Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David, [a]when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, (A)You are my God; I shall seek You [b]earnestly;
My soul (B)thirsts for You, my flesh [c]yearns for You,
In a (C)dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 Thus I have (D)seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your (E)lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
4 So I will bless You (F)as long as I live;
I will (G)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul is (H)satisfied as with [d]marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers (I)praises with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You (J)on my bed,
I meditate on You in the (K)night watches,
7 For (L)You have been my help,
And in the (M)shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul (N)clings [e]to You;
Your (O)right hand upholds me.
9 But those who (P)seek my [f]life to destroy it,
Will go into the [g](Q)depths of the earth.
10 [h]They will be [i](R)delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a [j](S)prey for foxes.
11 But the (T)king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who (U)swears by Him will glory,
For the (V)mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
The Devastation of Locusts
1 The (A)word of the Lord that came to (B)Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 (C)Hear this, O (D)elders,
And listen, all inhabitants of the land.
(E)Has anything like this happened in your days
Or in your fathers’ days?
3 (F)Tell your sons about it,
And let your sons tell their sons,
And their sons the next generation.
4 What the (G)gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten;
And what the (H)swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;
And what the creeping locust has left, the (I)stripping locust has eaten.
5 Awake, (J)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is (K)cut off from your mouth.
6 For a (L)nation has [a]invaded my land,
Mighty and without number;
(M)Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has (N)made my vine a waste
And my fig tree [b]splinters.
It has stripped them bare and cast them away;
Their branches have become white.
8 (O)Wail like a virgin (P)girded with sackcloth
For the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The (Q)grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
From the house of the Lord.
The (R)priests mourn,
The ministers of the Lord.
10 The field is (S)ruined,
(T)The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil [c]fails.
11 [d](U)Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the (V)harvest of the field is destroyed.
12 The (W)vine dries up
And the fig tree [e]fails;
The (X)pomegranate, the (Y)palm also, and the [f](Z)apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, (AA)rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.
13 (AB)Gird yourselves with sackcloth
And lament, O priests;
(AC)Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, (AD)spend the night in sackcloth
O ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
Starvation and Drought
6 But now that (A)Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of (B)your faith and love, and that you always (C)think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you (D)stand firm in the Lord. 9 For (E)what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, 10 as we (F)night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may (G)see your face, and may (H)complete what is lacking in your faith?
11 (I)Now may (J)our God and Father (K)Himself and Jesus our Lord (L)direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and (M)abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may (N)establish your hearts (O)without blame in holiness before (P)our God and Father at the [a](Q)coming of our Lord Jesus (R)with all His [b]saints.
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