Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

² Listen to my words, O Lord;
    pay heed to my sighs.
³ Hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God;
    for to you I pray.
⁴ O Lord, at daybreak^[c] you hear my voice;
    at daybreak I bring my petition before you
    and await your reply.
⁵ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil cannot remain in your presence.
⁶ The arrogant shrink before your gaze;
    you hate all who do evil.
⁷ You destroy all who tell lies;
    the Lord detests the violent and the deceitful.
⁸ But I will enter your house
    because of your great kindness,^[d]
and I will bow down in your holy temple,
    filled with awe of you.
⁹ Lead me in your ways of righteousness, O Lord,
    for I am surrounded by enemies;
    make your path straight before me.^[e]
10 For there is nothing trustworthy in their mouth;^[f]
    their heart devises treacherous schemes.
Their throat is a wide open grave;
    with their tongue they utter flattery.
¹¹ Punish them, O God;
    may their intrigues result in their downfall.
Cast them out because of their many transgressions,
    for they have rebelled against you.^[g]
12 But may all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    may they shout for joy forever.
Grant them your protection
    so that those who love your name^[h] may rejoice in you.
¹³ Truly, you bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you surround them with your goodwill as with a shield.

¹ Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime.
    It is the Lord who makes the storm clouds.
He will send forth the showers of rain
    and grass in the fields for everyone.
² For the household gods utter nonsense,
    and diviners are misled by false signs.
The dreams they relate are deceitful,
    offering empty consolation.
That is why the people
    wander about like sheep;
they are in distress
    for lack of a shepherd.

³ My anger has been set ablaze by the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders of the flock.
For the Lord of hosts cares for his flock,
    the house of Judah,
    and will make it his royal warhorse.
⁴ From Judah will emerge the cornerstone,
    from it the tent peg,
from it the bow ready for battle,
    from it all the commanders.
⁵ Together they will be like warriors
    trampling the mud of the streets in battle.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they will rout even those on horseback.
⁶ I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back
    because I have taken pity on them,
and they will be
    as though I had never cast them off;
for I am the Lord, their God,
    and I will answer them.
⁷ Then the people of Ephraim will be like warriors,
    and their hearts will be cheered as if by wine.
Their children will see it and rejoice;
    their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
⁸ I will signal them to gather together,
    for I have redeemed them;
they will be as numerous
    as they were before.
⁹ I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far-off countries they will remember me;
    they will rear their children and return.
¹⁰ I will bring them home from the land of Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.
I will lead them into Gilead and into Lebanon,
    until there is no more room to accommodate them.
¹¹ They will pass through the Sea of Egypt,
    and the waves of the sea will be subdued,
    while the depths of the Nile will be dried up.
The pride of Assyria will be cast down,
    and the scepter of Egypt will be taken away.
¹² I will make them strong in the Lord,
    and they will march in my name,
    says the Lord.