Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Jerusalem, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great; he should be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
2 It is high and beautiful
and brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is like the high mountains of the north;
it is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its palaces;
he is known as its defender.
4 Kings joined together
and came to attack the city.
5 But when they saw it, they were amazed.
They ran away in fear.
6 Fear took hold of them;
they hurt like a woman having a baby.
7 You destroyed the large trading ships
with an east wind.
8 First we heard
and now we have seen
that God will always keep his city safe.
It is the city of the Lord All-Powerful,
the city of our God. Selah
9 God, we come into your Temple
to think about your love.
10 God, your name is known everywhere;
all over the earth people praise you.
Your right hand is full of goodness.
11 Mount Zion is happy
and all the towns of Judah rejoice,
because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 Notice how strong they are.
Look at the palaces.
Then you can tell your children about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
Promise to Those Remaining
14 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying, 15 “Human, the people still in Jerusalem have spoken about your own relatives and all the people of Israel who are captives with you, saying, ‘They are far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as our property.’
16 “So say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have become a Temple to them in the countries where they have gone.’
17 “So say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.’
18 “When they come to this land, they will remove all the evil idols and all the hateful images. 19 I will give them a desire to respect me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh. 20 Then they will live by my rules and obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But those who want to serve their evil statues and hateful idols, I will pay back for their evil ways, says the Lord God.”
Ezekiel’s Vision Ends
22 Then the living creatures lifted their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from inside Jerusalem and stopped on the mountain on the east side of the city. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the captives who had been taken from Judah to Babylonia. This happened in a vision given by the Spirit of God, and then the vision I had seen ended. 25 And I told the captives from Judah all the things the Lord had shown me.
12 Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. 13 And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people. 14 A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit. 15 The spiritual person is able to judge all things, but no one can judge him. The Scripture says:
16 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has been able to teach him?” Isaiah 40:13
But we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.