Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Free Offer of Mercy
55 “Ho! Every one who (A)thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have (B)no [a]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy (C)wine and milk
(D)Without money and without cost.
2 “Why do you [b]spend money for what is (E)not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and (F)eat what is good,
And (G)delight yourself in abundance.
3 “(H)Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that [c]you may (I)live;
And I will make (J)an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the (K)faithful mercies [d]shown to David.
4 “Behold, I have made (L)him a witness to the peoples,
A (M)leader and commander for the peoples.
5 “Behold, you will call a (N)nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will (O)run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has (P)glorified you.”
6 (Q)Seek the Lord while He may be found;
(R)Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (S)Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his (T)thoughts;
And let him (U)return to the Lord,
And He will have (V)compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will (W)abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not (X)your thoughts,
Nor are (Y)your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For (Z)as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David, [a]when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, (A)You are my God; I shall seek You [b]earnestly;
My soul (B)thirsts for You, my flesh [c]yearns for You,
In a (C)dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 Thus I have (D)seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your (E)lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
4 So I will bless You (F)as long as I live;
I will (G)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul is (H)satisfied as with [d]marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers (I)praises with joyful lips.
Avoid Israel’s Mistakes
10 For (A)I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all (B)under the cloud and all (C)passed through the sea; 2 and all were (D)baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all (E)ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all (F)drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was [a]Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for (G)they were laid low in the wilderness.
6 Now these things happened as (H)examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as (I)they also craved. 7 Do not be (J)idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “(K)The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to (L)play.” 8 Nor let us act immorally, as (M)some of them [b]did, and (N)twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 Nor let us try the Lord, as (O)some of them [c]did, and were destroyed by the serpents. 10 Nor (P)grumble, as some of them [d]did, and (Q)were destroyed by the (R)destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an (S)example, and (T)they were written for our instruction, upon whom (U)the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who (V)thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and (W)God is faithful, who will not allow you to be (X)tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
Call to Repent
13 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood (A)Pilate had [a]mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, “(B)Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 I tell you, no, but unless you [b]repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in (C)Siloam fell and killed them were worse [c](D)culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had (E)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree [d]without finding any. (F)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
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