Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 97

¹ The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles and coastlands be glad!

² Clouds and darkness are round about Him [as at Sinai]; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.^(A)

³ Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries round about.

⁴ His lightnings illumine the world; the earth sees and trembles.

⁵ The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶ The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.

⁷ Let all those be put to shame who serve graven images, who boast in idols. Fall prostrate before Him, all you gods.^(B)

⁸ Zion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoiced [in relief] because of Your judgments, O Lord.

⁹ For You, Lord, are high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ O you who love the Lord, hate evil; He preserves the lives of His saints (the children of God), He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.^(C)

¹¹ Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection].

¹² Rejoice in the Lord, you [consistently] righteous (upright and in right standing with God), and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.

⁷ This was so because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods

⁸ And walked in the customs of the [heathen] nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites, customs the kings of Israel had introduced.

⁹ The Israelites did secretly against the Lord their God things not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from [lonely] watchtower to [populous] fortified city.

¹⁰ They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim [symbols of the goddess Asherah] on every high hill and under every green tree.

¹¹ There they burned incense on all the high places, as did the nations whom the Lord carried away before them; and they did wicked things provoking the Lord to anger.

¹² And they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, You shall not do this thing.

¹³ Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and all the seers, saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.

¹⁴ Yet they would not hear, but hardened their necks as did their fathers who did not believe (trust in, rely on, and remain steadfast to) the Lord their God.

¹⁵ They despised and rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings to them, and they followed vanity (false gods—falsehood, emptiness, and futility) and [they themselves and their prayers] became false (empty and futile). They went after the heathen round about them, of whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do as they did.

¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the [starry] hosts of the heavens and served Baal.

¹⁷ They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire and used divination and enchantments and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.

¹⁸ Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah.

¹⁹ Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs which Israel introduced.

²⁰ The Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight.

²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the lake, they said to Him, Rabbi! When did You come here?

²⁶ Jesus answered them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, you have been searching for Me, not because you saw the miracles and signs but because you were fed with the loaves and were filled and satisfied.

²⁷ Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes [in the using], but strive and work and produce rather for the [lasting] food which endures [continually] unto life eternal; the Son of Man will give (furnish) you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him.

²⁸ They then said, What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?]

²⁹ Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].

³⁰ Therefore they said to Him, What sign (miracle, wonderwork) will ^[a]You perform then, so that we may see it and believe and rely on and adhere to You? What [supernatural] work have You [to show what You can do]?

³¹ Our forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as the Scripture says, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.^(A)

³² Jesus then said to them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Moses did not give you the Bread from heaven [what Moses gave you was not the Bread from heaven], but it is My Father Who gives you the true heavenly Bread.

³³ For the Bread of God is He Who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.

³⁴ Then they said to Him, Lord, give us this bread always (all the time)!

³⁵ Jesus replied, I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time).