Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK TWO
Psalms 42–72
Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses
To the Chief Musician. A [a]Contemplation of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 (A)My soul thirsts for God, for the (B)living God.
When shall I come and [c]appear before God?
3 (C)My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
(D)“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
(E)I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
(F)I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 (G)Why are you [d]cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
(H)Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
[e]For the help of His countenance.
6 [f]O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From [g]the Hill Mizar.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
(I)All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
8 The Lord will (J)command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And (K)in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future
8 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
3 “Thus says the Lord:
(B)‘I will return to Zion,
And (C)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem (D)shall be called the City of Truth,
(E)The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
(F)The Holy Mountain.’
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(G)‘Old men and old women shall again sit
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of [d]great age.
5 The streets of the city
Shall be (H)full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets.’
6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘If it is [e]marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
(I)Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Behold, (J)I will save My people from the land of the [f]east
And from the land of the [g]west;
8 I will (K)bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
(L)They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
(M)In truth and righteousness.’
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(N)‘Let your hands be strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of (O)the prophets,
Who spoke in (P)the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
10 For before these days
There were no (Q)wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.
11 (R)But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.
12 ‘For(S) the [h]seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
(T)The ground shall give her increase,
And (U)the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass
That just as you were (V)a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and (W)you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:
(X)‘Just as I determined to [i]punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
(Y)‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
16 These are the things you shall (Z)do:
(AA)Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 (AB)Let none of you think evil in [j]your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”
Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed(A)
14 (B)Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw (C)his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. 15 So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served [a]them.
Many Healed in the Evening(D)
16 (E)When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
(F)“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.”
Two Demon-Possessed Men Healed(A)
28 (B)When He had come to the other side, to the country of the [a]Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, [b]permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”
32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, (C)they begged Him to depart from their region.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.