Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 13
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 How long will You forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long must I lay up cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day? How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him, and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted, leaned on, and been confident in Your mercy and loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice and be in high spirits in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
12 The burden or oracle (the thing to be lifted up) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, Who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him:
2 Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup or bowl of reeling to all the peoples round about, and in the siege against Jerusalem will there also be a siege against and upon Judah.
3 And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all who lift it or burden themselves with it shall be sorely wounded. And all the nations of the earth shall come and gather together against it.
4 In that day, says the Lord, I will smite every horse [of the armies that contend against Jerusalem] with terror and panic and his rider with madness; and I will open My eyes and regard with favor the house of Judah and will smite every horse of the opposing nations with blindness.
5 And the chiefs of Judah shall say in their hearts, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are our strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.
6 In that day will I make the chiefs of Judah like a big, blazing pot among [sticks of] wood and like a flaming torch among sheaves [of grain], and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and they of Jerusalem shall yet again dwell and sit securely in their own place, in Jerusalem.
7 And the Lord shall save and give victory to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be magnified and exalted above Judah.
8 In that day will the Lord guard and defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he who is [spiritually] feeble and stumbles among them in that day [of persecution] shall become [strong and noble] like David; and the house of David [shall maintain its supremacy] like God, like the [a]Angel of the Lord Who is before them.
9 And it shall be in that day that I will make it My aim to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication. And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.(A)
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of [the city of] Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddo [over beloved King [b]Josiah].(B)
12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart: the [kingly] family of the house of David apart and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan [David’s son] apart and their wives apart;
13 The [priestly] family of the house of Levi apart and their wives apart; the family of Shimei [grandson of Levi] apart and their wives apart;
14 All the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves [each with an overwhelming individual sorrow over having blindly rejected their unrecognized Messiah].
13 In that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem [to cleanse them from] sin and uncleanness.
9 But look to yourselves; for they will turn you over to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake as a testimony to them.
10 And the good news (the Gospel) must first be preached to all nations.
11 Now when they take you [to court] and put you under arrest, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say [a]nor [even] meditate about it; but say whatever is given you in that hour and at [b]the moment, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 And brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; and children will take a stand against their parents and [have] them put to death.
13 And you will be hated and detested by everybody for My name’s sake, but he who patiently perseveres and endures to the end will be saved ([c]made a partaker of the salvation by Christ, and delivered [d]from spiritual death).
14 But when you see the abomination of desolation mentioned by Daniel the prophet standing where it ought not to be—[and] let the one who reads take notice and consider and understand and heed [this]—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.(A)
15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house nor go inside to take anything out of his house;
16 And let him who is in the field not turn back again to get his mantle (cloak).
17 And alas for those who are pregnant and for those who have nursing babies in those days!
18 Pray that it may not occur in winter,
19 For at that time there will be such affliction (oppression and tribulation) as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until this particular time—and [e]positively never will be [again].
20 And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no human being would be saved (rescued); but for the sake of the elect, His chosen ones (those whom He [f]picked out for Himself), He has shortened the days.(B)
21 And then if anyone says to you, See, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, Look, there He is! do not believe it.
22 False Christs (Messiahs) and false prophets will arise and show signs and [work] miracles to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (those God has chosen out for Himself).
23 But look to yourselves and be on your guard; I have told you everything beforehand.
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