Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 115
Glory to God Alone
1 Not to us, Yahweh, not to us,
but to Your name give glory
because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.(A)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(B)
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever He pleases.(C)
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.(D)
5 They have mouths but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.(E)
7 They have hands but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.(F)
They cannot make a sound with their throats.(G)
8 Those who make them are[a] just like them,
as are all who trust in them.(H)
9 Israel,[b] trust in the Lord!(I)
He is their help and shield.(J)
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!(K)
He is their help and shield.(L)
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!(M)
He is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron;(N)
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord—
small and great alike.(O)
14 May the Lord add to your numbers,
both yours and your children’s.(P)
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(Q)
16 The heavens are the Lord’s,[c]
but the earth He has given to the human race.(R)
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
nor any of those descending into the silence of death.(S)
18 But we will praise the Lord,
both now and forever.(T)
Hallelujah!
5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God.(A) 6 And I said:(B)
My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.(C) 7 Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our fathers until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame,(D) as it is today. 8 But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from Yahweh our God to preserve a remnant(E) for us and give us a stake(F) in His holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us new life and light to our eyes.(G) 9 Though we are slaves,(H) our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings,(I) giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins,(J) to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 Now, our God, what can we say in light of[a] this? For we have abandoned the commands 11 You gave through Your servants the prophets, saying: “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.(K) 12 So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons.(L) Never seek their peace or prosperity,(M) so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.” 13 After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt—though You, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserve and have allowed us to survive[b](N)— 14 should we break Your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices?(O) Wouldn’t You become so angry with us that You would destroy us, leaving no survivors?(P) 15 Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we survive as a remnant(Q) today. Here we are before You with our guilt, though no one can stand in Your presence because of this.(R)
Sorrow Turned to Joy
16 “A little while(A) and you will no longer see Me;(B) again a little while and you will see Me.”[a]
17 Therefore some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this He tells us: ‘A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’(C)?” 18 They said, “What is this He is saying,[b] ‘A little while’? We don’t know what He’s talking about!”
19 Jesus knew they wanted to question Him, so He said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me’?
20 “I assure you: You will weep and wail,(D) but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful,(E) but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is in labor she has pain(F) because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child,(G) she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. 22 So you also have sorrow[c] now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice,(H) and no one will rob you of your joy.(I) 23 In that day you will not ask Me anything.
“I assure you: Anything you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.(J) 24 Until now you have asked for nothing in My name.(K) Ask and you will receive,(L) so that your joy may be complete.(M)
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