Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Victory over Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you (A)in the day of trouble!
May the (B)name of the (C)God of Jacob set you securely on high!
2 May He send you help (D)from the sanctuary
And (E)support you from Zion!
3 May He (F)remember all your meal offerings
And (G)find your burnt offering [a]acceptable! [b]Selah.
4 May He grant you your (H)heart’s desire
And (I)fulfill all your [c]counsel!
5 [d]We will (J)sing for joy over your [e]victory,
And in the name of our God we will (K)set up our banners.
May the Lord (L)fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now (M)I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will (N)answer him from His holy heaven
With the [f](O)saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some [g]boast in chariots and some in (P)horses,
But (Q)we [h]will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.
8 They have (R)bowed down and fallen,
But we have (S)risen and stood upright.
9 [i](T)Save, O Lord;
May the (U)King answer us in the day we call.
15 Thus says the Lord,
“(A)A voice is heard in (B)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She (C)refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because (D)they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord,
“(E)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your (F)work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will (G)return from the land of the enemy.
17 “There is (H)hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim (I)grieving,
‘You have (J)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained (K)calf;
(L)Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 ‘For after I turned back, I (M)repented;
And after I was instructed, I (N)smote on my thigh;
I was (O)ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 “Is (P)Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My [a](Q)heart yearns for him;
I will surely (R)have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.
21 “Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
(S)Direct your [b]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
(T)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22 “How long will you go here and there,
O (U)faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman will encompass a man.”
41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and (A)wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you [a]when your enemies will (B)throw up a [b]barricade against you, and (C)surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and (D)they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize (E)the time of your visitation.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.