Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm by David sung at the dedication of the temple.
30 I will honor you highly, O Lord,
because you have pulled me out ⌞of the pit⌟
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought me up from the grave.
You called me back to life
from among those who had gone into the pit.
4 Make music to praise the Lord, you faithful people who belong to him.
Remember his holiness by giving thanks.
5 His anger lasts only a moment.
His favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may last for the night,
but there is a song of joy in the morning.
6 When all was well with me, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O Lord, by your favor you have made my mountain stand firm.
When you hid your face, I was terrified.
8 I will cry out to you, O Lord.
I will plead to the Lord for mercy:
9 “How will you profit if my blood is shed,
if I go into the pit?
Will the dust ⌞of my body⌟ give thanks to you?
Will it tell about your truth?”
10 Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me!
O Lord, be my helper!
11 You have changed my sobbing into dancing.
You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
12 so that my soul [a] may praise you with music and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
The Prophet Speaks Out: the Lord Destroyed Zion
2 [a]“Look how the Lord has covered the people of Zion
with the cloud of his anger!
He has thrown down Israel’s beauty from heaven to earth.
He didn’t ⌞even⌟ remember his footstool on the day of his anger.
2 The Lord swallowed up all of Jacob’s pastures without any pity.
He tore down the fortified cities of Judah in his fury.
He brought the kingdom ⌞of Judah⌟ and its leaders
down to the ground in dishonor.
3 In his burning anger he cut off all of Israel’s strength.
He withdrew his right hand when they faced their enemy.
He burned like a raging fire in ⌞the land of⌟ Jacob,
destroying everything around him.
4 Like an enemy he bent his bow.
Like an opponent his right hand held the arrow steady.
He killed all the beautiful people.
He poured out his fury like fire on the tent of Zion’s people.
5 The Lord became an enemy.
He swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all of its palaces.
He destroyed its strongholds.
He made the people of Judah mourn and moan.
6 He stripped his own booth as if it were a garden
and destroyed his own festivals.
The Lord wiped out the memory of festivals and days of rest—holy days—in Zion.
He expelled kings and priests because of his fierce anger.
7 The Lord rejected his altar and disowned his holy place.
He handed the walls of Zion’s palaces over to its enemies.
The enemies made noise in the Lord’s temple
as though it were a festival day.
8 The Lord planned to destroy the wall of Zion’s people.
He marked it off with a line.
He didn’t take his hand away until he had swallowed it up.
He made the towers and walls mourn.
They are completely dejected.
The Prophet Describes Jerusalem’s Destruction
9 “⌞Zion’s⌟ gates have sunk into the ground.
⌞The Lord⌟ destroyed and shattered the bars across its ⌞gates⌟.
Its king and influential people are ⌞scattered⌟ among the nations.
There is no longer any instruction ⌞from Moses’ Teachings⌟.
Its prophets can find no visions from the Lord.
10 The respected leaders of Zion’s people sit silently on the ground.
They throw dirt on their heads and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes are worn out with tears.
My stomach is churning.
My heart is poured out on the ground
because of the destruction of my people.
Little children and infants faint in the city streets.
12 They’re asking their mothers for some bread and wine
as they faint like wounded people in the city streets.
Their lives dwindle away in their mothers’ arms.
The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know how God showed his kindness [a] to the churches in the province of Macedonia. 2 While they were being severely tested by suffering, their overflowing joy, along with their extreme poverty, has made them even more generous. 3 I assure you that by their own free will they have given all they could, even more than they could afford. 4 They made an appeal to us, begging us to let them participate in the ministry of God’s kindness to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟. 5 They did more than we had expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us, since this was God’s will. 6 This led us to urge Titus to finish his work of God’s kindness among you in the same way as he had already started it.
7 Indeed, the more your faith, your ability to speak, your knowledge, your dedication, and your love for us increase, the more we want you to participate in this work of God’s kindness.
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