Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.
A Psalm of David.
26 [a](A)Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have (B)walked in my integrity,
And I have (C)trusted in the Lord [b](D)without wavering.
2 (E)Examine me, O Lord, and try me;
(F)Test my [c]mind and my heart.
3 For Your (G)lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have (H)walked in Your [d]truth.
4 I do not (I)sit with [e]deceitful men,
Nor will I go with [f](J)pretenders.
5 I (K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I shall (L)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about (M)Your altar, O Lord,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of (N)thanksgiving
And declare all Your [g]wonders.
Judgment Must Come
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even (A)though (B)Moses and (C)Samuel were to (D)stand before Me, My [a]heart would not be [b]with this people; (E)send them away from My presence and let them go! 2 And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Those destined (F)for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’
3 I will (G)appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to slay, the (H)dogs to drag off, and the (I)birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will (J)make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of (K)Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “Indeed, who will have (L)pity on you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will (M)mourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6 “You who have (N)forsaken Me,” declares the Lord,
“You keep (O)going backward.
So I will (P)stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am (Q)tired of relenting!
7 “I will (R)winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will (S)bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;
(T)They did not [c]repent of their ways.
8 “Their (U)widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A (V)destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and dismay.
9 “She who (W)bore seven sons pines away;
[d]Her breathing is labored.
Her (X)sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been (Y)shamed and humiliated.
So I will (Z)give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.
7 For (A)the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only (B)he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one (C)will be revealed whom the Lord will slay (D)with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the (E)appearance of His [a]coming; 9 that is, the one whose [b]coming is in accord with the activity of (F)Satan, with all power and [c](G)signs and false wonders, 10 and with [d]all the deception of wickedness for (H)those who perish, because they did not receive the love of (I)the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason (J)God [e]will send upon them [f]a (K)deluding influence so that they will believe [g]what is false, 12 in order that they all may be [h]judged who (L)did not believe the truth, but [i](M)took pleasure in wickedness.
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