Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Gimmel
Living and Keeping God’s Word
17 Deal kindly with your servant
so I may live and keep your word.[a]
18 Open my eyes
so that I will observe amazing things from your instruction.[b]
19 Since I am a stranger on the earth,
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your decrees at all times.
21 You rebuke the accursed ones,
who wander from your commands.
22 Remove scorn and disrespect from me,
for I observe your decrees.
23 Though nobles take their seat and gossip about me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 I take joy in your decrees,
for they are my counselors.
Daleth
Strength Comes from the Word
25 My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.
26 I have talked about my ways,
and you have answered me;
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me understand how your precepts function,[c]
and I will meditate on your wondrous acts.
28 I weep because of sorrow;
fortify me according to your word.
29 Remove false paths from me;
and graciously give me your instruction.[d]
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have firmly placed your ordinances before me.[e]
31 I cling to your decrees;
Lord, do not put me to shame.
32 I eagerly race along the way of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[f]
13 At that time,
the beautiful virgins will faint,
as will the strong young men—from thirst.
14 Those who have been swearing oaths by the sin of Samaria,
or who say, ‘As your god lives, Dan…’
or who say, ‘As the way of Beer-sheba lives…’—
will fall, and will never rise again.”
Israel to be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar as he was saying,
“Strike the doorposts
so that the thresholds tremble,
bringing them down on the heads of all of them.
Those who survive I will kill with the sword.
Those who flee will not escape.
There will be no deliverance for the fugitives.
2 “Even if they burrow into Sheol,[a]
from there my hand will find them.
Even if they ascend to the heavens,
from there I will bring them down.
3 Even if they hide at the top of Mount[b] Carmel,
from there I will search and seize them.
Even if they hide from my sight in the depths of the sea,
from there I will order the serpent to strike them.
4 Even if they go into exile among their enemies,
from there I will order the sword to kill them.
I will fix my gaze on them to inflict disaster,
and not to do good.[c]
The Messiah is Our Advocate
2 My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you might not sin. Yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus, the Messiah,[a] one who is righteous. 2 It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world’s.
3 This is how we can be sure that we have come to know him: if we continually keep his commandments. 4 The person who says, “I have come to know him,” but does not continually keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth has no place in that person. 5 But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God’s love has truly been perfected. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God:[b] 6 The one who says that he abides in him must live the same way he himself lived.
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