Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord
146 Praise[a] the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 (B)While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (C)Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in [b]a son of man, in whom there is no [c]help.
4 (D)His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day (E)his plans perish.
5 (F)Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 (G)Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7 (H)Who executes justice for the oppressed,
(I)Who gives food to the hungry.
(J)The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
8 (K)The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
(L)The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 (M)The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
(N)But the way of the wicked He [d]turns upside down.
10 (O)The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
Instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace,
And your magistrates righteousness.
18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither [a]wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call (A)your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.
God the Glory of His People
19 “The (B)sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And (C)your God your glory.
20 (D)Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 (E)Also your people shall all be righteous;
(F)They shall inherit the land forever,
(G)The branch of My planting,
(H)The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
22 (I)A little one shall become a thousand,
And a small one a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
Two Blind Men Healed
27 When Jesus departed from there, (A)two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, (B)“Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, (C)“See that no one knows it.” 31 (D)But when they had departed, they [a]spread the news about Him in all that [b]country.
A Mute Man Speaks
32 (E)As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees said, (F)“He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.