Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 This is the message that came to the prophet Habakkuk in a vision from God:
2 O Lord, how long must I call for help before you will listen? I shout to you in vain; there is no answer. “Help! Murder!” I cry, but no one comes to save. 3 Must I forever see this sin and sadness all around me?
Wherever I look I see oppression and bribery and men who love to argue and to fight. 4 The law is not enforced, and there is no justice given in the courts, for the wicked far outnumber the righteous, and bribes and trickery prevail.
2 I will climb my watchtower now and wait to see what answer God will give to my complaint.
2 And the Lord said to me, “Write my answer on a billboard,[a] large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others. 3 But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow,[b] do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!
4 “Note this: Wicked men trust themselves alone as these Chaldeans do,[c] and fail; but the righteous man trusts in me and lives!
137 O Lord, you are just and your punishments are fair. 138 Your demands are just and right. 139 I am indignant and angry because of the way my enemies have disregarded your laws. 140 I have thoroughly tested your promises, and that is why I love them so much. 141 I am worthless and despised, but I don’t despise your laws.
142 Your justice is eternal for your laws are perfectly fair. 143 In my distress and anguish your commandments comfort me. 144 Your laws are always fair; help me to understand them, and I shall live.
1 From: Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To: The church of Thessalonica—kept safe in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you rich blessings and peace-filled hearts and minds.
3 Dear brothers, giving thanks to God for you is not only the right thing to do, but it is our duty to God because of the really wonderful way your faith has grown and because of your growing love for each other. 4 We are happy to tell other churches about your patience and complete faith in God, in spite of all the crushing troubles and hardships you are going through.
11 And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you the kind of children he wants to have—will make you as good as you wish you could be!—rewarding your faith with his power. 12 Then everyone will be praising the name of the Lord Jesus Christ because of the results they see in you; and your greatest glory will be that you belong to him. The tender mercy of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ has made all this possible for you.
19 1-2 As Jesus was passing through Jericho, a man named Zacchaeus, one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business (and, of course, a very rich man), 3 tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed into a sycamore tree beside the road, to watch from there.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name! “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick! Come down! For I am going to be a guest in your home today!”
6 Zacchaeus hurriedly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.
7 But the crowds were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “Sir, from now on I will give half my wealth to the poor, and if I find I have overcharged anyone on his taxes, I will penalize myself by giving him back four times as much!”
9-10 Jesus told him, “This shows[a] that salvation has come to this home today. This man was one of the lost sons of Abraham, and I, the Messiah, have come to search for and to save such souls as his.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.