Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 14
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Davidic.
1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”(A)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race(B)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.[a](C)
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume My people as they consume bread;(D)
they do not call on the Lord.(E)
13 Look, he advances like clouds;(A)
his chariots are like a storm.(B)
His horses are swifter than eagles.(C)
Woe to us, for we are ruined!(D)
14 Wash the evil from your heart,(E) Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts within you?(F)
15 For a voice announces from Dan,
proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land;(G)
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
17 They have her surrounded(H)
like those who guard a field,
because she has rebelled against Me.(I)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 Your way of life and your actions
have brought this on you.(J)
This is your punishment. It is very bitter,
because it has reached your heart!
Jeremiah’s Lament
19 My anguish, my anguish![a] I writhe in agony!
Oh, the pain in[b] my heart!(K)
My heart pounds;
I cannot be silent.
For you, my soul,
have heard the sound of the ram’s horn—
the shout of battle.
20 Disaster after disaster(L) is reported
because the whole land is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my tent curtains, in a moment.
21 How long must I see the signal flag
and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
29 Every city flees(A)
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks.(B)
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
30 And you, devastated one, what are you doing(C)
that you dress yourself in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?(D)
You beautify yourself for nothing.
Your lovers reject you;(E)
they want to take your life.(F)
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor,(G)
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands:(H)
Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!
11 “I am the good shepherd.(A) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(B) 12 The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them[a] and runs away when he sees a wolf(C) coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, 15 as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father.(D) I lay down My life(E) for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep(F) that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.(G) 17 This is why the Father loves Me,(H) because I am laying down My life(I) so I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”(J)
19 Again a division(K) took place among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon(L) and He’s crazy! Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”(M)
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