Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 102
The Afflicted Ruler
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A prayer for an afflicted person who is weary and pours out his complaints before the Lord.
Opening Plea
1 O Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me on the day when I am distressed.
Turn your ear to me on the day I call.
Hurry! Answer me!
The Shortness of His Days
3 For my days go up in smoke,
and my bones are burned like hot coals.
4 My heart is cut down and withered like grass,
so I forget to eat my food.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones stick out of my flesh.
6 I am like an owl in the wilderness,
like a screech owl[a] among the ruins.
7 I lie awake.
I have become like a lonely bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me.
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse,
9 because I eat ashes like bread,
and I mix tears with my drinks.
10 Because of your rage and your wrath,
you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are being stretched out like a shadow,
and I am dried up like grass.
God’s Endless Years
12 But you, Lord, sit on your throne forever,
and you will be remembered through all generations.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion.
Yes, it is time to be gracious to her,
because the appointed time has come.
14 Yes, your servants will show favor to her stones,
and they will have compassion on her dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion.
He will appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the naked.
He will not despise their prayer.
8 The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this. Do not let the prophets and fortune tellers who are among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams they dream for you. 9 For they prophesy falsely in my name, but I did not send them, declares the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says. After seventy years have passed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious word to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 When you seek me, you will find me, when you will seek me with all your heart. 14 I will let you find me, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from your exile. I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have sent you as exiles, declares the Lord. I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
15 Because you say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on David’s throne and concerning all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who were not carried away into exile with you. 17 Yes, this is what the Lord says. Watch, I am going to send sword, famine, and plague against them, and I will make them like rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague, and I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, a terror, a thing to be hissed at, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have not obeyed my words, declares the Lord, words I sent them again and again through my servants the prophets. And you have not listened, either, declares the Lord.
Two Men Roasted in the Fire
20 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Ma’aseiah, who are prophesying a lie in my name: Watch, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your eyes. 22 All the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse because of them:
May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and like Ahab,
whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire.
23 This is because they have done sinful things in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbor’s wives, and they have spoken lies in my name, things I did not tell them to do. I am the one who knows. I am the witness, declares the Lord.
24 While Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am clearly speaking words that are true and sensible. 26 Certainly the king to whom I am freely speaking knows about these things. Indeed, I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, because this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you going to persuade me to become[a] a Christian?”
29 Paul replied, “I pray God, that whether in a short time or a long time, not only you, but also all those who are listening to me today would become what I am, except for these chains.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.