); Isaiah 51:1-3 (Look to Abraham and Sarah); Matthew 11:20-24 (Jesus prophesies against the cities) (Easy-to-Read Version)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director: A song from the Korah family.
47 Everyone, clap your hands.
Shout with joy to God!
2 The Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King over all the earth.
3 He helped us defeat other nations.
He put those people under our control.
4 He chose our land for us.
He chose that wonderful land for Jacob, the one he loved. Selah
5 The Lord God goes up to his throne
at the sound of the trumpet and horn.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 God is the King of the whole world.
Sing songs of praise![a]
8 God sits on his holy throne;
he rules all the nations.
9 The leaders of the nations have come together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
All the rulers of the world belong to God.
He is over them all!
Israel Should Be Like Abraham
51 “Some of you people try hard to live good lives. You go to the Lord for help. Listen to me. You should look at Abraham your father. He is the rock you were cut from. 2 Abraham is your father, so look at him. Look at Sarah, who gave birth to you. Abraham was alone when I called him. Then I blessed him, and he began a great family with many descendants.”
3 In the same way, the Lord will bless Zion. He will feel sorry for her and her people, and he will do something great for her. He will turn the desert into a garden. It will be like the Garden of Eden. The land was empty, but it will become like the Lord’s garden. People there will be very happy. They will sing victory songs to thank God for what he did.
Jesus Warns People Who Refuse to Believe(A)
20 Then Jesus criticized the cities where he did most of his miracles. He criticized these cities because the people there did not change their lives and stop sinning. 21 Jesus said, “It will be bad for you Chorazin! It will be bad for you Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If these same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have changed their lives a long time ago. They would have worn sackcloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they were sorry for their sins. 22 But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon.
23 “And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the place of death. I did many miracles in you. If these same miracles had happened in Sodom, the people there would have stopped sinning, and it would still be a city today. 24 But I tell you, it will be worse for you in the day of judgment than for Sodom.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International