Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Habakkuk’s Vision
1 The divine revelation that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
Habakkuk’s Question
2 How long, O Yahweh, am I to cry for help,
but you will not listen?
I cry out to you, “There’s violence!”
yet you will not come to the rescue.
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing?
And why do you watch wickedness?
Destruction and violence are in front of me.
Quarrels and disputes arise.
4 That is why your teaching is numbed,
and justice is never carried out.
Wicked people surround righteous people
so that when justice is carried out, it’s perverted.
Habakkuk Waits for the Lord’s Answer
2 I will stand at my guard post.
I will station myself on the wall.
I will watch to see what he will say to me
and what answer I will get to my complaint.
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then Yahweh answered me,
“Write the vision.
Make it clear on tablets
so that anyone can read it quickly.
3 The vision will still happen at the appointed time.
It hurries toward its goal.
It won’t be a lie.
If it’s delayed, wait for it.
It will certainly happen.
It won’t be late.
4 “Look at the proud person. He is not right in himself.
But the righteous person will live because of his faithfulness.[a]
137 You are righteous, O Yahweh,
and your regulations are fair.
138 You have issued your written instructions.
They are fair and completely dependable.
139 My devotion for your words consumes me,
because my enemies have forgotten your words.
140 Your promise has been thoroughly tested,
and I love it.
141 I am unimportant and despised,
yet I never forget your guiding principles.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your teachings are reliable.
143 Trouble and hardship have found me,
but your commandments still make me happy.
144 Your written instructions are always right.
Help me understand them so that I will live.
Greeting
1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To the church at Thessalonica united with God our Father and the Lord Yeshua Christ.
2 Good will[a] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua Christ are yours!
Paul’s Prayer for the Thessalonians
3 We always have to thank God for you, brothers and sisters. It’s right to do this because your faith is showing remarkable growth and your love for each other is increasing. 4 That’s why we brag in God’s churches about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and suffering you are experiencing.
11 With this in mind, we always pray that our God will make you worthy of his call. We also pray that through his power he will help you accomplish every good desire and help you do everything your faith produces. 12 That way the name of our Lord Yeshua will be honored among you. Then, because of the good will of Yeshua Christ, our God and Lord, you will be honored by him.
Zacchaeus Meets Jesus
19 Yeshua was passing through Jericho. 2 A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich. 3 He tried to see who Yeshua was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn’t see Yeshua because of the crowd. 4 So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see Yeshua, who was coming that way.
5 When Yeshua came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today.”
6 Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Yeshua into his home. 7 But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, “He went to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 Later, at dinner, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Lord, I’ll give half of my property to the poor. I’ll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way.”
9 Then Yeshua said to Zacchaeus, “You and your family have been saved today. You’ve shown that you, too, are one of Abraham’s descendants. 10 Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.