Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of Praise

138 I will give You thanks with all my heart. I will sing praises to You in front of the gods. ² I will bow down toward Your holy house. And I will give thanks to Your name for Your loving-kindness and Your truth. For You have honored Your Word because of what Your name is. ³ You answered me on the day I called. You gave me strength in my soul.

⁴ O Lord, all the kings of the earth will give thanks to You when they have heard the words of Your mouth. ⁵ And they will sing of the ways of the Lord. For the shining beauty of the Lord is great. ⁶ For even if the Lord is honored, He thinks about those who have no pride. But He knows the proud from far away. ⁷ Even if I walk into trouble, You will keep my life safe. You will put out Your hand against the anger of those who hate me. And Your right hand will save me. ⁸ The Lord will finish the work He started for me. O Lord, Your loving-kindness lasts forever. Do not turn away from the works of Your hands.

⁷ The people of Israel did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. ⁸ So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. The people of Israel worked for Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. ⁹ But the people of Israel cried to the Lord. And the Lord gave the people of Israel someone who would save them. He gave them Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he led Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. He was stronger than Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ The land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Jesus Keeps On Preaching in Galilee ^(A)

⁴² In the morning He went out to a desert. The people looked for Him. When they found Him, they were trying to keep Him from going away from them. ⁴³ He said to them, “I must preach about the holy nation of God in other cities also. This is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ And He kept on preaching in the Jewish places of worship in Galilee.