Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
and You will not hear?
Or cry to You, “Violence!”
and You will not save?
3 Why do You make me see wickedness,
and cause me to see trouble?
Plundering and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
therefore injustice proceeds.
2 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the watchtower;
and I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,
and what I will answer when I am reproved.
The Just Shall Live by Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
Write the vision,
and make it plain on tablets,
that he who reads it may run.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
but it speaks of the end,
and does not lie.
If it delays, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look, his soul is lifted up;
it is not upright in him;
but the just shall live by his faith.
Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be jealous of those who do injustice.
2 For they will quickly wither like the grass,
and fade like the green herbs.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land, and practice faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret because of those who prosper in their way,
because of those who make wicked schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and forsake wrath;
do not fret—it surely leads to evil deeds.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved son:
Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Loyalty to the Gospel
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience as my forefathers did, as I continually remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 remembering the genuine faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and that I am persuaded lives in you also.
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, His prisoner. But share in the sufferings of the gospel by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not by our works, but by His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 but is now revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For these things I suffer, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that Day.
13 Follow the pattern of sound teaching which you have heard from me in the faith and love that is in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the treasure that was committed to you through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 The Lord said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
7 “Which of you, having a servant plowing or herding sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come now and sit down for dinner’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare my supper, and dress yourself and serve me until I eat and drink. And afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? I think not. 10 So you also, when you have done everything commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done our duty.’ ”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.