Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

An Evening Prayer

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A song of David.

Daniel’s Prayer

9 These things happened during the first year Darius son of Xerxes was king. He was a descendant of the Medes. ² During Darius’ first year as king, I, Daniel, was reading the Scriptures. In them I saw what the Lord told Jeremiah. He said Jerusalem would be an empty desert for 70 years.

³ Then I turned to the Lord God. I prayed to him and asked him for help. I did not eat any food. To show how sad I was I put on rough cloth and sat in ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God. I told him about all of my sins. I said, “Lord, you are a great God. You cause fear and wonder. You keep your agreement of love with all who love you and obey your commands.

⁵ “But we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and turned against you. We have not obeyed your commands and laws. ⁶ We did not listen to your servants, the prophets. They spoke for you to our kings, our leaders and our ancestors. They spoke to all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, you are good and right. But we are full of shame today. The people of Judah and Jerusalem and all the people of Israel are ashamed. People near and far whom you scattered among many nations are ashamed. We were not loyal to you. ⁸ Lord, we are all ashamed. Our kings and leaders and our fathers are ashamed. This is because we have sinned against you.

⁹ “But, Lord our God, you show us mercy. You forgive us even though we have turned against you. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the Lord our God. We have not obeyed the teachings he gave us through his servants, the prophets. ¹¹ All the people of Israel have disobeyed your teachings. They all have turned away and refused to obey you. So you brought on us the curses and promises of punishment written in the Teachings of Moses, the servant of God. These things have happened to us because we sinned against you.

¹² “God said these things would happen to us and our leaders. And he made them happen. You brought on us a great disaster. Nothing has ever been done here on earth like what was done to Jerusalem. ¹³ All this disaster came to us just as it is written in the Teachings of Moses. But we still have not stopped sinning. We still do not pay attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord was ready to bring the disaster on us. This is because he is right in everything he does. But we still have not obeyed him.

¹⁵ “Lord our God, you used your power and brought us out of Egypt. Because of that, your name is known even today. Lord, we have sinned. We have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, you do the right things. So do not be angry with Jerusalem. Jerusalem is your city on your holy hill. All this has happened because of our sins and the evil things done by our ancestors. So now people all around insult and make fun of Jerusalem and your people.

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear my prayers. I am your servant. Listen to my prayer for help. Do good things for your holy place that is in ruins. Do this for your sake. ¹⁸ My God, pay attention and hear me. Open your eyes and see all the terrible things that have happened to us. See what has happened to the city that is called by your name. We do not ask these things because we are good. We ask because of your mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear us and do something! For your sake, don’t wait! Your city and your people are called by your name.”

Reject the Enemies of Christ

¹⁸ My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. ¹⁹ Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.

²⁰ You have the gift^[a] that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.^{[b] 21} Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.

²² So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son. ²³ If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.

²⁴ Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.