Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the Chief Musician. (A)Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A [b]Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
(B)You who lead Joseph (C)like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, (D)shine forth!
2 Before (E)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
4 O Lord God of hosts,
(H)How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?
5 (I)You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
8 You have brought (J)a vine out of Egypt;
(K)You have cast out the [c]nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the [d]mighty cedars with its (L)boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to [e]the Sea,
And her branches to [f]the River.
12 Why have You (M)broken down her [g]hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
(N)Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong (O)for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
(P)They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 (Q)Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
The Glorious New Creation
17 “For behold, I create (A)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or [a]come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 (B)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The (C)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
(D)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (E)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and (F)another eat;
For (G)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And (H)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
(I)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For (J)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall come to pass
That (K)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will (L)hear.
25 The (M)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
(N)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.
18 (A)I will not leave you orphans; (B)I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but (C)you will see Me. (D)Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that (E)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 (F)He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [a]manifest Myself to him.”
22 (G)Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, (H)and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and (I)the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
The Gift of His Peace
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But (J)the [b]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will (K)send in My name, (L)He will teach you all things, and bring to your (M)remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 (N)Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me (O)say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because [c]I said, (P)‘I am going to the Father,’ for (Q)My Father is greater than I.
29 “And (R)now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, (S)for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has (T)nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and (U)as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.