Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
139 O Lord, you have examined me, and you know me.
2 You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.
You read my thoughts from far away.
3 You watch me when I travel and when I rest.
You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a ⌞single⌟ word on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
5 You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me.
You lay your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond my grasp.
It is so high I cannot reach it.
13 You alone created my inner being.
You knitted me together inside my mother.
14 I will give thanks to you
because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made.
Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was still an unborn child.
Every day ⌞of my life⌟ was recorded in your book
before one of them had taken place.
17 How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God!
How vast in number they are!
18 If I try to count them,
there would be more of them than there are grains of sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
14 “That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer begin an oath with, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. As the Lord lives….’ 15 But they will say, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of the north and all the lands where he had scattered them. As the Lord lives….’ They will say this because I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors.
16 “I’m going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch the people of Israel. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain and hill and even in the cracks in the rocks. 17 I see everything that they do. They can’t hide anything from me. Their wickedness can’t be hidden; I can see it. 18 First, I will have them pay twice as much for their wickedness and their sin, because they have polluted my land. They have filled my property with the lifeless statues of their detestable and disgusting idols.”
19 The Lord is my strength and my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
Nations come to you from the most distant parts of the world
and say, “Our ancestors have inherited lies,
worthless and unprofitable gods.”
20 “People can’t make gods for themselves.
They aren’t really gods.
21 That is what I will teach them.
This time I will make my power and my strength known to them.
Then they will know that my name is the Lord.”
17 ⌞The Lord says,⌟ “Judah’s sin is written with an iron pen.
It is engraved with a diamond point
on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
2 Even their children remember their altars
and their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah
beside large trees on high hills
3 and on mountains in the open country.[a]
I will turn your wealth and all your treasures into loot.
I will do this because of your worship sites and your sin
throughout all your territory.
4 You will lose the inheritance that I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you haven’t heard of.
I will do this because you have stirred up the fire of my anger.
It will burn forever.
Greetings from Paul and His Coworkers
7 I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother, trustworthy deacon, and partner in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me. 8 I’m sending him to you so that you may know how we are doing and so that he may encourage you. 9 I’m sending Onesimus with him. Onesimus is from your city and is our faithful and dear brother. They will tell you about everything that’s happening here.
10 Aristarchus, who is a prisoner like me, sends greetings. So does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about Mark. If he comes to you, welcome him. 11 Jesus, called Justus, also greets you. They are the only converts from the Jewish religion who are working with me for God’s kingdom. They have provided me with comfort. 12 Epaphras, a servant of Christ Jesus from your city, greets you. He always prays intensely for you. He prays that you will continue to be mature and completely convinced of everything that God wants. 13 I assure you that he works hard for you and the people in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 My dear friend Luke, the physician, and Demas greet you. 15 Greet our brothers and sisters in Laodicea, especially Nympha and the church that meets in her house.
16 After you have read this letter, read it in the church at Laodicea. Make sure that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus to complete all the work that he started as the Lord’s servant.
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