Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song of praise from the Korah family.
48 The Lord is great!
He is praised throughout the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 His city is such a pleasant place.
It brings joy to people from around the world.
Mount Zion is the true mountain of God.[a]
It is the city of the great King.
3 In the palaces of that city,
God is known as the fortress.
4 Once some kings met together
and planned an attack against this city.
They marched toward the city,
5 but when they saw it, they were amazed.
They all panicked and ran away.
6 Fear grabbed them;
they trembled like a woman giving birth.
7 God, with a strong east wind,
you wrecked their big ships.
8 Yes, we heard the stories about your power.
But we also saw it in the city of our God, the city of the Lord All-Powerful.
God makes that city strong forever. Selah
9 God, in your Temple we remember your loving kindness.
10 Your name is known everywhere, God,
and people throughout the earth praise you.
You have shown that you do what is right.
11 Mount Zion is happy,
and the towns of Judah rejoice, because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem,
and count its towers.
13 Look at the tall walls,
and see the palaces.
Then you can tell the next generation about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will lead us from now to the end of time!
The Lord Will Restore the Land
18 Then the Lord cared very much about his land.
He felt sorry for his people.
19 The Lord spoke to his people.
He said, “I will send you grain, wine, and oil.
You will have plenty.
I will not shame you among the nations anymore.
20 No, I will force the people from the north[a] to leave your land
and make them go into a dry, empty land.
Some of them will go to the eastern sea
and some to the western sea.
They did such terrible things,
but they will be like a dead and rotting body.
There will be such a terrible smell!”
The Land Will Be Made New Again
21 Land, don’t be afraid.
Be happy and full of joy.
The Lord will do great things.
22 Animals of the field, don’t be afraid.
The desert pastures will grow grass.
The trees will grow fruit.
The fig trees and the vines will grow plenty of fruit.
23 So be happy, people of Zion.
Be joyful in the Lord your God.
He is good and will give you rain.
He will send the early rains and the late rains as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with wheat,
and the barrels will overflow with wine and olive oil.
25 “I, the Lord, sent my army against you.
The swarming locusts and the hopping locusts
and the destroying locusts and the cutting locusts[b] ate everything you had.
But I will pay you back
for those years of trouble.
26 Then you will have plenty to eat.
You will be full.
You will praise the name of the Lord your God.
He has done wonderful things for you.
My people will never again be ashamed.
27 You will know that I am with Israel.
You will know that I am the Lord your God.
There is no other God.
My people will never be ashamed again.”
God Will Give His Spirit to All People
28 “After this,
I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants, both men and women.
My Message: Jesus Christ on the Cross
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I told you the secret truth of God. But I did not use fancy words or great wisdom. 2 I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3 When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear. 4 My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit gives. 5 I did this so that your faith would be in God’s power, not in human wisdom.
God’s Wisdom
6 We teach wisdom to people who are mature, but the wisdom we teach is not from this world. It is not the wisdom of the rulers of this world, who are losing their power. 7 But we speak God’s secret wisdom that has been hidden from everyone until now. God planned this wisdom for our glory. He planned it before the world began. 8 None of the rulers of this world understood this wisdom. If they had understood it, they would not have killed our great and glorious Lord on a cross. 9 But as the Scriptures say,
“No one has ever seen,
no one has ever heard,
no one has ever imagined
what God has prepared for those who love him.” (A)
10 But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.
The Spirit knows all things. The Spirit even knows the deep secrets of God. 11 It is like this: No one knows the thoughts that another person has. Only the person’s spirit that lives inside knows those thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International