Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah
1 The [a](A)oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2 (B)How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do (C)not save.
3 Why do You make me (D)see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, (E)destruction and violence are before me;
(F)Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the (G)law is [b]ignored
And justice [c]is never upheld.
For the wicked (H)surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out (I)perverted.
God Answers the Prophet
2 I will (A)stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will (B)keep watch to see (C)what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply [a]when I am reproved.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“(D)Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That [b]the one who [c]reads it may run.
3 “For the vision is yet for the (E)appointed time;
It [d]hastens toward the goal and it will not [e]fail.
Though it tarries, (F)wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it (G)will not delay.
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Dwell in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (K)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and (M)wait [c]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
Timothy Charged to Guard His Trust
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus [a](C)by the will of God, according to the promise of (D)life in Christ Jesus,
2 To (E)Timothy, my beloved [b](F)son: (G)Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 (H)I thank God, whom I (I)serve with a (J)clear conscience [c]the way my forefathers did, (K)as I constantly remember you in my [d]prayers night and day, 4 (L)longing to see you, (M)even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 [e]For I am mindful of the (N)sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and (O)your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh (P)the gift of God which is in you through (Q)the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a (R)spirit of [f]timidity, but of power and love and [g]discipline.
8 Therefore (S)do not be ashamed of the (T)testimony of our Lord or of me (U)His prisoner, but join with me in (V)suffering for the (W)gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has (X)saved us and (Y)called us with a holy (Z)calling, (AA)not according to our works, but according to His own (AB)purpose and grace which was granted us in (AC)Christ Jesus from (AD)all eternity, 10 but (AE)now has been revealed by the (AF)appearing of our Savior (AG)Christ Jesus, who (AH)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 (AI)for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but (AJ)I am not ashamed; for I know (AK)whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to (AL)guard what I have entrusted to Him [h]until (AM)that day. 13 [i](AN)Retain the (AO)standard of (AP)sound words (AQ)which you have heard from me, in the (AR)faith and love which are in (AS)Christ Jesus. 14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who (AT)dwells in us, the [j](AU)treasure which has been entrusted to you.
5 (A)The apostles said to (B)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And (C)the Lord said, “If you [a]had faith like (D)a mustard seed, you would say to this (E)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would [b]obey you.
7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and [c]sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not say to him, ‘(F)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly [d]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and [e]afterward you [f]may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.