Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Bless the Maker of Heaven and Earth
Psalm 115
1 Not to us, Adonai, not to us,
but to Your Name be the glory—
because of Your love and Your faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations say:
“Where is their God now?”
3 Our God is in the heavens—
He does whatever pleases Him!
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear;
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel;
feet, but cannot walk,
nor utter a sound with their throat.
8 Those making them will become like them
—everyone trusting in them.
9 O Israel, trust in Adonai—
He is their help and their shield!
10 O house of Aaron, trust in Adonai—
He is their help and their shield!
11 O you who fear Adonai, trust in Adonai—
He is their help and their shield!
12 Adonai has been mindful of us,
He will bless:
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron;
13 He will bless those who fear Adonai,
the small together with the great.
14 May Adonai increase you more and more
—you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by Adonai,
Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are the heavens of Adonai,
but the earth He gave to the children of men.
17 The dead do not praise Adonai,
nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we—we will bless Adonai
both now and forever. Halleluyah!
5 At the time of the evening offering, I rose up from my self-abasement with my garment and robe torn, then I bowed down on my knees and spread out my hands to Adonai my God. 6 I prayed, “O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God! For our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, our kings and our kohanim have been subjected to the sword, to captivity, to plunder and to humiliation at the hand of the kings of the lands, as it is today.
8 “But now for a brief moment Adonai our God has shown us favor in leaving us a remnant and giving us as a peg in His holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, reviving us in order to restore the House of our God, to raise up its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 “So now, our God, what should we say after this? For we have forsaken Your mitzvot 11 that You commanded through Your servants the prophets saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the peoples of the lands. Through their abominations, they have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their shalom or their welfare, so that you may be strong, eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.’
13 “After everything that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt—for You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and given us a remnant such as this— 14 shall we once again break Your mitzvot and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable actions as these? Would You not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 Adonai, God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left this day as a remnant. Behold, here we are before You in our guilt; because of it no one can stand before You.”
Death and Resurrection Foretold
16 “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again in a little while, you will see Me.”
17 Then some of His disciples said to one another, “What does He mean by telling us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again in a little while, you will see Me’? And, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
18 They kept on saying, “What’s this He’s saying, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what He’s talking about!”
19 Yeshua knew that they wanted to question Him, so He said to them, “Are you asking each other about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again in a little while, you will see Me’? 20 Amen, amen I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will celebrate. You will be filled with sorrow, but your sorrow will turn to joy!
21 “When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come.[a] But when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, because of the joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you!
23 “In that day, you will ask Me nothing. Amen, amen I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. 24 Up to now, you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be full.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.