Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 ¶ Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth.
2 Why should the Gentiles say, Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens; he has made whatever he has desired.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they shall never speak; they have eyes, but they shall never see:
6 They have ears, but they shall never hear; they have noses, but they shall never smell;
7 they have hands, but they shall never touch; they have feet, but they shall never walk; they shall never speak through their throat.
8 Let those that make them become like unto them, and every one that trusts in them.
9 ¶ O Israel, trust thou in the LORD; he is your help and your shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; he is your help and your shield.
11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; he is your help and your shield.
12 The LORD has been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will greatly bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those that fear the LORD, both small and great.
14 The LORD shall increase his blessing upon you more and more, upon you and your sons.
15 Ye are blessed of the LORD who made the heavens and earth.
16 The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, but the earth he has given to the sons of Adam.
17 The dead shall not praise JAH, neither any that go down into silence.
18 But we will bless JAH from this time forth and for evermore. Halelu-JAH.
5 ¶ And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my affliction; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God
6 and said, O my God, I am confused and ashamed to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities have multiplied over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto heaven.
7 Since the days of our fathers, we have been in great guiltiness unto this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
8 And now as for a brief moment there has been the mercy of the LORD our God, to leave us an escape, and that we may be given a stake in his holy sanctuary that our God may illuminate our eyes and give us a little preservation of life in our bondage.
9 For we were slaves; yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage, but has extended mercy over us before the king of Persia, that we may be given life to lift up the house of our God and to cause the desolations thereof to be restored and to give us a wall of protection in Judah and in Jerusalem.
10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken thy commandments,
11 which thou hast commanded by thy slaves the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land because of the uncleanness of the people of the lands, for the abominations with which they have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
12 Now, therefore, do not give your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever, that ye may be strengthened, and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your sons forever.
13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guiltiness, seeing that thou our God hast intervened that we no longer be oppressed because of our iniquities and hast given us such an escape as this,
14 should we again break thy commandments and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? Would thou not be angry with us until thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escape?
15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we have an escape, as it is this day, behold us here, before thee in our guiltiness; for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
16 ¶ A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then some of his disciples said among themselves, What is this that he says unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while, and ye shall see me; and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he says, A little while? we cannot understand what he says.
19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of what I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, and the world shall rejoice; but even though ye shall be sorrowful, your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 The woman, when she is in travail, has pain, because her hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you.
23 ¶ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give you.
24 Until now ye have asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be fulfilled.
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