Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
8 They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [v]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [w]a (AJ)beast [x]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)guide me,
And afterward (AM)receive me [y]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [z]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [aa]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [ab]destroyed all those who [ac](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [ad]God my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
Nineveh Repents
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (A)Nineveh the great city and (B)proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was [a]an (C)exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he (D)cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a (E)fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, (F)covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the [b]ashes. 7 He issued a (G)proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let [c]men (H)call on God earnestly that each may (I)turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in [d]his hands. 9 (J)Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw their deeds, that they (K)turned from their wicked way, then (L)God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would [e]bring upon them. And He did not do it.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, (A)beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and (B)a thousand years like one day. 9 (C)The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but (D)is patient toward you, (E)not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
A New Heaven and Earth
10 But (F)the day of the Lord (G)will come like a thief, in which (H)the heavens (I)will pass away with a roar and the (J)elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and (K)the earth and [a]its works will be [b]burned up.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 (L)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which (M)the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the (N)elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His (O)promise we are looking for (P)new heavens and a new earth, (Q)in which righteousness dwells.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.