Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise
12 At that time you will say,
“I thank you, Lord!
You were angry with me,
but you stopped being angry
and gave me comfort.
2 (A) I trust you to save me,
Lord God,
and I won't be afraid.
My power and my strength[a]
come from you,
and you have saved me.”
3 With great joy, you people
will get water
from the well of victory.
4 At that time you will say,
“Our Lord, we are thankful,
and we worship only you.
We will tell the nations
how glorious you are
and what you have done.
5 Because of your wonderful deeds
we will sing your praises
everywhere on earth.”
6 Sing, people of Zion!
Celebrate the greatness
of the holy Lord of Israel.
God is here to help you.
The Lord Helps the Helpless
14 The Lord says,
“Clear the road!
Get it ready for my people.”
15 (A) Our holy God lives forever
in the highest heavens,
and this is what he says:
Though I live high above
in the holy place,
I am here to help those
who are humble
and depend only on me.
16 My people, I won't stay angry
and keep on accusing you.
After all, I am your Creator.
I don't want you to give up
in complete despair.
17 Your greed made me furious.
That's why I punished you
and refused to be found,
while you kept returning
to your old sinful ways.
18 I know what you are like!
But I will heal you, lead you,
and give you comfort,
until those who are mourning
19 (B) start singing my praises.[a]
No matter where you are,
I, the Lord, will heal you[b]
and give you peace.
20 The wicked are a restless sea
tossing up mud.
21 (C) But I, the Lord, have promised
that none who are evil
will live in peace.
Everyone Is Guilty
18 From heaven God shows how angry he is with all the wicked and evil things that sinful people do to crush the truth. 19 They know everything that can be known about God, because God has shown it all to them. 20 (A) God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse. 21 (B) They know about God, but they don't honor him or even thank him. Their thoughts are useless, and their stupid minds are in the dark. 22 They claim to be wise, but they are fools. 23 (C) They don't worship the glorious and eternal God. Instead, they worship idols that are made to look like humans who cannot live forever, and like birds, animals, and reptiles.
24 So God let these people go their own way. They did what they wanted to do, and their filthy thoughts made them do shameful things with their bodies. 25 They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God, who will be praised forever. Amen.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.