Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 97[a]
97 The Lord reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice.
2 Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.[b]
3 Fire goes before him;
on every side[c] it burns up his enemies.
4 His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
7 All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him.[d]
8 Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns[e] of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are the Most High[f] over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects[g] the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power[h] of the wicked.
11 The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.[i]
12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord.
Give thanks to his holy name.[j]
A Summary of Israel’s Sinful History
7 This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of[a] Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped[b] other gods; 8 they observed the practices[c] of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before them,[d] and followed the example of the kings of Israel.[e] 9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right.[f] They built high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the Lord had driven away before them did. Their evil practices made the Lord angry.[g] 12 They worshiped[h] the disgusting idols[i] in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.[j]
13 The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.”[k] 14 But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors,[l] who had not trusted the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey.[m] They paid allegiance to[n] worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord.[o] They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.[p] 16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky,[q] and worshiped[r] Baal. 17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire,[s] and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry.[t]
18 So the Lord was furious[u] with Israel and rejected them;[v] only the tribe of Judah was left. 19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example.[w] 20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated[x] them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence.
Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake,[a] they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”[b] 26 Jesus replied,[c] “I tell you the solemn truth,[d] you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted.[e] 27 Do not work for the food that disappears,[f] but for the food that remains to eternal life—the food[g] which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”[h]
28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds[i] God requires?”[j] 29 Jesus replied,[k] “This is the deed[l] God requires[m]—to believe in the one whom he[n] sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors[o] ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”[p]
32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[q] it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who[r] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir,[s] give us this bread all the time!”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.[t]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.