Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

84 How ^(C)lovely is your ^(D)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
² My soul ^(E)longs, yes, ^(F)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(G)the living God.
³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(H)my King and my God.
^4 (I)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(J)singing your praise! Selah
⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(L)the early rain also covers it with ^(M)pools.
⁷ They go ^(N)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(O)appears before God in Zion.

9 ^{[a] (A)}Oh that my head were waters,
    and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
    for the slain of ^(B)the daughter of my people!
^2 [b] Oh that I had in the desert
    a travellers' lodging place,
that I might leave my people
    and go away from them!
For they are all ^(C)adulterers,
    a company of ^(D)treacherous men.
^3 (E)They bend their tongue like a bow;
    falsehood and not truth has grown strong^[c] in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
    ^(F)and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
^4 (G)Let everyone beware of his neighbour,
    and put no trust in any brother,
for every ^(H)brother is a deceiver,
    and every neighbour ^(I)goes about as a slanderer.
⁵ Everyone deceives his neighbour,
    and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
    they weary themselves committing iniquity.
⁶ Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
    ^(J)they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, ^(K)I will refine them and ^(L)test them,
    for what else can I do, ^(M)because of my people?
^8 (N)Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
    ^(O)it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth ^(P)each speaks peace to his neighbour,
    but in his heart ^(Q)he plans an ambush for him.
^9 (R)Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?
¹⁰ “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
    and a lamentation for ^(S)the pastures of the wilderness,
^(T)because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
^(U)both the birds of the air and the beasts
    have fled and are gone.
^11 (V)I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
    ^(W)a lair of jackals,
^(X)and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
    without inhabitant.”