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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.
Duration: 1245 days
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Version
Psalm 5

Psalm 5

The Refuge of the Righteous

For the choir director: with the flutes. A Davidic psalm.

Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to You.

At daybreak,(D) Lord, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I plead my case to You(E) and watch expectantly.

For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with You.(F)
The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;(G)
You hate all evildoers.(H)
You destroy those who tell lies;(I)
the Lord abhors a man of bloodshed and treachery.(J)

But I enter Your house
by the abundance of Your faithful love;(K)
I bow down toward Your holy temple
in reverential awe of You.(L)
Lord, lead me in Your righteousness(M)
because of my adversaries;[a]
make Your way straight before me.(N)

For there is nothing reliable in what they say;[b](O)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(P)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(Q)
Drive them out(R) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against You.(S)

11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;(T)
let them shout for joy forever.
May You shelter them,(U)
and may those who love Your name boast about You.(V)
12 For You, Lord, bless the righteous one;
You surround him with favor like a shield.(W)

Lamentations 2:13-17

מ Mem

13 What can I say on your behalf?
What can I compare you to, Daughter Jerusalem?
What can I liken you to,
so that I may console you, Virgin Daughter Zion?
For your ruin is as vast as the sea.
Who can heal you?(A)

נ Nun

14 Your prophets saw visions for you
that were empty and deceptive;(B)
they did not reveal your guilt
and so restore your fortunes.(C)
They saw oracles for you
that were empty and misleading.

ס Samek

15 All who pass by
scornfully clap their hands(D) at you.
They mock[a](E) and shake their heads(F)
at Daughter Jerusalem:
Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,(G)
the joy of the whole earth?(H)

פ Pe

16 All your enemies
open their mouths against you.(I)
They hiss and gnash their teeth,(J)
saying, “We have swallowed her up.(K)
This is the day we have waited for!
We have lived to see it.”

ע Ayin

17 The Lord has done what He planned;
He has accomplished His decree,
which He ordained in days of old.
He has demolished without compassion,(L)
letting the enemy gloat over you
and exalting the horn of your adversaries.

Acts 13:1-12

Preparing for the Mission Field

13 In the church that was at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch,(A) and Saul.

As they were ministering to[a] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to.”(B) Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.(C)

The Mission to Cyprus

Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God’s message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.(D) When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.(E) He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God’s message.(F) But Elymas the sorcerer (this is the meaning of his name) opposed(G) them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.(H)

Then Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer 10 and said, “You son of the Devil,(I) full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths(J) of the Lord? 11 Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you.(K) You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the proconsul, seeing what happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.(L)