Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Day after day they tell the story;
night after night they tell it again.
3 They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
4 But their message goes out through all the world;
their words go everywhere on earth.
The sky is like a home for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his bedroom.
It rejoices like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the sky
and follows its path to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The teachings of the Lord are perfect;
they give new strength.
The rules of the Lord can be trusted;
they make plain people wise.
8 The orders of the Lord are right;
they make people happy.
The commands of the Lord are pure;
they light up the way.
9 Respect for the Lord is good;
it will last forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are completely right.
10 They are worth more than gold,
even the purest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the finest honey.
11 By them your servant is warned.
Keeping them brings great reward.
12 People cannot see their own mistakes.
Forgive me for my secret sins.
13 Keep me from the sins of pride;
don’t let them rule me.
Then I can be pure
and innocent of the greatest of sins.
14 I hope my words and thoughts please you.
Lord, you are my Rock, the one who saves me.
Nehemiah Helps Poor People
5 The men and their wives complained loudly against their fellow Jews. 2 Some of them were saying, “We have many sons and daughters in our families. To eat and stay alive, we need grain.”
3 Others were saying, “We are borrowing money against our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain because there is not much food.”
4 And still others were saying, “We are borrowing money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 We are just like our fellow Jews, and our sons are like their sons. But we have to sell our sons and daughters as slaves. Some of our daughters have already been sold. But there is nothing we can do, because our fields and vineyards already belong to other people.”
6 When I heard their complaints about these things, I was very angry. 7 After I thought about it, I accused the important people and the leaders, “You are charging your own brothers too much interest.” So I called a large meeting to deal with them. 8 I said to them, “As much as possible, we have bought freedom for our fellow Jews who had been sold to foreigners. Now you are selling your fellow Jews to us!” The leaders were quiet and had nothing to say.
9 Then I said, “What you are doing is not right. Don’t you fear God? Don’t let our foreign enemies shame us. 10 I, my brothers, and my men are also lending money and grain to the people. But stop charging them so much for this. 11 Give back their fields, vineyards, olive trees, and houses right now. Also give back the extra amount you charged—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine, and oil.”
12 They said, “We will give it back and not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”
Then I called for the priests, and I made the important people and leaders take an oath to do what they had said. 13 Also I shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out everyone who does not keep his promise. May God shake him out of his house and out of the things that are his. Let that person be shaken out and emptied!”
Then the whole group said, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. So the people did what they had promised.
Joseph and Mary Return Home
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything the law of the Lord commanded, they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee. 40 The little child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s goodness was upon him.
Jesus As a Boy
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went to the feast as they always did. 43 After the feast days were over, they started home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Thinking that Jesus was with them in the group, they traveled for a whole day. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there. 46 After three days they found Jesus sitting in the Temple with the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers. 48 When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about you and have been looking for you.”
49 Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.
51 Jesus went with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. But his mother kept in her mind all that had happened. 52 Jesus became wiser and grew physically. People liked him, and he pleased God.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.