Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
A Shiggaion[a] of David which he sang to Yahweh
on account of Cush, a Benjaminite.[b]
7 O Yahweh, my God, in you I have taken refuge.
Save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me.
2 Or else he will tear me apart like a lion,
ripping to pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally[c] with harm,
or if I have plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy of my soul pursue,
and overtake and trample my life into the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Yahweh, in your anger,
and lift yourself up against the wrath[d] of my oppressors,
and awake for me,
since you have commanded judgment.
7 And let the assembly of peoples surround you,
and over it return on high.
8 Yahweh judges the nations.
O Yahweh, vindicate me
according to my innocence[e] and according to my integrity within me.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
and test the hearts and innermost being, O righteous God.
10 My shield is with God
who saves the upright of heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If he[f] does not repent, he[g] will sharpen his sword.
He has bent his bow and he has strung[h] it.
13 And he has prepared for him weapons of death.
He has made his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See, he[i] travails with[j] evil.
He is pregnant with trouble,
and he gives birth to deception.
15 He makes a pit and digs it out,
then falls in the trap he has made.
16 His trouble comes back on his head,
and his violence comes down on his skull.
17 I will thank Yahweh according to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of Yahweh, the Most High.
A Lament and Call to Repentance
5 Hear this word that I am going to intone over you as a lament, O house of Israel! 2 Virgin Israel has fallen and will not rise again. She is deserted on her land; there is no one to raise her up. 3 For thus says my Lord Yahweh, “The city that marches out with a thousand will only have a hundred left. And the one that marches out with a hundred will only have ten left for the house of Israel.” 4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel, “Seek me so that you may live.” 5 But do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile and Bethel will come to disaster.” 6 Seek Yahweh so that you may live, so that he will not break out like a fire against the house of Joseph! And it will devour, with none to quench[a] it for Bethel. 7 Ah, you who turn justice into wormwood and hurl righteousness to the ground! 8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion and who turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens day into night, the one who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name! 9 The one who makes destruction flash upon the fierce, so that[b] destruction comes upon the fortification.
The Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats
31 Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something[a] to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something[b] to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,[c] or thirsty and give you something[d] to drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you[e] as a guest, or naked and clothe you?[f] 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ 40 And the king will answer and[g] say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it[h] to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it[i] to me.’ 41 Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you did not give me anything[j] to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything[k] to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it[l] to one of the least of these, you did not do it[m] to me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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