Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 “(P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
“Seek Me that You May Live”
5 Hear this word which I take up for you as a (A)dirge, O house of Israel:
2 She has fallen, she will (B)not rise again—
The (C)virgin Israel.
She lies neglected on her land;
There is (D)none to raise her up.
3 For thus says the Lord [a]God,
“The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a (E)hundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have (F)ten left to the house of Israel.”
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,
“(G)Seek Me (H)that you may live.
5 “But do not [b]resort to (I)Bethel
And do not come to (J)Gilgal,
Nor cross over to (K)Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
And Bethel will [c]come to trouble.
6 “(L)Seek the Lord that you may live,
Or He will break forth like a (M)fire, [d]O house of Joseph,
And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,
7 For those who turn (N)justice into wormwood
And [e]cast righteousness down to the earth.”
8 He who made the (O)Pleiades and Orion
And (P)changes deep darkness into morning,
[f]Who also (Q)darkens day into night,
Who (R)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
The (S)Lord is His name.
9 It is He who (T)flashes forth with destruction upon the strong,
So that (U)destruction comes upon the fortress.
Paul Seized in the Temple
27 When (A)the seven days were almost over, (B)the Jews from [a](C)Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! (D)This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has (E)defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen (F)Trophimus the (G)Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was provoked, and [b]the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they (H)dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. 31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the [c]commander of the (I)Roman [d]cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 At once he (J)took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the [e]commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the [f]commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be (K)bound with (L)two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. 34 But among the crowd (M)some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the [g]facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into (N)the barracks. 35 When he got to (O)the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the [h]mob; 36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “(P)Away with him!”
37 As Paul was about to be brought into (Q)the barracks, he said to the [i]commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not (R)the Egyptian who some [j]time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out (S)into the wilderness?” 39 But Paul said, “(T)I am a Jew of Tarsus in (U)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”
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