Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 This is the vision with which the prophet Habakkuk was burdened.
2 How long must I cry, O Eternal One,
and get no answer from You?
Even when I yell to You, “Violence is all around!”
You do nothing to save those in distress.
3 Why do You force me to see these atrocities?
Why do You make me watch such wickedness?
Disaster and violence, conflict and controversy are raging all around me.
4 Your law is powerless to stop this; injustice prevails.
The depraved surround the innocent, and justice is perverted.
2 I will take my place at the watchtower.
I will stand at my post and watch.
I will watch and see what He says to me.
I need to think about how I should respond to Him
When He gets back to me with His answer.
Eternal One (to Habakkuk): 2 Write down this vision.
Write it clearly on tablets, so that anyone who reads it may run.
3 For the vision points ahead to a time I have appointed;
it testifies regarding the end, and it will not lie.
Even if there is a delay, wait for it.
It is coming and will come without delay.[a]
4 So I wrote, “Look how pompous he is!
Something is not right in his soul; he is not honest and just.
But the righteous one will live by his faithfulness.”[b]
Tsadhe
137 You are good and just, O Eternal One,
and Your rulings are right.
138 You have set out Your decrees in justice,
and they can be trusted.
139 I am overwhelmed by my passion
because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
140 Your promise is tested and true;
that’s why Your servant loves it.
141 I may be insignificant to some and hated by others,
but at least I do not forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness will last forever,
and Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commandments bring me great joy.
144 Your decrees are right and true forever;
grant me understanding so that I may live.
1 Paul, Silvanus,[a] and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians that gathers in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus the Anointed. 2 May grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus the Anointed be with you.
3 Brothers and sisters, we cannot help but thank God for you, which is only appropriate because your faith is growing and expanding and because the love demonstrated by each and every one of you is overflowing for one another. 4 So, of course, we’ve proudly bragged about you within circles of God’s people at other churches near and far because, even in the grip of much persecution and affliction, you’ve stood firm in your faith and have persevered.
11 All this is why we are constantly praying for you, so God will make you worthy of the great calling you have received from Him and will give you the power to accomplish every good intention and work of faith. 12 Then the great name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified through your lives, and you will be glorified in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King.
19 Jesus enters Jericho and seems only to be passing through. 2 Living in Jericho is a man named Zaccheus. He’s the head tax collector and is very rich. 3 He is also very short. He wants to see Jesus as He passes through the center of town, but he can’t get a glimpse because the crowd blocks his view. 4 So he runs ahead of the crowd and climbs up into a sycamore tree so he can see Jesus when He passes beneath him.
5 Jesus comes along and looks up into the tree[, and there He sees Zaccheus].[a]
Jesus: Zaccheus, hurry down from that tree because I need to stay at your house tonight.
6 Zaccheus scrambles down and joyfully brings Jesus back to his house. 7 Now the crowd sees this, and they’re upset.
Crowd (grumbling): Jesus has become the houseguest of this fellow who is a notorious sinner.
Zaccheus: 8 Lord, I am giving half of my goods to the poor, and whomever I have cheated I will pay back four times what I took.
Jesus: 9 Today liberation has come to this house, since even Zaccheus is living as a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to liberate the lost.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.