Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the director, Jeduthun.[a] A song of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful about what I say.
I will not let my tongue cause me to sin.
I will keep my mouth closed[b]
when I am around wicked people.”
2 So I didn’t say anything.
I didn’t even say anything good,
but I became even more upset.
3 I was very angry,
and the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
So I said something.
4 Lord, tell me, what will happen to me now?
Tell me, how long will I live?
Let me know how short my life really is.
5 You gave me only a short life.
Compared to you, my whole life is nothing.
The life of every human is like a cloud that quickly disappears. Selah
6 Our life is like an image in a mirror.[c]
We rush through life collecting things,
but we don’t know who will get them after we die.
7 So, Lord, what hope do I have?
You are my hope!
8 Save me from the bad things I did.
Don’t let me be treated like a fool.
9 I will not open my mouth.
I will not say anything.
You did what should have been done.
10 But please stop punishing me.
You will destroy me if you do not stop.
11 You punish people for doing wrong to teach them the right way to live.
As a moth destroys cloth, you destroy what people love.
Yes, our lives are like a small cloud that quickly disappears. Selah
17 When Moses was sending them out to explore Canaan, he said, “Go through the Negev and then into the hill country. 18 See what the land looks like. Learn about the people who live there. Are they strong or are they weak? Are they few or are they many? 19 Learn about the land that they live in. Is it good land or bad land? What kind of towns do they live in? Do the towns have walls protecting them? Are the towns strongly defended? 20 And learn other things about the land. Is the soil good for growing things, or is it poor soil? Are there trees on the land? Try to bring back some of the fruit from that land.” (This was during the time when the first grapes should be ripe.)
21 So they went to explore the country. They explored the area from the desert of Zin to Rehob and Lebo Hamath. 22 They entered the country through the Negev and went to Hebron. (The town of Hebron was built seven years before the town of Zoan in Egypt.) Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai lived there. These men were descendants of Anak. 23 Then the men went to Eshcol Valley. There they cut off a branch from a grapevine that had a bunch of grapes on it. They put that branch on a pole, and two men carried it between them. They also carried some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place is called the Eshcol[a] Valley, because there the men of Israel cut off the bunch of grapes.
25 The men explored that country for 40 days, and then they went back to the camp. 26 The Israelites were camped near Kadesh, in the desert of Paran. The men went to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites. They told Moses, Aaron, and all the people what they saw and showed them the fruit from the land. 27 The men told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It is a land filled with many good things[b]! Here is some of the fruit that grows there.
What Is God’s Kingdom Like?(A)
18 Then Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to? 19 God’s kingdom is like the seed of the mustard plant. Someone plants this seed in their garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree, and the birds build nests on its branches.”
20 Jesus said again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom with? 21 It is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International