Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the Director of Music: According to “The Lilies”. A testimony of Asaph. A psalm.
A Prayer for Jerusalem
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen!
The one who leads Joseph like a flock,
the one enthroned on the cherubim,
display your glory.[a]
2 Reveal[b] your power before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
then come to our rescue.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt,
and drove out nations to transplant it.
9 You cleared the ground[a] so that its roots grew
and filled the land.
10 Mountains were covered by its shadows,
and the mighty cedars by its branches.
11 Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean[b] Sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates[c] River.
12 Why did you break down its walls
so that those who pass by pluck its fruits?[d]
13 Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it,
and creatures of the field feed on it.
14 God of the Heavenly Armies, return!
Look down from heaven and see.
Show care[e] toward this vine.
15 The root[f] that your right hand planted,
the shoot[g] that you tended for yourself,
16 was burned with fire, cut off,
and destroyed on account of your rebuke.
17 May you support the man at your right hand;
the son of man whom you have raised for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Restore us, so we can call upon your name.
19 God of hosts, restore to us the light of your favor.[h]
Then we’ll be delivered.
18 “At that time,[a] the Lord[b] will take away the finery of the ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, capes,[c] purses, 23 mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and veils.
24 “And it will come about that instead of fragrance
there will be[d] a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of well-set hair, baldness;
instead of a fine robe, sackcloth;
and instead of beauty, shame.[e]
25 Your men will die violently,[f]
while your forces[g] fall[h] in battle
26 and her gates lament and mourn.
Ravaged, she will sit on the ground.”
4 “At that time,[i] seven women will cling tightly to one man and will make him this offer:[j] ‘We’ll provide[k] our own bread. We’ll provide our own clothes. Just let us marry you[l] so we won’t be stigmatized anymore.’”[m]
The Future Glory of Jerusalem
2 “At that time,[n] the Lord’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel and Judah.[o] 3 Whoever[p] survives in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who has been appointed to survive in Jerusalem— 4 when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the women[q] of Zion, cleaning up Jerusalem’s guilt[r] by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of tempest.[s] 5 Then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion—including over those who assemble there—a cloud by day[t] 6 and also to serve as a refuge and shelter from storms and rain.”
Signs of the End(A)
15 “So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),[a] 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Anyone who’s on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house, 18 and anyone who’s in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
19 “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Pray that it may not be in winter or on a Sabbath when you flee, 21 because at that time there will be great suffering,[b] the kind that hasn’t happened from the beginning of the world until now and certainly won’t ever happen again. 22 If those days hadn’t been shortened, no one[c] would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23 “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look here! The Messiah!’[d] or ‘There he is!’,[e] don’t believe it, 24 because false messiahs[f] and false prophets will have arisen and will produce great signs and startling demonstrations so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Remember, I’ve told you beforehand. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Look! He’s in the wilderness,’ don’t go out looking for him.[g] And if they say, ‘Look! He’s in the storeroom,’ don’t believe it, 27 because just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.