Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Davidic Song, when he was in the cave.[a] A prayer.
A Call to God for Help
142 My voice cries out to the Lord;
my voice pleads for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint to him,
telling him all of my troubles.
3 Though my spirit grows faint within me,
you are aware of my path.
Wherever I go,
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to my right[b] and observe—
no one is concerned about me.
There is nowhere I can go for refuge,
and no one cares for me.
5 So I cry to you, Lord,
declaring, “You are my refuge,
my only[c] possession while I am on this earth.”[d]
6 Pay attention to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Deliver me from my tormentors,
for they are far too strong for me.
7 Break me out of this prison,
so I can give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal generously with me.
Habakkuk’s Prayer of Faith
3 A prayer by the prophet Habakkuk, set to music.[a]
2 Lord, as I listen to what has been said about you,
I am afraid.
Lord, revive your work throughout all of our lives—
reveal yourself[b] throughout all of our lives—
when you[c] are angry,
remember compassion.
3 God comes from Teman[d]—
the Holy One from Mount Paran.[e]
His glory spreads throughout the heavens,
and praises about him fill the earth.
4 His radiance is like sunlight;
beams of light shine[f] from his hand,
where his strength lays hidden.
5 Before him pestilence walks,
and disease follows behind him.[g]
6 He stood up and shook the land;
with his stare he startled the nations.
The age-old mountains were shattered,
and the ancient hilltops bowed down.
His ways are eternal.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
and the tent curtains of the land of Midian in anguish.
8 Was the Lord displeased with the rivers?
Was your anger directed[h] against the watercourses
or your wrath against the sea?
Indeed, you rode upon your horses,
upon your chariots of deliverance.
9 Your bow was exposed,
and your[i] arrows targeted by command.
You split the earth with rivers.
10 When the mountains looked upon you, they trembled;
the overflowing water passed by,
the ocean shouted,
and its waves[j] surged upward.
11 The sun and moon stand still in their orbits;
at the glint of your arrows they speed along,
even at the gleam of your flashing spear.
12 You march through the land in righteous[k] indignation;
you tread down the nations in anger.
13 You marched out to deliver your people,
to deliver with your anointed.
You struck the head of the house of the wicked;
you stripped him naked from head to foot.
14 With his own lances you pierced the heads of his warriors,
who came out like a windstorm to scatter us[l]—
their joy is to devour the afflicted who are in hiding.
15 You rode on the sea with your horses,
even riding[m] the crested waves of mighty waters.
Habakkuk’s Response
16 I heard and I trembled within.
My lips quivered at the noise.
My legs gave way beneath me,[n]
and I trembled.
Nevertheless, I await the day of distress
that will dawn on our invaders.
5 Now I want to remind you, even though you are fully aware of these things, that the Lord who once saved his people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 He has also held in eternal chains those angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their assigned place. They are held in deepest darkness for judgment on the great day.[a] 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them, which like them committed sexual sins and pursued homosexual activities,[b] serve as an example of the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In a similar way, these dreamers also defile their flesh, reject the Lord’s authority,[c] and slander his glorious beings. 9 Even the archangel Michael, when he argued with the Devil and fought over the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him. Instead, he said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”[d] 10 Whatever these people do not understand, they slander. Like irrational animals, they are destroyed by the very things they know by instinct. 11 How terrible it will be for them! For they lived like Cain did[e], rushed headlong into Balaam’s error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves, as happened[f] in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These people are stains on your love feasts.[g] They feast with you without any sense of awe.[h] They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, totally[i] dead, and uprooted. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever.
14 Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about these people when he said,
“Look! The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy ones. 15 He will judge all people and convict everyone of all the ungodly things that they have done in such an ungodly way, including all the harsh things that these ungodly sinners have said about him.”[j]
16 These people are complainers and faultfinders, following their own desires. They say arrogant things and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.
Advice to the Readers
17 But you, dear friends, must remember the statements and predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[k] 18 They kept telling you, “In the last times there will be mockers, following their own ungodly desires.”[l] 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly, devoid of the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, must continue to build your most holy faith for your own benefit. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Messiah,[m] which brings eternal life.
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