Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(A)I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(B)I have returned to Zion and ^(C)will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, ^(D)and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, ^(E)and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. ⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(F)Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. ⁵ And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. ⁶ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(G)If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, ^(H)should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? ⁷ Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, ^(I)I will save my people ^(J)from the east country and from the west country, ⁸ and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. ^(K)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, ^(L)in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

⁹ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(M)“Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of ^(N)the prophets who were present on ^(O)the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ For before those days ^(P)there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. ¹¹ But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. ^12 (Q)For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, ^(R)and the heavens shall give their dew. ^(S)And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. ¹³ And as ^(T)you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, ^(U)so will I save you, and ^(V)you shall be a blessing. ^(W)Fear not, but ^(X)let your hands be strong.”

¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(Y)“As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, ¹⁵ so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; ^(Z)fear not. ¹⁶ These are the things that you shall do: ^(AA)Speak the truth to one another; ^(AB)render in your gates judgments ^(AC)that are true and make for peace; ^17 (AD)do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and ^(AE)love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(A)the Son ^(B)can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[a] does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰ For ^(C)the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And ^(D)greater works than these will he show him, so that ^(E)you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father ^(F)raises the dead and ^(G)gives them life, so ^(H)also the Son gives life ^(I)to whom he will. ^22 (J)For the Father judges no one, but ^(K)has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son, just as they ^(L)honor the Father. ^(M)Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(N)whoever hears my word and ^(O)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He ^(P)does not come into judgment, but ^(Q)has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(R)an hour is coming, and is now here, when ^(S)the dead will hear ^(T)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear ^(U)will live. ^26 (V)For as the Father has life in himself, ^(W)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he ^(X)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for ^(Y)an hour is coming when ^(Z)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, ^(AA)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.