Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 Lord, you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
25 Look at the sea, so big and wide,
with creatures large and small that cannot be counted.
26 Ships travel over the ocean,
and there is the sea monster Leviathan,
which you made to play there.
27 All these things depend on you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up.
When you open your hand,
they are filled with good food.
29 When you turn away from them,
they become frightened.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn to dust.
30 When you breathe on them,
they are created,
and you make the land new again.
31 May the glory of the Lord be forever.
May the Lord enjoy what he has made.
32 He just looks at the earth, and it shakes.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
34 May my thoughts please him;
I am happy in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth,
and let the wicked live no longer.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
11 Women, you are calm now, but you should shake with fear.
Women, you feel safe now, but you should tremble.
Take off your nice clothes
and put rough cloth around your waist to show your sadness.
12 Beat your breasts in grief, because the fields that were pleasant are now empty.
Cry, because the vines that once had fruit now have no more grapes.
13 Cry for the land of my people,
in which only thorns and weeds now grow.
Cry for the city that once was happy
and for all the houses that once were filled with joy.
14 The palace will be empty;
people will leave the noisy city.
Strong cities and towers will be empty.
Wild donkeys will love to live there, and sheep will go there to eat.
Things Will Get Better
15 This will continue until God pours his Spirit from above upon us.
Then the desert will be like a fertile field
and the fertile field like a forest.
16 Justice will be found even in the desert,
and fairness will be found in the fertile fields.
17 That fairness will bring peace,
and it will bring calm and safety forever.
The Spirit and Human Nature
16 So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. 17 Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please. 18 But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law.
19 The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, 20 worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, 21 feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God’s kingdom. 22 But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.