Lamentations 3:19-26

New International Version

¹⁹I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness^(A) and the gall.^(B)
²⁰I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast^(C) within me.^(D)
²¹Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the Lord’s great love^(E) we are not consumed,^(F)
    for his compassions never fail.^(G)
²³They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.^(H)
²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;^(I)
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;^(J)
²⁶it is good to wait quietly^(K)
for the salvation of the Lord.^(L)

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Psalm 137

New International Version

Psalm 137

¹By the rivers of Babylon^(A) we sat and wept^(B)
    when we remembered Zion.^(C)
²There on the poplars^(D)
    we hung our harps,^(E)
³for there our captors^(F) asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded^(G) songs of joy;
    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”^(H)

⁴How can we sing the songs of the Lord^(I)
    while in a foreign land?
⁵If I forget you,^(J) Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
⁶May my tongue cling to the roof^(K) of my mouth
    if I do not remember^(L) you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem^(M)
    my highest joy.

⁷Remember, Lord, what the Edomites^(N) did
    on the day Jerusalem fell.^(O)
“Tear it down,” they cried,
    “tear it down to its foundations!”^(P)
⁸Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,^(Q)
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
⁹Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them^(R) against the rocks.

Lamentations 1:1-6

New International Version

1 ^[a]How deserted^(A) lies the city,
    once so full of people!^(B)
How like a widow^(C) is she,
    who once was great^(D) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.^(E)

²Bitterly she weeps^(F) at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers^(G)
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed^(H) her;
    they have become her enemies.^(I)

³After affliction and harsh labor,
    Judah has gone into exile.^(J)
She dwells among the nations;
    she finds no resting place.^(K)
All who pursue her have overtaken her^(L)
    in the midst of her distress.

⁴The roads to Zion mourn,^(M)
    for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,^(N)
    her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
    and she is in bitter anguish.^(O)

⁵Her foes have become her masters;
    her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief^(P)
    because of her many sins.^(Q)
Her children have gone into exile,^(R)
    captive before the foe.^(S)

⁶All the splendor has departed
    from Daughter Zion.^(T)
Her princes are like deer
    that find no pasture;
in weakness they have fled^(U)
    before the pursuer.

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Footnotes

Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

2 Timothy 1:1-14

New International Version

1 Paul, an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B) in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,^(C)

²To Timothy,^(D) my dear son:^(E)

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.^(F)

Thanksgiving

³I thank God,^(G) whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience,^(H) as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.^(I) ⁴Recalling your tears,^(J) I long to see you,^(K) so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith,^(L) which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice^(M) and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.^(N) ⁷For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,^(O) but gives us power,^(P) love and self-discipline. ⁸So do not be ashamed^(Q) of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.^(R) Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel,^(S) by the power of God. ⁹He has saved^(T) us and called^(U) us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done^(V) but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰but it has now been revealed^(W) through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus,^(X) who has destroyed death^(Y) and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹And of this gospel^(Z) I was appointed^(AA) a herald and an apostle and a teacher.^(AB) ¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame,^(AC) because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard^(AD) what I have entrusted to him until that day.^(AE)

¹³What you heard from me,^(AF) keep^(AG) as the pattern^(AH) of sound teaching,^(AI) with faith and love in Christ Jesus.^(AJ) ¹⁴Guard^(AK) the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.^(AL)

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Luke 17:5-10

New International Version

⁵The apostles^(A) said to the Lord,^(B) “Increase our faith!”

⁶He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,^(C) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.^(D)

⁷“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me^(E) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”^(F)