Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
124 If the Lord had not been on our side (let all Israel admit it), if the Lord had not been on our side, 2-3 we would have been swallowed alive by our enemies, destroyed by their anger. 4-5 We would have drowned beneath the flood of these men’s fury and pride.
6 Blessed be Jehovah who has not let them devour us. 7 We have escaped with our lives as a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare is broken and we are free!
8 Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
54 Sing, O childless woman! Break out into loud and joyful song, Jerusalem,[a] for she who was abandoned has more blessings now than she whose husband stayed! 2 Enlarge your house; build on additions; spread out your home! 3 For you will soon be bursting at the seams! And your descendants will possess the cities left behind during the exile and rule the nations that took their lands.
4 Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more, 5 for your Creator will be your “husband.” The Lord Almighty is his name; he is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. 6 For the Lord has called you back from your grief—a young wife abandoned by her husband. 7 For a brief moment I abandoned you. But with great compassion I will take you back. 8 In a moment of anger I turned my face a little while; but with everlasting love I will have pity on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 Just as in the time of Noah I swore that I would never again permit the waters of a flood to cover the earth and destroy its life, so now I swear that I will never again pour out my anger on you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but my kindness shall not leave you. My promise of peace for you will never be broken, says the Lord who has mercy upon you.
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘The Messiah has arrived at such and such a place, or has appeared here or there,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false Christs shall arise, and false prophets, and will do wonderful miracles so that if it were possible, even God’s chosen ones[a] would be deceived. 25 See, I have warned you.
26 “So if someone tells you the Messiah has returned and is out in the desert, don’t bother to go and look. Or, that he is hiding at a certain place, don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah,[b] return. 28 And wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the persecution of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give light, and the stars will seem to fall from the heavens,[c] and the powers overshadowing the earth will be convulsed.
30 “And then at last the signal of my coming[d] will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning all around the earth. And the nations of the world will see me arrive in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And I shall send forth my angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they shall gather my chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.[e]
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When her branch is tender and the leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is almost here. 33 Just so, when you see all these things beginning to happen, you can know that my return is near,[f] even at the doors. 34 Then at last this age will come to its close.[g]
35 “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.