Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 How countless are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.[a](A)
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.(B)
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play there.(C)
27 All of them wait for you
to give them their food at the right time.(D)
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.(E)
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.(F)
30 When you send your breath,[b]
they are created,(G)
and you renew the surface of the ground.(H)
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.(I)
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.(J)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.(K)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.(L)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.(A)
My soul, bless the Lord!
Hallelujah!
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me,(A) and he brought me out by his Spirit(B) and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. 3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I replied, “Lord God, only you know.”(C)
4 He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.(D) 6 I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”(E)
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,[a] prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” (F) 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them,(G) and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.(H) Look how they say, ‘Our bones are dried up,(I) and our hope has perished;(J) we are cut off.’(K) 12 Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them,(L) my people, and lead you into the land of Israel. 13 You will know that I am the Lord, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(M) 14 I will put my Spirit in you,(N) and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.(O) This is the declaration of the Lord.’”
The Disciples Commissioned
19 When it was evening on that first day of the week,(A) the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”(B)
20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.(C) So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me,(D) I also send you.”(E) 22 After saying this, he breathed on them(F) and said,[a] “Receive the Holy Spirit.(G) 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”(H)
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