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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.
Duration: 1245 days
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Version
Psalm 29

(A psalm by David.)

The Voice of the Lord in a Storm

(A) All you angels[a] in heaven,
honor the glory and power
    of the Lord!
Honor the wonderful name
    of the Lord,
and worship the Lord
    most holy and glorious.[b]

The voice of the Lord
    echoes over the oceans.
The glorious Lord God
thunders above the roar
    of the raging sea,
and his voice is mighty
    and marvelous.
The voice of the Lord
    destroys the cedar trees;
the Lord shatters cedars
    on Mount Lebanon.
God makes Mount Lebanon
    skip like a calf
and Mount Hermon
    jump like a wild ox.

The voice of the Lord
makes lightning flash
    and the desert tremble.
And because of the Lord,
the desert near Kadesh
    shivers and shakes.

The voice of the Lord
makes deer give birth
    before their time.[c]
Forests are stripped of leaves,
and the temple is filled
    with shouts of praise.

10 The Lord rules on his throne,
    king of the flood[d] forever.
11 Pray that our Lord
will make us strong
    and give us peace.

Isaiah 1:1-4

(A) I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.

And this is the message[a] that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:[b]

A Guilty Nation

The Lord has said,
    “Listen, heaven and earth!
The children I raised
    have turned against me.
Oxen and donkeys know
    who owns and feeds them,
but my people won't ever learn.”

Israel, you are a sinful nation
    loaded down with guilt.
You are wicked and corrupt
and have turned from the Lord,
    the holy God of Israel.

Isaiah 1:16-20

16 Wash yourselves clean!
    I hate your filthy deeds.
Stop doing wrong
17     and learn to live right.
See that justice is done.
Defend widows and orphans
    and help the oppressed.”[a]

An Invitation from the Lord

18 I, the Lord, invite you
    to come and talk it over.
Your sins are scarlet red,
but they will be whiter
    than snow or wool.
19 If you willingly obey me,
the best crops in the land
    will be yours.
20 But if you turn against me,
your enemies will kill you.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.

Romans 8:1-8

Living by the Power of God's Spirit

If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won't be punished. The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you[a] free from sin and death. The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ's body to condemn sin. He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires.

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws. If we follow our desires, we cannot please God.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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