Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 (A)O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your (B)possessions—
25 This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
26 There the ships sail about;
There is that (C)Leviathan[a]
Which You have [b]made to play there.
27 (D)These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
28 What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are troubled;
(E)You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 (F)You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 (A)On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in (B)the joyous city;
14 (C)Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15 Until (D)the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And (E)the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 (F)The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: (A)Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For (B)the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, (C)so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But (D)if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now (E)the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [a]adultery, [b]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [c]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that (F)those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But (G)the fruit of the Spirit is (H)love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, (I)goodness, (J)faithfulness, 23 [d]gentleness, self-control. (K)Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s (L)have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 (M)If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.