Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord’s Eternal Love
A Prayer of the afflicted, (A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
2 (B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days [a]are (C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my [b]skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
15 So the [c]nations shall (D)fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord shall build up Zion;
(E)He shall appear in His glory.
17 (F)He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
Judgment on the Nations
15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this (A)wine cup of [a]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And (B)they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them (C)a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and (D)a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of (E)the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (F)Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and (G)the remnant of Ashdod); 21 (H)Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of (I)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the (J)sea; 23 (K)Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the (L)mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (M)Elam, and all the kings of the (N)Medes; 26 (O)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of [b]Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (P)“Drink, (Q)be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, (R)I begin to bring calamity on the city (S)which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for (T)I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’
30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
‘The Lord will (U)roar from on high,
And utter His voice from (V)His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against (W)His fold.
He will give (X)a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—
For the Lord has (Y)a controversy with the nations;
(Z)He will plead His case with all flesh.
He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, disaster shall go forth
From nation to nation,
And (AA)a great whirlwind shall be raised up
From the farthest parts of the earth.
Sending Out the Twelve(A)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: (B)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of (C)the Samaritans. 6 (D)But go rather to the (E)lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 (F)And as you go, preach, saying, (G)‘The kingdom of heaven [a]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, [b]cleanse the lepers, [c]raise the dead, cast out demons. (H)Freely you have received, freely give. 9 (I)Provide neither gold nor silver nor (J)copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; (K)for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 (L)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 (M)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. (N)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 (O)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, (P)shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, (Q)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.