Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.
The Builders Encouraged
2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by (A)Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak now to (B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (C)governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the (E)remnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is (F)left among you who saw this [a]temple in its (G)former glory? And how do you see it now? [b]Does it not seem to you like nothing [c]in comparison? 4 But now [d](H)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for (I)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. 5 ‘As for the [e](J)promise which I [f]made you when you came out of Egypt, [g]My (K)Spirit remains in your midst; (L)do not fear!’ 6 For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘(M)Once more [h]in a (N)little while, I am going to (O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake (P)all the nations; and [i]they will come with the (Q)wealth of all nations, and I will (R)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. 8 ‘The (S)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. 9 ‘The latter (T)glory of this house will be greater than the (U)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give (V)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”
The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
145 I will (A)exalt You, (B)my God, the King,
And I will (C)bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will (D)praise Your name forever and ever.
3 (E)Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;
And His (F)greatness is unsearchable.
4 One (G)generation will praise Your works to another,
And will declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the (H)glorious [a]splendor of Your majesty
And (I)on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
17 The Lord is (A)righteous in all His ways,
And kind in all His works.
18 The Lord is (B)near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him (C)in truth.
19 He will (D)fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also (E)hear their cry for help and save them.
20 The Lord (F)watches over all who love Him,
But He will destroy all the (G)wicked.
21 My (H)mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And (I)all flesh will (J)bless His holy name forever and ever.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A Psalm.
98 Sing a (A)new song to the Lord,
For He has done (B)wonderful things,
His (C)right hand and His (D)holy arm have [a]gained the victory for Him.
2 (E)The Lord has made His salvation known;
He has (F)revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered His graciousness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(H)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Man of Lawlessness
2 Now we ask you, (A)brothers and sisters, regarding the [a](B)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our (C)gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your [b]composure or be disturbed either by a (D)spirit, or a [c](E)message, or a (F)letter as if from us, to the effect that (G)the day of the Lord (H)has come. 3 (I)No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the [d](J)apostasy comes first, and the (K)man of lawlessness is revealed, the (L)son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above [e](M)every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, (N)displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that (O)while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
Stand Firm
13 (A)But we should always give thanks to God for you, (B)brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because (C)God has chosen you [a]from the beginning (D)for salvation [b](E)through sanctification [c]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He (F)called you through (G)our gospel, [d]that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, (H)stand firm and (I)hold on to the traditions which you were taught, whether (J)by word of mouth or (K)by letter [e]from us.
16 (L)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ (M)Himself and God our Father, who has (N)loved us and given us eternal comfort and (O)good hope by grace, 17 (P)comfort and (Q)strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
Is There a Resurrection?
27 (A)Now some of the (B)Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him, 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (C)if [a]a man’s brother dies, [b]leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to [c]marry the wife and raise up children [d]for his brother. 29 So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third [e]married her; and in the same way [f]all seven [g]died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, [h]which one’s wife does the woman become? For [i]all seven [j]married her.”
34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of (D)this age marry and the women are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to (E)that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are (F)sons of God, being [k]sons of the resurrection. 37 But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in (G)the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord (H)the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 (I)Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for (J)all live to Him.”
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