Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
23 (A)“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and (B)rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given (C)the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
(D)the early and (E)the latter rain, as before.
24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore[a] to you the years
that (F)the swarming locust has eaten,
(G)the hopper, (H)the destroyer, and (I)the cutter,
(J)my great army, which I sent among you.
26 (K)“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people (L)shall never again be put to shame.
27 (M)You shall know that I am (N)in the midst of Israel,
and that (O)I am the Lord your God (P)and there is none else.
And my people (Q)shall never again be put to shame.
The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit
28 [b] (R)“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that (S)I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
(T)your sons and (U)your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 (V)Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30 “And I will show (W)wonders in the heavens and (X)on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 (Y)The sun shall be turned to darkness, (Z)and the moon to blood, (AA)before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that (AB)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (AC)For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among (AD)the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 Praise (A)is due to you,[a] O God, in Zion,
and to you shall (B)vows be performed.
2 O you who (C)hear prayer,
to you (D)shall all flesh come.
3 When (E)iniquities prevail against me,
you (F)atone for our transgressions.
4 (G)Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to (H)dwell in your courts!
We shall be (I)satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5 By (J)awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all (K)the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being (L)girded with might;
7 who (M)stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
(N)the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (O)water it;[b]
you greatly enrich it;
(P)the river of God is full of water;
(Q)you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with (R)showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks (S)overflow with abundance.
12 (T)The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills (U)gird themselves with joy,
13 (V)the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they (W)shout and sing together for joy.
6 For (A)I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my (B)departure has come. 7 (C)I have fought the good fight, (D)I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is (E)laid up for me (F)the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, (G)the righteous judge, will award to me on (H)that day, and not only to me but also to all (I)who have loved his appearing.
16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. (A)May it not be charged against them! 17 But (B)the Lord stood by me and (C)strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and (D)all the Gentiles might hear it. So (E)I was rescued (F)from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. (G)To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some (A)who trusted (B)in themselves that they were righteous, (C)and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men (D)went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, (E)standing by himself, prayed[a] (F)thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 (G)I fast twice a week; (H)I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, (I)standing far off, (J)would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but (K)beat his breast, saying, ‘God, (L)be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For (M)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.