Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
37 1-2 The power of the Lord was upon me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley full of old, dry bones that were scattered everywhere across the ground. He led me around among them, 3 and then he said to me:
“Son of dust, can these bones become people again?”
I replied, “Lord, you alone know the answer to that.”
4 Then he told me to speak to the bones and say: “O dry bones, listen to the words of God, 5 for the Lord God says, ‘See! I am going to make you live and breathe again! 6 I will replace the flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you shall live and know I am the Lord.’”
7 So I spoke these words from God, just as he told me to; and suddenly there was a rattling noise from all across the valley, and the bones of each body came together and attached to each other as they used to be. 8 Then, as I watched, the muscles and flesh formed over the bones, and skin covered them, but the bodies had no breath. 9 Then he told me to call to the wind and say: “The Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe upon these slain bodies, that they may live again.” 10 So I spoke to the winds as he commanded me, and the bodies began breathing; they lived and stood up—a very great army.
11 Then he told me what the vision meant: “These bones,” he said, “represent all the people of Israel. They say: ‘We have become a heap of dried-out bones—all hope is gone.’ 12 But tell them, ‘The Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again and return to the land of Israel. 13 And, then at last, O my people, you will know I am the Lord. 14 I will put my Spirit into you, and you shall live and return home again to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have done just what I promised you.’”
130 O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help: 2 “Hear me! Answer! Help me!”
3-4 Lord, if you keep in mind our sins, then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is! 5 That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised. 6 I long for him more than sentinels long for the dawn.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; for he is loving and kind and comes to us with armloads of salvation. 8 He himself shall ransom Israel from her slavery to sin.
6 Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death 7 because the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God’s laws and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their old sinful selves, bent on following their old evil desires, can never please God.
9 But you are not like that. You are controlled by your new nature if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that if anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ living in him, he is not a Christian at all.) 10 Yet, even though Christ lives within you, your body will die because of sin; but your spirit will live, for Christ has pardoned it.[a] 11 And if the Spirit of God, who raised up Jesus from the dead, lives in you, he will make your dying bodies live again after you die, by means of this same Holy Spirit living within you.
11 1-2 Do you remember Mary, who poured the costly perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair?[a] Well, her brother Lazarus, who lived in Bethany with Mary and her sister Martha, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Sir, your good friend is very, very sick.”
4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “The purpose of his illness is not death, but for the glory of God. I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this situation.”
5 Although Jesus was very fond of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days and made no move to go to them. 7 Finally, after the two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go to Judea.”
8 But his disciples objected. “Master,” they said, “only a few days ago the Jewish leaders in Judea were trying to kill you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day, and during every hour of it a man can walk safely and not stumble. 10 Only at night is there danger of a wrong step, because of the dark.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has gone to sleep, but now I will go and waken him!”
12-13 The disciples, thinking Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good night’s rest, said, “That means he is getting better!” But Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14 Then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sake, I am glad I wasn’t there, for this will give you another opportunity to believe in me. Come, let’s go to him.”
16 Thomas, nicknamed “The Twin,” said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too—and die with him.”
17 When they arrived at Bethany, they were told that Lazarus had already been in his tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was only a couple of miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the Jewish leaders had come to pay their respects and to console Martha and Mary on their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Sir, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 And even now it’s not too late, for I know that God will bring my brother back to life again, if you will only ask him to.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will come back to life again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “when everyone else does, on Resurrection Day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26 He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Master,” she told him. “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one we have so long awaited.”
28 Then she left him and returned to Mary and, calling her aside from the mourners, told her, “He is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary went to him at once.
30 Now Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the Jewish leaders who were at the house trying to console Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’ tomb to weep; so they followed her.
32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was, she fell down at his feet, saying, “Sir, if you had been here, my brother would still be alive.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jewish leaders wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and deeply troubled. 34 “Where is he buried?” he asked them.
They told him, “Come and see.” 35 Tears came to Jesus’ eyes.
36 “They were close friends,” the Jewish leaders said. “See how much he loved him.”
37-38 But some said, “This fellow healed a blind man—why couldn’t he keep Lazarus from dying?”
And again Jesus was moved with deep anger. Then they came to the tomb. It was a cave with a heavy stone rolled across its door.
39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, said, “By now the smell will be terrible, for he has been dead four days.”
40 “But didn’t I tell you that you will see a wonderful miracle from God if you believe?” Jesus asked her.
41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 (You always hear me, of course, but I said it because of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.)” 43 Then he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 And Lazarus came—bound up in the gravecloth, his face muffled in a head swath. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
45 And so at last many of the Jewish leaders who were with Mary and saw it happen, finally believed on him.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.