Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 10
1 Lord,[a][b] why do You stand so far away?(A)
Why do You hide in times of trouble?(B)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked arrogantly thinks:[d]
“There is no accountability,
since God does not exist.”(F)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation without calamity.”(H)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He hides His face and will never see.”(M)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand.(N)
Do not forget the afflicted.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.(Q)
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person;(S)
call his wickedness into account
until nothing remains of it.[f](T)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from His land.(V)
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;[g]
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that men of the earth may terrify them no more.(X)
Do Not Pray for Judah
16 “As for you, do not pray for these people.(A) Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg Me,(B) for I will not listen to you.(C) 17 Don’t you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,[a](D) and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke Me to anger. 19 But are they really provoking Me?”(E) This is the Lord’s declaration. “Isn’t it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?”
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Look, My anger—My burning wrath—is about to be poured out on this place,(F) on man and beast, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched.”(G)
Obedience Over Sacrifice
21 This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,(H) 22 for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them(I) or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.(J) 24 Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention(K) but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.(L) 25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent all My servants the prophets(M) to you time and time again.[b](N) 26 However, they wouldn’t listen to Me or pay attention but became obstinate;[c](O) they did more evil than their ancestors.(P)
The Letter to Philadelphia
7 “Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens(A) says: 8 I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close. 9 Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.(B) 10 Because you have kept My command to endure,[a] I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have,(C) so that no one takes your crown. 12 The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My new name.(D)
13 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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