Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 Your love, O Eternal One, towers high into the heavens.
Even the skies are lower than Your faithfulness.
6 Your justice is like the majestic mountains.
Your judgments are as deep as the oceans, and yet in Your greatness,
You, O Eternal, offer life for every person and animal.
7 Your strong love, O True God, is precious.
All people run for shelter under the shadow of Your wings.
8 In Your house, they eat and are full at Your table.
They drink from the river of Your overflowing kindness.
9 You have the fountain of life that quenches our thirst.
Your light has opened our eyes and awakened our souls.
10 May Your love continue to grow deeply in the lives of all who know You.
May Your salvation reach every heart committed to do right.
4 Eternal One: O Israel if you turn, turn home to Me.
Just turn away from the vile worship of those things,
those idols that repulse Me.
Put them out of My sight for good.
Come home to Me and never stray.
2 If you make a promise in My name, saying, “As the Eternal lives,”
and do so in truth, justice, and righteousness,
Then the nations will discover true blessing in Me
and give Me the praise I deserve.
3 This is what the Eternal now says to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.
Eternal One: Break up the hard, untilled soil!
It is a waste to plant seeds among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Me;
cut away the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
Remove all that stands between us,
and devote yourselves fully to Me,
Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire
against your wicked ways.
14 Picture this:
Jesus is exorcising a demon that has long kept a man from speaking. When the demon is expelled, the man starts talking and the people are amazed. 15 But then controversy erupts.
Some People: Do you know why He can cast out demons? It’s because He’s in league with the demon prince, Beelzebul.
16 Other people want to see more, so they challenge Jesus to give them another miraculous sign. 17 Jesus knows what they’re thinking.
Jesus: People, be logical. If a kingdom is divided against itself, it will collapse. If a ruling family is divided against itself, it will fall apart.
18 So if Satan’s kingdom is divided against itself, won’t his whole enterprise collapse? Does it make any sense to say I’m casting out demons by Beelzebul? 19 Besides, if you’re saying it takes satanic power to cast out Satan, by whose power do your own exorcists work? If you condemn Me for an exorcism, you’ll have to condemn them. 20 But if I by the power of God cast out demonic spirits, then face this fact: the kingdom of God is here, just as I’ve been saying.
21 When a man of power with his full array of weapons guards his own palace, everything inside is secure. 22 But when a new man who is stronger and better armed attacks the palace, the old ruler will be overcome, his weapons and trusted defenses will be removed, and his treasures will be plundered. 23 Can you see that I’m asking you to choose whose side you’re on—working with Me or fighting against Me?
These people think they are experts on demonic spirits, but Jesus instructs them in how these things actually work.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.