Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth
49 Listen to Me, O (A)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
(B)The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the [a]body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My (C)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the (D)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a [b]select (E)arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “(F)You are My Servant, Israel,
(G)In Whom I will [c]show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have (H)toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My (I)reward with My God.”
5 And now says (J)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that (K)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (L)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My (M)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [d]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the (N)preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a (O)light [e]of the nations
So that My salvation may [f]reach to the (P)end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord, the (Q)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the (R)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“(S)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (T)bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance.
71 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed.
2 (B)In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
(C)Incline Your ear to me and save me.
3 (D)Be to me a rock of (E)habitation to which I may continually come;
You have given (F)commandment to save me,
For You are (G)my [a]rock and my fortress.
4 (H)Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the [b]grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,
5 For You are my (I)hope;
O Lord [c]God, You are my (J)confidence from my youth.
6 [d]By You I have been (K)sustained from my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [e]of You.
7 I have become a (N)marvel to many,
For You are (O)my strong refuge.
8 My (P)mouth is filled with Your praise
And with (Q)Your glory all day long.
9 Do not cast me off in the (R)time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [f]against me;
And those who (S)watch for my [g]life (T)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(U)God has forsaken him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (V)no one to deliver.”
12 O God, (W)do not be far from me;
O my God, (X)hasten to my help!
13 Let those who are adversaries of my soul be (Y)ashamed and consumed;
Let them be (Z)covered with reproach and dishonor, who (AA)seek [h]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AB)hope continually,
And will [i](AC)praise You yet more and more.
The Wisdom of God
18 For the word of the cross is (A)foolishness to (B)those who [a]are perishing, but to us who [b]are being saved it is (C)the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“(D)I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”
20 (E)Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of (F)this age? Has not God (G)made foolish the wisdom of (H)the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God (I)the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, (J)God was well-pleased through the (K)foolishness of the [c]message preached to (L)save those who believe. 22 For indeed (M)Jews ask for [d]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach [e](N)Christ crucified, (O)to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles (P)foolishness, 24 but to those who are (Q)the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (R)the power of God and (S)the wisdom of God. 25 Because the (T)foolishness of God is wiser than men, and (U)the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For [f]consider your (V)calling, brethren, that there were (W)not many wise according to [g]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but (X)God has chosen the foolish things of (Y)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of (Z)the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of (AA)the world and the despised God has chosen, (AB)the things that are not, so that He may (AC)nullify the things that are, 29 so that (AD)no [h]man may boast before God. 30 But [i]by His doing you are in (AE)Christ Jesus, who became to us (AF)wisdom from God, [j]and (AG)righteousness and (AH)sanctification, and (AI)redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “(AJ)Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now there were some (A)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at (B)the feast; 21 these then came to (C)Philip, who was from (D)Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip *came and *told (E)Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23 And Jesus *answered them, saying, “(F)The hour has come for the Son of Man to (G)be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (H)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (I)He who loves his [a]life loses it, and he who (J)hates his [b]life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26 If anyone [c]serves Me, he must follow Me; and (K)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone [d]serves Me, the Father will (L)honor him.
Jesus Foretells His Death
27 “(M)Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘(N)Father, save Me from (O)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 (P)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a (Q)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “(R)An angel has spoken to Him.” 30 Jesus answered and said, “(S)This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. 31 (T)Now judgment is upon this world; now (U)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I (V)am lifted up from the earth, will (W)draw all men to Myself.” 33 But He was saying this (X)to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of (Y)the Law that [e](Z)the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The (AA)Son of Man must be (AB)lifted up’? Who is this (AC)Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “(AD)For a little while longer (AE)the Light is among you. (AF)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who (AG)walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36 While you have the Light, (AH)believe in the Light, so that you may become (AI)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and [f](AJ)hid Himself from them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.