Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

48 The Lord is great.
He deserves that people praise him
    in the city of our God,
    on his holy mountain.
² That place is high up and it is beautiful.
    It brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is the city of the great King.
    It is where the true God lives.^[a]
3 God is there in its strong places
    and he keeps the city safe.
⁴ Look! There are kings of other nations
    who join together to attack our city.
⁵ But when they come near and they see it,
    they are very surprised.
It frightens them so much
    that they quickly run away!
⁶ They cannot stop themselves shaking,
    like a woman who is giving birth to a baby!
⁷ You push them away,
    like an east wind that destroys great ships.
⁸ We had heard about the great things that God has done.
Now we have seen them for ourselves,
    here in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    the city of our God.
It is God who keeps the city safe for ever!
Selah.
⁹ When we are in your temple, God,
    we think about your faithful love.
¹⁰ You are famous all over the world,
    so that people praise you as you deserve.
You are powerful
    and you rule with justice.
¹¹ Because you judge people in a right way,
    Mount Zion and all the towns of Judah will be happy.
¹² Walk all round Zion and look at it.
    Count the towers.
¹³ Look at its strong buildings and its strong walls.
    Then you will be able to describe it to your children.^[b]
14 Yes, this is our God, who is with us for ever!
    He will always be our guide.

¹⁸ Then the Lord will be careful for his land.
He will be kind to his people.
¹⁹ He will answer them and he will say,
‘I am giving you new wine and food and oil.
You will have enough to fill you up.
I will never again let people in other countries laugh about you.
²⁰ I will send the army from the north far from you.
I will push it into empty land where nothing grows.
I will make the front of it go into the sea on the east.
And I will make the back of it go into the sea on the west.
I will make its smell rise up high
because it has done great things.’
²¹ Do not be afraid, my own land!
Be very happy.
Be sure that the Lord has done great things.
²² Do not be afraid, wild animals.
The fields in the wilderness are becoming green.
Fruit is growing on the trees.
The fig tree and the vine are giving much fruit.
²³ Shout with joy, people in Zion!
Be very happy because of the things that the Lord your God has done.
He has given you just enough autumn rain.
He has given you the winter rain,
and the summer rain, as before.
²⁴ He will fill your stores with seeds to make bread.
And he will fill your jars with new wine and oil.
²⁵ ‘I will give you back the years that the locusts have eaten.
I will give you all that the great locust and the young locust,
and other locusts and their groups have eaten.
All that my great army has eaten I will give you.^[a]
26 You will have plenty to eat. You will be full.
You will praise the name of the Lord your God.
He has done great things for you.
My people will never again be ashamed.
²⁷ Then you will know that I am in Israel.
You will know that I am the Lord your God.
And you will know that there is no other God.
My people will never again be ashamed.’

²⁸ After that, I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will be prophets.
Your old men will dream and
your young men will see pictures in their minds. (The Lord will send these to them.)
²⁹ I will pour out my Spirit on all my servants,
on men and on women in those days.^[b]