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Psalm 126

1  When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, ♦︎
   then were we like those who dream.
2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter ♦︎
   and our tongue with songs of joy.
3  Then said they among the nations, ♦︎
   ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
4  The Lord has indeed done great things for us, ♦︎
   and therefore we rejoiced.
5  Restore again our fortunes, O Lord, ♦︎
   as the river beds of the desert.
6  Those who sow in tears ♦︎
   shall reap with songs of joy.
7  Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed, ♦︎
   will come back with shouts of joy,
      bearing their sheaves with them.

¹³ You came forth to save your people,
   to save your anointed.
You crushed the head of the wicked house,
   laying it bare from foundation to roof.^*
          Selah
¹⁴ You pierced with their^* own arrows the head^* of his warriors,^*
   who came like a whirlwind to scatter us,^*
   gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding.
¹⁵ You trampled the sea with your horses,
   churning the mighty waters.

¹⁶ I hear, and I tremble within;
   my lips quiver at the sound.
Rottenness enters into my bones,
   and my steps tremble^* beneath me.
I wait quietly for the day of calamity
   to come upon the people who attack us.

Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not blossom,
   and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
   and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
   and there is no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
   I will exult in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹ God, the Lord, is my strength;
   he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
   and makes me tread upon the heights.^*

To the leader: with stringed^* instruments.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” ²⁹He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰The father^* went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.