Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel’s Praise to the Lord
12 At that time,[a] you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord,
for although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away,
and you have comforted me.
2 “Look! God—yes God—is[b] my salvation;
I will trust, and not be afraid.
For the Lord[c] is my strength and my song,[d]
and he has become my salvation.”
3 You will draw water joyfully from the wells of salvation. And you will say at that time:[e]
4 “Give thanks to the Lord;
call on his name.
Make known his actions
among the nations.
Proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord,[f]
because he has acted gloriously,
being made[g] known in all the world.
6 Shout aloud, and sing for joy,
you who live in Zion,
because great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel.”
14 And one has said:[a]
‘Build up! Build up the road![b]
Prepare the highway!
Remove every obstacle from my people’s way.’
15 “For this is what the high and lofty One says,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“He lives[c] in the height and in holiness,[d]
and also with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I won’t accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for then the human spirit would grow faint before me—
even the souls that I have created.
17 Because of his wicked greed I was angry,
so I punished him;
and[e] I hid my face, and was angry—
but he kept turning back to his stubborn will.[f]
18 I’ve seen his ways,[g] yet I will heal him,[h]
and restore for him[i] comfort[j] to him
and for those who mourn for him[k]
19 when[l] I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace[m] to the one who is far away or near,” says the Lord,
“and I’ll heal him.
20 But the wicked are tossed like the sea;[n]
for it is not able to[o] keep still,
and its waters toss up mire and mud.
21 “Yet[p] there is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
God’s Wrath against Sinful Humanity
18 For God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of those who in their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God himself has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s[a] invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been understood and observed by what he made, so that people[b] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things,[c] and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Though claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
24 For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts[d] of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged God’s truth for a lie and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
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