Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4] who ·saves us [gives us victory].
2 Let’s ·come [present ourselves] to him with ·thanksgiving [praise].
Let’s ·sing songs [shout psalms] to him,
3 because the Lord is the great God,
the great King over all gods [Ex. 15:11].
4 The deepest places on earth are ·his [L in his hand],
and the ·highest [peaks of the] mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it,
and he created the ·land [dry ground] with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s ·worship him [bow down] and ·bow down [bend the knee].
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us,
7 because he is our God
and we are the people ·he takes care of [L of his pasture],
the sheep ·that he tends [L of his hand; 74:1; 79:13; 100:3; John 10:11–14].
Today listen to ·what he says [L his voice]:
8 “Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your heart], as at Meribah [C “contending”; 81:7; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13],
as that day at Massah [C “testing”] in the ·desert [wilderness; Heb. 4:7].
9 There your ·ancestors [fathers] tested me
and tried me even though they saw what I did.
10 I ·was angry with [felt disgust for] ·those people [L that generation] for forty years.
I said, ‘They are ·not loyal to me [L a people whose hearts wander/go astray]
and have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my rest.’”
8 Enemy, don’t ·laugh at [gloat over] me.
I have fallen, but I will get up again.
I sit in ·the shadow of trouble now [L darkness],
but the Lord will be a light for me.
9 I sinned against the Lord,
so ·he was angry with me [L I will bear the wrath of the Lord],
but he will ·defend my case in court [plead my case].
He will ·bring about what is right [accomplish justice] for me.
Then he will bring me out into the light,
and I will see ·him set things right [his righteousness/justice/vindication].
10 Then my enemies will see this,
and they will be ·ashamed [L covered wth shame],
those who said to me,
‘Where is the Lord your God?’
I will ·look down on [gloat over] them.
They will ·get walked on [be trampled down], like mud in the street.”
Israel Will Return
11 The ·time [L day] will come when your walls will be built again,
when your ·country will grow [borders will be extended].
12 ·At that time [L In that day] your people will come back to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the ·Euphrates River [L River],
and from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will be ·ruined [desolate] ·for [or because of] the people who live in it
·because [L for the fruit] of their deeds.
A Prayer to God
14 So shepherd your people with your ·stick [shepherd’s staff];
tend the flock of ·people who belong to you [L your inheritance/possession].
That flock now lives alone in the forest
in the middle of ·a garden land [pasturelands; or Carmel].
Let them ·feed [graze] in Bashan and Gilead
as in days long ago.
15 “As in the days when I brought you out of Egypt,
I will show them ·miracles [wonders].”
16 When the nations see those miracles,
they will ·no longer brag [be ashamed/disappointed] about their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
·refusing to listen [and their ears will be deaf].
17 They will ·crawl in the [L lick] dust like a snake,
like ·insects crawling [or serpents; L crawling things] on the ground.
They will come trembling from their ·holes [or strongholds] to the Lord our God
and will turn in fear before you.
18 There is no God like you.
You forgive those who are guilty of sin;
you ·don’t look at the sins [pass over the transgressions] of ·your people
who are left alive [L the remnant of your inheritance].
You will not stay angry forever,
because you ·enjoy [delight in] ·being kind [mercy; lovingkindness].
19 You will have ·mercy [compassion] on us again;
you will conquer our sins.
You will ·throw away [hurl; cast] all our sins
into the ·deepest part [depths] of the sea.
20 You will be ·true [faithful] to ·the people of Jacob [L Jacob],
and you will ·be kind [show mercy/lovingkindness] to ·the people of Abraham [L Abraham]
as you promised to our ·ancestors [fathers] long ago.
26 After singing a hymn [C probably the Hallel psalms (Ps. 113—118), sung during the Passover meal], they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him(A)
27 Then Jesus told them, “You will all ·stumble in your faith [fall away; desert me], because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will ·kill [strike] the shepherd,
and the sheep will ·scatter [be scattered]’ [Zech. 13:7].
28 But after ·I rise from the dead [L I am raised], I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter said, “Everyone else may ·stumble in their faith [fall away; desert you], but I will not.”
30 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows twice you will ·say three times you don’t know me [deny/disown me three times].”
31 But Peter insisted, “Even if I must die with you, I will never ·say that I don’t know [deny/disown] you!” And all the others said the same thing.
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