Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; for Jeduthun; a psalm by David.
39 I said,
“I will watch my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue.
I will bridle my mouth while wicked people are in my presence.”
2 I remained totally speechless.
I kept silent, although it did me no good.
While I was deep in thought, my pain grew worse.
3 My heart burned like a fire flaring up within me.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Teach me, O Lord, about the end of my life.
Teach me about the number of days I have left
so that I may know how temporary my life is.
5 Indeed, you have made the length of my days ⌞only⌟ a few inches.
My life span is nothing compared to yours.
Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind. Selah
6 Each person who walks around is like a shadow.
They are busy for no reason.
They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.”
7 And now, Lord, what am I waiting for?
My hope is in you!
8 Rescue me from all my rebellious acts.
Do not disgrace me in front of godless fools.
9 I remained speechless.
I did not open my mouth
because you are the one who has done this.
10 Remove the sickness you laid upon me.
My life is over because you struck me with your hand.
11 With stern warnings you discipline people for their crimes.
Like a moth you eat away at what is dear to them.
Certainly, everyone is like a whisper in the wind. Selah
12 Listen to my prayer, O Lord.
Open your ear to my cry for help.
Do not be deaf to my tears,
for I am a foreign resident with you,
a stranger like all my ancestors.
13 Look away from me so that I may smile again
before I go away and am no more.
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he told them, “Go through the Negev and then into the mountain region. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Do their cities have walls around them or not? 20 Is the soil rich or poor? Does the land have trees or not? Do your best to bring back some fruit from the land.” (It was the season when grapes were beginning to ripen.)
21 So the men explored the land from the Desert of Zin to the border of Hamath. 22 They went through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai lived. They are descendants of Anak. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they came to the Eshcol Valley, they cut off a branch with only one bunch of grapes on it. They carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 So they called that valley Eshcol [Bunch of Grapes] because of the bunch of grapes the Israelites cut off there.
25 Forty days later, they came back from exploring the land. 26 They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.
27 This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit.
Stories about a Mustard Seed and Yeast(A)
18 Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to? 19 It’s like a mustard seed that someone planted in a garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds nested in its branches.”
20 He asked again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom to? 21 It’s like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.”
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.