Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Day of the Lord
2 Blow (A)the [a]trumpet in Zion,
And (B)sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For (C)the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
2 (D)A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
(E)A people come, great and strong,
(F)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.
A Call to Repentance
12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
(A)“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So (B)rend your heart, and not (C)your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is (D)gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
14 (E)Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave (F)a blessing behind Him—
(G)A grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
15 (H)Blow the [a]trumpet in Zion,
(I)Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
(J)Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
(K)Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep (L)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, (M)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should [b]rule over them.
(N)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
Fasting that Pleases God
58 “Cry aloud, [a]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(A)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 ‘Why(B) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (C)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [b]exploit all your laborers.
4 (D)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is (E)it a fast that I have chosen,
(F)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (G)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (H)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(I)To undo the [c]heavy burdens,
(J)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not (K)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [d]cast out;
(L)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (M)your own flesh?
8 (N)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
(O)The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The [e]pointing of the finger, and (P)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [f]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
(Q)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of [g]Streets to Dwell In.
A Prayer of Repentance
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David (A)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
(B)Blot out my transgressions.
2 (C)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 (D)Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil (E)in Your sight—
(F)That You may be found just [a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
5 (G)Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7 (H)Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be (I)whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken (J)may rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 (K)Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your (L)Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your (M)generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For (N)You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 (O)The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
20 Now then, we are (A)ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For (B)He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become (C)the righteousness of God in Him.
Marks of the Ministry
6 We then, as (D)workers together with Him also (E)plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:
(F)“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
3 (G)We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves (H)as ministers of God: in much [a]patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 (I)in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by [b]sincere love, 7 (J)by the word of truth, by (K)the power of God, by (L)the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and (M)yet well known; (N)as dying, and behold we live; (O)as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many (P)rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Do Good to Please God
6 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, (A)when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret (B)will Himself reward you [a]openly.
The Model Prayer(C)
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the [b]hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, (D)go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you [c]openly.
Fasting to Be Seen Only by God
16 “Moreover, (A)when you fast, do not be like the [a]hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, (B)anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you [b]openly.
Lay Up Treasures in Heaven(C)
19 (D)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 (E)but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.