Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
21 Do you not know?(A)
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?(B)
22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.(C)
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth(D)
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.(E)
23 He reduces princes to nothing(F)
and makes judges of the earth irrational.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when He blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.(G)
25 “Who will you compare Me to,(H)
or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up[a] and see:
who created(I) these?
He brings out the starry host by number;
He calls all of them by name.(J)
Because of His great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?(K)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,(L)
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.(M)
29 He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;(N)
they will soar on wings like eagles;(O)
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.
Psalm 147
God Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.(A)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;(B)
He gathers Israel’s exiled people.(C)
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.(D)
4 He counts the number of the stars;
He gives names to all of them.(E)
5 Our Lord is great, vast in power;
His understanding is infinite.[a](F)
6 The Lord helps the afflicted
but brings the wicked to the ground.(G)
16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted(A) with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my authority in the gospel.(B)
19 Although I am a free man and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win(C) more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law[a]—to win those under the law.(D) 21 To those who are without that law,(E) like one without the law—not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law—to win those without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.(F) 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits.[b]
Healings at Capernaum
29 As(A) soon as they left the synagogue,(B) they went into Simon(C) and Andrew’s(D) house(E) with James(F) and John.(G) 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up.(H) The fever(I) left her,[a] and she began to serve(J) them.(K)
32 When(L) evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all those who were sick(M) and those who were demon-possessed.(N) 33 The whole town was assembled at the door, 34 and He healed(O) many who were sick with various diseases(P) and drove out(Q) many demons.(R) But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.(S)
Preaching in Galilee
35 Very(T) early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place.(U) And He was praying(V) there. 36 Simon(W) and his companions went searching for Him. 37 They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You!”
38 And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach(X) there too. This is why I have come.” 39 So He went into all of Galilee,(Y) preaching in their synagogues(Z) and driving out demons.
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