Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(A) do the nations rage(B)
and the peoples plot in vain?(C)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(D)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and his Anointed One:[a](E)
3 “Let’s tear off their chains
and throw their ropes off of us.”(F)
4 The one enthroned[b] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(G)
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath:(H)
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”(I)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree.
He said to me, “You are my Son;[c]
today I have become your Father.(J)
8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance
and the ends of the earth your possession.(K)
9 You will break them with an iron scepter;
you will shatter them like pottery.”(L)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(M)
12 Pay homage to[d] the Son or he will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[e](N)
for his anger may ignite at any moment.(O)
All who take refuge in him are happy.(P)
12 But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless.(A) We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”
Deluded Israel
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Ask among the nations,
who has heard things like these?
Virgin Israel has done a most horrible thing.(B)
14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags?
Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me.(C)
They burn incense to worthless idols
that make them stumble in their ways(D)
on the ancient roads,(E)
and make them walk on new paths, not the highway.
16 They have made their land a horror,(F)
a perpetual object of scorn;[a](G)
all who pass by it will be appalled(H)
and shake their heads.(I)
17 I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind.(J)
I will show them[b] my back and not my face(K)
on the day of their calamity.
Plot against Jeremiah
18 Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah,(L) for instruction will never be lost from the priest,(M) or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet.(N) Come, let’s denounce him[c] and pay no attention to all his words.”
19 Pay attention to me, Lord.
Hear what my opponents are saying!(O)
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.(P)
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good on their behalf,
to turn your anger from them.
21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine,(Q)
and give them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives become childless and widowed,
their husbands slain by deadly disease,[d]
their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring raiders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.(R)
23 But you, Lord, know
all their deadly plots against me.
Do not wipe out their iniquity;(S)
do not blot out their sin before you.
Let them be forced to stumble before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
The Mystery of Godliness
14 I write these things to you, hoping to come(A) to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household,(B) which is the church of the living God,(C) the pillar and foundation of the truth.(D) 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness(E) is great:
He[a] was manifested in the flesh,(F)
vindicated in the Spirit,(G)
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed(H) on in the world,
taken up in glory.(I)
Demonic Influence
4 Now the Spirit(J) explicitly says that in later times(K) some will depart from the faith,(L) paying attention to deceitful spirits(M) and the teachings of demons,(N) 2 through the hypocrisy(O) of liars whose consciences(P) are seared. 3 They forbid marriage(Q) and demand abstinence(R) from foods that God created(S) to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good,(T) and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,(U) 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God(V) and by prayer.
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