Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Call to Praise the Lord
98 Sing a new song to the Lord. For He has done great things. His right hand and His holy arm have won the fight for Him. 2 The Lord has made His saving power known. He has shown to the nations how right and good He is. 3 He has shown His loving-kindness and how beautiful He is to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of our God.
4 Call out for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Sing out loud songs of joy and sing praises. 5 Sing praises to the Lord with harps, with harps and the voice of singing. 6 Call out for joy with the sound of horns before the King, the Lord.
7 Let the sea and all that is in it make a loud noise, and the world and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing together for joy 9 before the Lord. For He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be fair to the people.
The Lord Promises to Build Jerusalem Again
8 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “The Lord of All says, ‘I am very jealous for Zion. I am jealous for her with much anger.’ 3 The Lord says, ‘I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of All will be called the Holy Mountain.’ 4 The Lord of All says, ‘Old men and old women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem again. Each man will have a walking stick in his hand because he will be old. 5 And the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.’ 6 The Lord of All says, ‘It may be wonderful to the few people here in those days, but will it be wonderful to Me also?’ says the Lord of All. 7 The Lord of All says, ‘I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. 8 I will bring them back and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be My people and I will be their God. I will be faithful and do what is right and good for them.’
9 “The Lord of All says, ‘You who are now listening to these words spoken through the men of God who were there when the Lord’s house was started, let your hands be strong for building the Lord’s house. 10 Before that time there was no pay for man or animal. No one could come in or go out in peace because of those who hated him. I turned people against one another. 11 But now I will not do to the rest of these people as I did in the past,’ says the Lord of All. 12 ‘The seed will grow in peace. The vine will give its fruit. The land will give its food. The heavens will give water on the grass in the early morning. And I will let the rest of this people have all these things. 13 O people of Judah and Israel, just as you were a curse among the nations, I will save you and make you something good. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong.’
14 “The Lord of All says, ‘I wanted to hurt you because your fathers made Me angry. 15 But now I want to do good to Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another. Judge with truth so there will be peace within your gates. 17 Do not make sinful plans against one another in your hearts. And do not love to make false promises. For I hate all these things,’ says the Lord.”
Jesus Tells How He Works
19 Then Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does also. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows the Son everything He does. The Father will show Him greater works than these. They will surprise you. 21 The Father raises up the dead and makes them live. The Son also gives life to anyone He chooses. 22 The Father does not say who is guilty. He gives this to the Son to do. 23 He does this so that all people will honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him.
24 “For sure, I tell you, anyone who hears My Word and puts his trust in Him Who sent Me has life that lasts forever. He will not be guilty. He has already passed from death into life.
The Good People and the Sinful People Are Raised from the Dead
25 “For sure, I tell you, the time is coming. Yes, the time is here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear will live. 26 The Father has life in Himself. He has given power to the Son to have life in Himself. 27 God has given Him the right and the power to say if people are guilty, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be surprised at this. The time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice. 29 They will come out. Those who have done good will be raised again and will have new life. Those who have been sinful will be raised again and will be told they are guilty and will be punished.
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