Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
With wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures—
25 so is this great and wide sea,
which is full of innumerable creatures,
living animals both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and there is Leviathan, which You have made to play in it.
27 These all wait upon You,
that You may give them their food in due season.
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When You hide Your face,
they are troubled;
You take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
30 When You send forth Your Spirit,
they are created,
and You renew the surface of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.
32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 May my meditation be sweet to Him,
for I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Rescue and Restitution
18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land
and took pity upon His people.
19 So the Lord answered and said to His people,
Here! I am sending you grain, new wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied,
and I will never again make you
a disgrace among the nations.
20 I will remove the northerner far from you,
and I will banish him to a dry and desolate land,
those in front to the eastern sea,
and those in back to the western sea,
and his stink will rise,
and his stench will rise,
for he has done great things.
21 Do not be afraid, land;
exult and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22 Do not be afraid, beasts of the field,
because the wild pastures flourish,
because the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield their abundance.
23 And children of Zion, exult
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
because He has given to you
the early rain for vindication.
He showers down rains for you,
the early rain and the latter rain, as before.
24 Then the threshing floors will be filled with grain,
and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 And I will compensate you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the larval locust, the hopper locust,
and the fledging locust—
My great army which I sent against you.
26 You will eat abundantly and be satisfied,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
and My people will never again be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other.
And My people will never again be shamed.
The Outpouring of the Spirit
28 And it will be that, afterwards,
I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 Even on the menservants and maidservants
in those days I will pour out My Spirit.
The Glory That Is to Be
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. 19 The eager expectation of the creation waits for the appearance of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves while eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For we are saved through hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does a man still hope for what he sees?
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.