Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I make decisions alone
with sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Light up my eyes,
or else I will die
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.”
My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken.
5 But I trust your mercy.
My heart finds joy in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me.
The Lord Will Save Jerusalem
12 This is the prophetic revelation, the Lord’s word about Israel. The Lord—who spread out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit in a person—says, 2 “I’m going to make Jerusalem like a cup ⌞of wine⌟ that makes all the surrounding people stagger. They will attack Judah along with Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a stone too heavy for all the nations to lift. All who try to lift it will be severely injured. All the nations in the world will gather ⌞to fight⌟ against Jerusalem.”
4 The Lord declares, “On that day I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with madness. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations blind. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will think to themselves, ‘The people who live in Jerusalem are strong because of the Lord of Armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire on a pile of wood and like a burning torch among freshly cut straw. They will burn up all the surrounding nations to the right and to the left. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe in Jerusalem.
7 “The Lord will save Judah’s tents first so that the honor of David’s family and the honor of those who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the honor of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend those who live in Jerusalem so that even those who stumble will be like David, and David’s family will be like God, like the Messenger of the Lord ahead of them.
9 “On that day I will seek to destroy all the nations who attack Jerusalem.
The People of Jerusalem Will Look at the One They Stabbed
10 “I will pour out the Spirit of blessing and mercy on David’s family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as intense as the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each family by itself: the family of David by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself, and the wives by themselves; 13 the family of Levi by itself, and the wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and the wives by themselves. 14 All the families that are left ⌞will mourn⌟, each by itself, and the wives by themselves.”
13 ⌞The Lord declares,⌟ “On that day a fountain will be opened for David’s family and for those who live in Jerusalem to wash away ⌞their⌟ sin and stain.
9 “Be on your guard! People will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. You will stand in front of governors and kings to testify to them because of me. 10 But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations. 11 When they take you away to hand you over to the authorities, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you to say when the time comes. Indeed, you are not the one who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit will.
12 “Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. 13 Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
14 “When you see the disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. 15 Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. 16 Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.
17 “How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. 18 Pray that it will not be in winter. 19 It will be a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again. 20 If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.
21 “At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ 22 False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. 23 Be on your guard! I have told you everything before it happens.
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