Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 13

A Plea for Deliverance

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

Judah’s Security

12 An Oracle

² “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering^(C) for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah. ³ On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.^{(D) 4} On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.^(E) I will keep a watchful eye on^(F) the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. ⁵ Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Hosts, their God. ⁶ On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. ⁷ The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸ On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord, before them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning for the Pierced One

¹⁰ “Then I will pour out a spirit^[a](G) of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at^[b] Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.^{(H) 11} On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s^[c](I) house by itself and their women by themselves; ¹³ the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei^[d](J) by itself and their women by themselves; ¹⁴ all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.

God’s People Cleansed

13 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.^(K)

Persecutions Predicted

⁹ “But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to sanhedrins,^[a](A) and you will be flogged^(B) in the synagogues.^(C) You will stand before governors and kings^(D) because of Me,^(E) as a witness^(F) to them.^{(G) 10} And the good news^[b](H) must first be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹ So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say. On the contrary, whatever is given to you in that hour—say it. For it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Then brother will betray^(I) brother to death,^(J) and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and put them to death. ¹³ And you will be hated by everyone because of My name.^(K) But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.^[c](L)

The Great Tribulation

¹⁴ “When you see the abomination that causes desolation^(M)[d] standing where it should not” (let the reader understand^[e]), “then those in Judea^(N) must flee to the mountains! ¹⁵ A man on the housetop must not come down or go in to get anything out of his house.^{(O) 16} And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes.^{(P) 17} Woe^(Q) to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ¹⁸ Pray^(R) it^[f] won’t happen in winter. ¹⁹ For those will be days of tribulation,^(S) the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning^(T) of the world,^[g](U) which God created, until now and never will be again! ²⁰ Unless the Lord^(V) limited those days,^(W) no one would survive.^[h] But He limited those days because of the elect,^(X) whom He chose.^(Y)

²¹ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!^(Z) Look—there!’ do not believe it! ²² For false messiahs^[i] and false prophets will rise up and will perform signs and wonders^(AA) to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³ And you must watch! I have told you everything in advance.