); Isaiah 49:13-23 (God comforts the suffering); Matthew 18:1-14 (Become like a child) (New American Standard Bible 1995)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 (A)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the (B)Lord has comforted His people
And will (C)have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but (D)I will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have (E)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your (F)walls are continually before Me.
17 “Your [a]builders hurry;
Your (G)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 “(H)Lift up your eyes and look around;
(I)All of them gather together, (J)they come to you.
(K)As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely (L)put on all of them as [b]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For (M)your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be (N)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who (O)swallowed you will be far away.
20 “The (P)children of [c]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 “Then you will (Q)say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am (R)barren, an (S)exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was (T)left alone;
[d](U)From where did these come?’”
22 Thus says the Lord [e]God,
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My (V)standard to the peoples;
And they will (W)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 “(X)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will (Y)bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And (Z)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will (AA)know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully (AB)wait for Me will (AC)not be put to shame.
Rank in the Kingdom
18 (A)At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him [b]before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [c]are converted and (C)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but (D)whoever (E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it [d]would be better for him to have a [e]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “(G)If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than [f]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 (H)If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than [g]to have two eyes and be cast into the [h](I)fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that (J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [[i](K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
Ninety-nine Plus One
12 “What do you think? (L)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.