Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
MEM
97 I love your Law very much.
I think about it all the time.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies.
They are always in my thoughts.
99 I understand more than all my teachers,
because I think about your rules.
100 I understand more than people who are old,
because I respect your teaching.
101 I do not follow evil ways,
so that I can obey your word.
102 I do not turn away from your rules,
because you are my teacher.
103 Your words are very good.
They taste sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 Your teaching helps me to understand things,
so I hate anything that is false.
15 The Lord says,
‘You can hear a sad noise in Ramah.
Someone is weeping with a loud voice.
It is Rachel, and she is weeping for her children.
Nobody can help her to stop weeping,
because her children are dead.’[a]
16 The Lord says,
‘Stop crying!
Do not weep any more!
I will help you because of what you have done.
Your children will return from the land of their enemies.’
That is what the Lord says.
17 ‘Yes, you will have descendants in the future.
Your children will return to their own land.’
That is what the Lord says.
18 ‘I have heard Israel's people when they are sad.
They say to me, “You punished us,
and we accepted it.
You taught us to obey you,
like a farmer teaches an ox to work for him.
So let us come back to serve you.
We are ready to return to you,
because you are the Lord, our God.
19 After we turned away from you,
we were sorry that we had done that.
We understood what we had done,
and we showed that we were sad.
We were ashamed and upset,
because of the disgusting things that we did when we were young.”
20 But Israel's people are my own dear children.
I still love them,
even when I have to speak against them.
I can never forget them.
I only want to help them.
I will certainly be kind to them.’
That is what the Lord says.
21 ‘People of Israel, put up signs along the roads,
so that you know the way to go.
Remember the road that you travelled on
when you went away from your land.
Now return, my special people, Israel.
Return to your cities that you had to leave.
22 You went away from me,
like a daughter who refuses to obey her father.
Do not continue to turn away from me.
I, the Lord, promise to do a new thing.
Women will take care of men!’
The people of Judah will be strong again
23 The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this:
‘I will bring my people back from the land where they have been prisoners. Then the people in the towns of Judah will again say, “We pray that the Lord will bless you, Jerusalem. You are the special place where he lives on his holy mountain!”[b]
24 People will live together in the towns of Judah. Farmers and shepherds will work in the fields. 25 I will help those who feel tired. I will make those who feel weak strong again.
26 Then they will say, “When I woke from my sleep and I looked around, I was happy.” ’
Jesus causes a blind man to see
46 Then Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jericho. When they were leaving the city again, a large crowd of people followed them. A blind man was sitting by the side of the road. He was asking people to give him money.[a] His name was Bartimaeus and he was the son of Timaeus.
47 Somebody told Bartimaeus that Jesus from Nazareth was walking past him. So he began to shout. He said, ‘Jesus, Son of David! Please be kind to me and help me!’
48 Many people were angry with Bartimaeus. They told him that he should be quiet. But he shouted even louder than before, ‘Son of David![b] Please help me!’
49 Jesus stopped. He said to the people, ‘Tell the man to come here.’ So the people said to the blind man, ‘Be brave! Stand up. Jesus is asking you to go to him.’ 50 So Bartimaeus threw away his coat. He jumped up and he came to Jesus.
51 Then Jesus said to Bartimaeus, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
The blind man said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, I want to see again.’
52 ‘Go,’ Jesus said to him. ‘You are well now, because you believed in me.’ Immediately, Bartimaeus could see again. He followed Jesus along the road.
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