Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in princes,
In [c]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [d]the earth;
In that very day his (I)thoughts perish.
5 How (J)blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and all that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [e]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous;
9 The Lord [f](U)protects the [g]strangers;
He [h](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [i]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
[j]Praise [k]the Lord!
27 Behold, (A)the name of the Lord comes from a [a]remote place;
(B)Burning is His anger and [b]dense is His [c]smoke;
His lips are filled with (C)indignation
And His tongue is like a (D)consuming fire;
28 His (E)breath is like an overflowing torrent,
Which (F)reaches to the neck,
To (G)shake the nations back and forth in a [d]sieve,
And to put in the jaws of the peoples (H)the bridle which [e]leads to ruin.
29 You will have [f]songs as in the night when you keep the festival,
And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord will cause [g]His voice of authority to be heard,
And the [h]descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger,
And in the flame of a consuming fire
In cloudburst, downpour and hailstones.
31 For (I)at the voice of the Lord (J)Assyria will be terrified,
When He strikes with the (K)rod.
32 And every [i]blow of the [j](L)rod of punishment,
Which the Lord will lay on him,
Will be with the music of (M)tambourines and lyres;
And in battles, (N)brandishing weapons, He will fight them.
33 For [k](O)Topheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
[l]A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The (P)breath of the Lord, like a torrent of (Q)brimstone, sets it afire.
The Impartiality of God
2 Therefore you have (A)no excuse, [a](B)everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which (C)you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God [b]rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, (D)O man, [c]when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of (E)the riches of His (F)kindness and (G)tolerance and (H)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But [d]because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart (I)you are storing up wrath for yourself (J)in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 (K)who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by (L)perseverance in doing good seek for (M)glory and honor and (N)immortality, (O)eternal life; 8 but to those who are (P)selfishly ambitious and (Q)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9 There will be (R)tribulation and distress [e]for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew (S)first and also of the Greek, 10 but (T)glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew (U)first and also to the Greek. 11 For (V)there is no partiality with God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.