Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for Help

126 It was like a dream when the Lord brought back to Zion those who had been held in another land. ² Then we laughed with our mouths, and we sang with our tongues. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” ³ The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad.

⁴ Bring back our people, O Lord, like the rivers in the South. ⁵ Those who plant with tears will gather fruit with songs of joy. ⁶ He who goes out crying as he carries his bag of seed will return with songs of joy as he brings much grain with him.

¹⁸ In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and promising to follow the Lord of All. One will be called the City of Destruction.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and an altar to the Lord by the side of its land. ²⁰ It will be something special to see, to make the Lord of All known in the land of Egypt. For they will cry to the Lord because of those who make it hard for them. And He will send a Powerful One to save them, and He will take them out of trouble. ²¹ The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and in that day the Egyptians will know the Lord. They will even worship with gifts on the altar. They will make promises to the Lord and keep them. ²² And the Lord will punish Egypt, but then He will heal them. So they will return to the Lord, and He will answer their prayers and heal them.

²³ In that day there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third country with Egypt and Assyria, a good and respected nation on the earth, ²⁵ to whom the Lord of All has brought good, saying, “Good will come to Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My chosen people.”

² May you have more and more of His loving-favor and peace as you come to know God and our Lord Jesus Christ better.

Christians Are to Grow

³ He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life. ⁴ Through His shining-greatness and perfect life, He has given us promises. These promises are of great worth and no amount of money can buy them. Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now that you have gotten away from the sinful things of the world which came from wrong desires of the flesh.

⁵ Do your best to add holy living to your faith. Then add to this a better understanding. ⁶ As you have a better understanding, be able to say no when you need to. Do not give up. And as you wait and do not give up, live God-like. ⁷ As you live God-like, be kind to Christian brothers and love them. ⁸ If you have all these things and keep growing in them, they will keep you from being of no use and from having no fruit when it comes to knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But if you do not have these things, you are blind and cannot see far. You forget God saved you from your old life of sin. ¹⁰ Christian brothers, make sure you are among those He has chosen and called out for His own. As long as you do these things, you will never trip and fall. ¹¹ In this way, the road will be made wide open for you. And you will go into the holy nation that lasts forever of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One Who saves.

¹² You already know about these things but I want to keep telling you about them. You are strong in the faith now. ¹³ I think it is right as long as I am alive to keep you thinking about these things. ¹⁴ I know that I will soon be leaving this body. Our Lord Jesus Christ has told me this. ¹⁵ I will try to make a way for you to remember these things after I am gone.