyalty is gone,
and people who try to do good are robbed.
The Lord looked and saw there was no justice.
He did not like what he saw.
16 He did not see anyone speak up for the people.
He was shocked to see that no one stood up for them.
So with his own power he saved them.
His desire to do what is right gave him strength.
17 He put on the armor of goodness,
the helmet of salvation,
the uniform of punishment,
and the coat of strong love.[a]
18 He will give his enemies the punishment they deserve.
They will feel his anger.
He will punish all his enemies.
People along the coast will get the punishment they deserve.
19 People from the west to the east will fear the Lord
and respect his Glory.
He will come quickly, like a fast-flowing river
driven by a wind[b] from the Lord.
20 Then a redeemer[c] will come to Zion
to save the people of Jacob who have turned away from sin.
21 The Lord says, “As for me, this is the agreement that I will make with these people. I promise my Spirit that I put on you and my words that I put in your mouth will never leave you. They will be with you and your children and your children’s children, for now and forever.
The Coming of God’s Kingdom(A)
20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will God’s kingdom come?”
Jesus answered, “God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you can see it. 21 People will not say, ‘Look, God’s kingdom is here!’ or ‘There it is!’ No, God’s kingdom is here with you.[a]”
22 Then Jesus said to his followers, “The time will come when you will want very much to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not be able to. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look, there it is!’ or ‘Look, here it is!’ Stay where you are; don’t go away and search. 24 “When the Son of Man comes again, you will know it. On that day he will shine like lightning flashes across the sky. 25 But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things. The people of today will refuse to accept him.
26 “When the Son of Man comes again, it will be the same as it was when Noah lived. 27 People were eating, drinking, and getting married even on the day when Noah entered the boat. Then the flood came and killed them all.
28 “It will be the same as during the time of Lot, when God destroyed Sodom. Those people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building houses for themselves. 29 They were doing these things even on the day when Lot left town. Then fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and killed them all. 30 This is exactly how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
31 “On that day if a man is on his roof, he will not have time to go inside and get his things. If a man is in the field, he cannot go back home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife[b]!
33 “Whoever tries to keep the life they have will lose it. But whoever gives up their life will save it. 34 That night there may be two people sleeping in one room. One will be taken and the other will be left. 35 There may be two women working together. One will be taken and the other will be left.” 36 [c]
37 The followers asked Jesus, “Where will this be, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “It’s like looking for a dead body—you will find it where the vultures are gathering above.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International