Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
104 Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 You cover yourself with light as though it were a robe.
You stretch out the heavens as though they were curtains.
3 You lay the beams of your home in the water.
You use the clouds for your chariot.
You move on the wings of the wind.
4 You make your angels winds
and your servants flames of fire.
5 You set the earth on its foundations
so that it can never be shaken.
6 You covered the earth with an ocean as though it were a robe.
Water stood above the mountains
7 and fled because of your threat.
Water ran away at the sound of your thunder.
8 The mountains rose and the valleys sank
to the place you appointed for them.
9 Water cannot cross the boundary you set
and cannot come back to cover the earth.
24 What a large number of things you have made, O Lord!
You made them all by wisdom.
The earth is filled with your creatures.
35 May sinners vanish from the world.
May there no longer be any wicked people.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Hallelujah!
The Lord Continues: the Mountain Goats
39 “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch the does when they are in labor?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant
or know the time when they’ll give birth?
3 They kneel down to give birth and deliver their young.
Then the pain of giving birth is over.
4 Their young are healthy and grow up in the wild.
They leave and don’t come back.
The Wild Donkey
5 “Who lets the wild donkey go free?
Who unties the ropes of the wild donkey?
6 I gave it the desert to live in
and the salt flats as its dwelling place.
7 It laughs at the noise of the city
and doesn’t ⌞even⌟ listen to the shouting of its master.
8 It explores the mountains for its pasture
and looks for anything green.
The Wild Ox
9 “Will the wild ox agree to serve you,
or will it stay at night beside your feeding trough?
10 Can you guide a wild ox in a furrow,
or will it plow the valleys behind you?
11 Can you trust it just because it’s so strong
or leave your labor to it?
12 Can you rely on it to bring your grain back
and take it to your threshing floor? [a]
The Ostrich
13 “Does the ostrich flap its wings in joy,
or do its wings lack feathers? [b]
14 It lays its eggs on the ground
and warms them in the dust.
15 It forgets that a foot may crush them
or a wild animal may trample them.
16 It acts harshly toward its young as if they weren’t its own.
It is not afraid that its work is for nothing
17 because God has deprived it of wisdom
and did not give it any understanding.
18 It laughs at the horse and its rider when it gets up to flee.
The Horse
19 “Can you give strength to a horse
or dress its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Can you make it leap like a locust,
when its snorting causes terror?
21 It paws in strength and finds joy in its power.
It charges into battle.
22 It laughs at fear,
is afraid of nothing,
and doesn’t back away from swords.
23 A quiver of arrows rattles on it
along with the flashing spear and javelin.
24 Anxious and excited, the horse eats up the ground
and doesn’t trust the sound of the ram’s horn.
25 As often as the horn sounds, the horse says, ‘Aha!’
and it smells the battle far away—
the thundering ⌞orders⌟ of the captains and the battle cries.
The Birds of Prey
26 “Does your understanding make a bird of prey fly
and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Is it by your order that the eagle flies high
and makes its nest on the heights?
28 It perches for the night on a cliff.
Its fortress is on a jagged peak.
29 From there it seeks food,
and its eyes see it from far away.
30 Its young ones feed on blood. It is found wherever there are dead bodies.”
An Argument about Greatness
24 Then a quarrel broke out among the disciples. They argued about who should be considered the greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of nations have power over their people, and those in authority call themselves friends of the people. 26 But you’re not going to be that way! Rather, the greatest among you must be like the youngest, and your leader must be like a servant. 27 Who’s the greatest, the person who sits at the table or the servant? Isn’t it really the person who sits at the table? But I’m among you as a servant.
28 “You have stood by me in the troubles that have tested me. 29 So as my Father has given me a kingdom, I’m giving it to you. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will also sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”
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