Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Praise
12 On that day you will say:
“I will praise You, Lord,
although You were angry with me.
Your anger has turned away,
and You have had compassion(A) on me.
2 Indeed, God is my salvation;
I will trust Him and not be afraid,
for Yah, the Lord,
is my strength and my song.
He has become my salvation.”(B)
3 You will joyfully draw water(C)
from the springs of salvation,
4 and on that day you will say:
“Give thanks to Yahweh; proclaim His name!
Celebrate His works among the peoples.(D)
Declare that His name is exalted.
5 Sing to Yahweh, for He has done glorious things.(E)
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel(F) is among you
in His greatness.”
Sin and Redemption
59 Indeed, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,(A)
and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(B) have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have made Him hide His face from you(C)
so that He does not listen.(D)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4 No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.(E)
5 They hatch viper’s eggs
and weave spider’s webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7 Their feet run after evil,(F)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(G)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(H)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(I)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(J)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10 We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.(K)
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11 We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.(L)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before You,(M)
and our sins testify against us.(N)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(O)
13 transgression and deception against the Lord,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
God’s Judgment and Glory
3 We must always thank God for you, brothers. This is right, since your faith is flourishing and the love(A) each one of you has for one another(B) is increasing.(C) 4 Therefore, we ourselves boast(D) about you among God’s churches—about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you endure. 5 It is a clear evidence of God’s righteous(E) judgment(F) that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering,(G) 6 since it is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you 7 and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, 8 taking vengeance with flaming fire(H) on those who don’t know God(I) and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(J) 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction(K) from the Lord’s presence(L) and from His glorious strength(M) 10 in that day when He comes(N) to be glorified(O) by His saints(P) and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed. 11 And in view of this, we always pray for you that our God will consider you worthy of His calling,(Q) and will, by His power, fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith,(R) 12 so that the name(S) of our Lord Jesus will be glorified(T) by you, and you by Him,(U) according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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