); Isaiah 51:1-3 (Look to Abraham and Sarah); Matthew 11:20-24 (Jesus prophesies against the cities) (International Standard Version)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Ruler over the Nations
47 Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with a loud cry of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
even the pride of Jacob whom he loved.
5 God has ascended on high with a shout,
the Lord has ascended[a] with the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing songs to God!
Sing songs!
Sing songs to our King!
Sing songs!
7 Indeed, God is king over all the earth;
sing a song of praise.
8 God is king over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles among the nations
have joined the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
Deliverance for Zion
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord!
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
to the quarry from which you were hewn.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave you birth.
For when he was only one person I called him,
but I made him fruitful[a] and made him many.
3 For the Lord will have compassion on Zion,
have compassion on all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her deserts like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving, and the sound of singing.[b]
Sorrow and sighing will flee away.[c]
Jesus Denounces Unrepentant Cities(A)
20 Then Jesus[a] began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had taken place, because they didn’t repent. 21 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day than for you!
23 “And you, Capernaum! You won’t be lifted up to heaven, will you? You’ll go down to Hell![b] Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you!”
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