Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
97 The Lord rules as king.
Let the earth rejoice.
Let all the islands be joyful.
2 Clouds and darkness surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.
3 Fire spreads ahead of him.
It burns his enemies who surround him.
4 His flashes of lightning light up the world.
The earth sees them and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax in the presence of the Lord,
in the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens tell about his righteousness,
and all the people of the world see his glory.
7 Everyone who worships idols
and brags about false gods will be put to shame.
All the gods will bow to him.
8 Zion hears about this and rejoices.
The people of Judah are delighted with your judgments, O Lord.
9 You, O Lord, the Most High, are above the whole earth.
You are highest. You are above all the gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil.
The one who guards the lives of his godly ones
will rescue them from the power of wicked people.
11 Light dawns for righteous people [a]
and joy for those whose motives are decent.
12 Find joy in the Lord, you righteous people.
Give thanks to him as you remember how holy he is.
7 The Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt ⌞and rescued them⌟ from the power of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). They worshiped other gods 8 and lived by the customs of the nations that the Lord had forced out of the Israelites’ way. They also did what their kings wanted them to do. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that weren’t right:
They built for themselves illegal places of worship in all of their cities, from the ⌞smallest⌟ watchtower to the ⌞largest⌟ fortified city.
10 They set up sacred stones and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah on every high hill and under every large tree.
11 At all the illegal places of worship, they sacrificed in the same way as the nations that the Lord had removed from the land ahead of them.
They did evil things and made the Lord furious.
12 They served idols, although the Lord had said, “Never do this.”
13 The Lord had warned Israel and Judah through every kind of prophet and seer,[a] “Turn from your evil ways, and obey my commands and decrees as I commanded your ancestors in all my teachings, the commands I sent to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they refused to listen. They became as impossible to deal with as their ancestors who refused to trust the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees, the promise [b] he made to their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They went after worthless idols and became as worthless as the idols. They behaved like the nations around them, although the Lord had commanded them not to do that. 16 They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God:
They made two calves out of cast metal.
They made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah.
They prayed to the entire army of heaven.
They worshiped Baal.
17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters by burning them alive.
They practiced black magic and cast evil spells.
They sold themselves by doing what the Lord considered evil, and they made him furious.
18 The Lord became so angry with Israel that he removed them from his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left. 19 Even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God but lived according to Israel’s customs. 20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants, made them suffer, handed them over to those who looted their property, and finally turned away from Israel.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus replied to them, “I can guarantee this truth: You’re not looking for me because you saw miracles. You are looking for me because you ate as much of those loaves as you wanted. 27 Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”
28 The people asked Jesus, “What does God want us to do?”
29 Jesus replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.”
30 The people asked him, “What miracle are you going to perform so that we can see it and believe in you? What are you going to do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the man who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time.”
35 Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty.
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