Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
17 Do good to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful things
in your teachings.
19 I am a stranger on earth.
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I want to study
your laws all the time.
21 You scold proud people.
Those who ignore your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let me be insulted and hated
because I obey your rules.
23 Even if princes speak against me,
I, your servant, will think about your demands.
24 Your rules give me pleasure.
They give me good advice.
25 I am about to die.
Give me life, as you have promised.
26 I told you about my life, and you answered me.
Teach me your demands.
27 Help me understand your orders.
Then I will think about your miracles.
28 I am sad and tired.
Make me strong again as you have promised.
29 Don’t let me be dishonest.
Be kind to me by helping me obey your teachings.
30 I have chosen to obey you.
I have obeyed your laws.
31 I hold on to your rules.
Lord, do not let me be disgraced.
32 I will obey your commands
because you have made me happy.
13 At that time the beautiful young women and the young men
will become weak from thirst.
14 They made promises by the idol in Samaria.
They said, ‘As surely as the god of Dan lives . . .’
And they said, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba[a] lives, we promise . . .’
So they will fall
and never get up again.”
Israel Will Be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar. He said:
“Smash the top of the pillars
so that even the bottom of the doors will shake.
Make the pillars fall on the people’s heads.
Anyone left alive I will kill with a sword.
Not one person will get away.
No one will escape.
2 If they dig down as deep as where the dead are,
I will pull them up from there.
If they climb up into the skies,
I will bring them down from there.
3 If they hide at the top of Mount Carmel,
I will find them and take them away.
If they try to hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
I will command a snake to bite them.
4 If they are captured and taken away by their enemies,
I will command the sword to kill them.
I will keep watch over them.
But I will keep watch to give them trouble, not to do them good.”
Jesus Is Our Helper
2 My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the Righteous One. He defends us before God the Father. 2 Jesus died in our place to take away our sins. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.
3 If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God. 4 If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him. 5 But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God: 6 Whoever says that God lives in him must live as Jesus lived.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.