Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
126 Our enemies took us away from Zion.
But when the Lord brought us home,
it seemed like a dream to us.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter.
Our tongues sang with joy.
Then the people of other nations said,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us.
And we are filled with joy.
4 Lord, bless us with great success again,
as rain makes streams flow in the Negev Desert.
5 Those who cry as they plant their crops
will sing with joy when they gather them in.
6 Those who go out weeping
as they carry seeds to plant
will come back singing with joy.
They will bring the new crop back with them.
7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8 He took his last breath and died when he was very old. He had lived a very long time. Then he joined the members of his family who had already died. 9 Abraham’s sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. They put his body in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre. It was in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite. 10 Abraham had bought the field from the Hittites. He was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. At that time Isaac was living near Beer Lahai Roi.
Remain Strong in the Faith
13 Brothers and sisters, we should always thank God for you. The Lord loves you. That’s because God chose you as the first to be saved. Salvation comes through the Holy Spirit’s work. He makes people holy. It also comes through believing the truth. 14 He chose you to be saved by accepting the good news that we preach. And you will share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 Brothers and sisters, remain strong in the faith. Hold on to what we taught you. We passed our teachings on to you by what we preached and wrote.
16 Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loved us. By his grace God gave us comfort that will last forever. The hope he gave us is good. May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father 17 comfort your hearts. May they make you strong in every good thing you do and say.
Paul Asks for Prayer
3 Now I want to talk about some other matters. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread quickly. Pray that others will honor it just as you did. 2 And pray that we will be saved from sinful and evil people. Not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you. He will guard you from the evil one. 4 We trust in the Lord. So we are sure that you are doing the things we tell you to do. And we are sure that you will keep on doing them. 5 May the Lord fill your hearts with God’s love. May Christ give you the strength to go on.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.