Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, O Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have been [b]consumed in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been smitten like [c]grass and has (I)withered away,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [d]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [e]cling to my flesh.
6 I [f]resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have reproached me all day long;
Those who [g](O)deride me [h]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread
And (Q)mingled my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have (S)lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a [i](T)lengthened shadow,
And [j]I (U)wither away like [k]grass.
12 But You, O Lord, [l](V)abide forever,
And Your [m](W)name to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [n]find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [o]So the [p](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord
And (AC)all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)regarded the prayer of the [q]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
24 To (A)Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent (B)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to (C)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the [a](D)overseer in the house of the Lord over every (E)madman who (F)prophesies, to (G)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, 27 now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of (H)Anathoth who prophesies to you? 28 For he has (I)sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be (J)long; (K)build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their [b]produce.’”’”
29 (L)Zephaniah the priest read this letter [c]to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, 31 “Send to (M)all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning (N)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has (O)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has (P)made you trust in a lie,” 32 therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to (Q)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his [d]descendants; he will (R)not have anyone living among this people, (S)and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has [e](T)preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”
The Armor of God
10 Finally, (A)be strong in the Lord and in (B)the strength of His might. 11 (C)Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the (D)schemes of the devil. 12 For our (E)struggle is not against [a](F)flesh and blood, but (G)against the rulers, against the powers, against the (H)world forces of this (I)darkness, against the (J)spiritual forces of wickedness in (K)the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up (L)the full armor of God, so that you will be able to (M)resist in (N)the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, (O)having girded your loins with truth, and having (P)put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having (Q)shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 [b]in addition to all, taking up the (R)shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the (S)flaming arrows of (T)the evil one. 17 And take (U)the helmet of salvation, and the (V)sword of the Spirit, which is (W)the word of God.
18 [c]With all (X)prayer and petition [d](Y)pray at all times (Z)in the Spirit, and with this in view, [e](AA)be on the alert with all (AB)perseverance and (AC)petition for all the saints, 19 and (AD)pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me (AE)in the opening of my mouth, to make known with (AF)boldness (AG)the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an (AH)ambassador (AI)in [f]chains; that [g]in proclaiming it I may speak (AJ)boldly, (AK)as I ought to speak.
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