Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 104[a]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[b]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[c]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[d]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[e]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[f] like a garment;
the waters reached[g] above the mountains.[h]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[i]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[j]
35 May sinners disappear[a] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
39 “Are you acquainted with the way[a]
the mountain goats[b] give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?[c]
3 They crouch, they bear[d] their young,
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.[e]
4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;[f]
they go off, and do not return to them.
5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
6 to whom I appointed the arid rift valley[g] for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.[h]
8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,
and searches after every green plant.
9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you bind the wild ox[i] to a furrow with its rope,
will it till the valleys, following after you?
11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you commit[j] your labor to it?
12 Can you count[k] on it to bring in[l] your grain,[m]
and gather the grain[n] to your threshing floor?[o]
13 [p] “The wings of the ostrich[q] flap with joy,[r]
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?[s]
14 For she leaves[t] her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal[u] might trample them.
16 She is harsh[v] with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor.
17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not impart understanding to her.
18 But as soon as she springs up,[w]
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?[x]
20 Do you make it leap[y] like a locust?
Its proud neighing[z] is terrifying!
21 It[aa] paws the ground in the valley,[ab]
exulting mightily,[ac]
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelin[ad] flash.
24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;[ae]
it cannot stand still[af] when the trumpet is blown.
25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’
And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,
the thunderous shouting of commanders,
and the battle cries.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,[ag]
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command[ah] that the eagle soars,
and builds its nest on high?
28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky crag[ai] and a fortress.[aj]
29 From there it spots[ak] its prey,[al]
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcasses[am] are,
there it is.”
24 A dispute also started[a] among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.[b] 25 So[c] Jesus[d] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’[e] 26 Not so with you;[f] instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader[g] like the one who serves.[h] 27 For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table,[i] or the one who serves? Is it not[j] the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one[k] who serves.
28 “You are the ones who have remained[l] with me in my trials. 29 Thus[m] I grant[n] to you a kingdom,[o] just as my Father granted to me, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit[p] on thrones judging[q] the twelve tribes of Israel.
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