Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord? Will You (A)forget me forever?
How long (B)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long am I to (C)feel anxious in my soul,
With (D)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Jerusalem to Be Attacked
12 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:
The Lord who (A)stretches out the heavens, (B)lays the foundation of the earth, and (C)forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a (D)cup [a]that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against (E)Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy (F)stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will (G)injure themselves severely. And all the (H)nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will [b]watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the [c]clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a [d]strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the [e]clans of Judah like a (I)firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while [f]the (J)inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will (K)save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of (L)David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will (M)protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who [g](N)is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like (O)God, like the (P)angel of the Lord before them. 9 And on that day I will (Q)seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “And I will (R)pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem [h]the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they (S)pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one (T)mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the (U)mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the [i]plain of [j]Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
False Prophets Ashamed
13 “On that day a (V)fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for (W)sin and for (X)defilement.
9 “But [a]be on your guard; for they will (A)hand you over to the [b]courts, and you will be flogged (B)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. 10 (C)And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11 (D)And when they [c]arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and [d]have them put to death. 13 And (E)you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
14 “Now (F)when you see the (G)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—[e]let the [f]reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 [g](H)Whoever is on the [h]housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house. 16 And [i]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 17 But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter. 19 For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred (I)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. 20 And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no [j]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the [k]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the [l]Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; 22 for false christs and (J)false prophets will arise, and will provide (K)signs and (L)wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. 23 But beware; I have told you everything in advance.
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