Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His love continues forever.”
14 The Lord gives me strength and a song.
He has saved me.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
come from the tents of those who do right:
“The Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The power of the Lord has won the victory;
with his power the Lord has done mighty things.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has taught me a hard lesson,
but he did not let me die.
19 Open for me the Temple gates.
Then I will come in and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only those who are good may enter through it.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad today!
The Woman Dreams
3 At night on my bed,
I looked for the one I love;
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
2 I got up and went around the city,
in the streets and squares,
looking for the one I love.
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
3 The watchmen found me as they patrolled the city,
so I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 As soon as I had left them,
I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother’s house,
to the room where I was born.
The Woman Speaks to the Friends
5 Women of Jerusalem, promise me
by the gazelles and the deer
not to awaken
or excite my feelings of love
until it is ready.
6 Who is this coming out of the desert
like a cloud of smoke?
Who is this that smells like myrrh, incense,
and other spices?
7 Look, it’s Solomon’s couch[a]
with sixty soldiers around it,
the finest soldiers of Israel.
8 These soldiers all carry swords
and have been trained in war.
Every man wears a sword at his side
and is ready for the dangers of the night.
9 King Solomon had a couch made for himself
of wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver
and its braces of gold.
The seat was covered with purple cloth
that the women of Jerusalem wove with love.
11 Women of Jerusalem, go out and see King Solomon.
He is wearing the crown his mother put on his head
on his wedding day,
when his heart was happy!
Jesus Rises from the Dead
16 The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb. 3 They said to each other, “Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?”
4 Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large. 5 The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were afraid.
6 But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. 7 Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”
8 The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.