Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 “(P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
Destruction in Israel and Judah
1 The (A)word of the Lord which came to (B)Micah of Moresheth in the days of (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of [a]you;
(F)Listen, O earth and [b]all it contains,
And let the Lord [c]God be a (G)witness against you,
The Lord from His holy temple.
3 For behold, the Lord is (H)coming forth from His place.
He will come down and (I)tread on the high places of the [d]earth.
4 (J)The mountains will melt under Him
And the valleys will be split,
Like wax before the fire,
Like water poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the rebellion of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the (K)rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not (L)Samaria?
What is the (M)high [e]place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
Sanctification and Love
4 (A)Finally then, (B)brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to [a](C)walk and (D)please God (just as you actually do [b]walk), that you (E)excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you [c]by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you (F)abstain from [d]sexual immorality; 4 that (G)each of you know how to [e]possess his own [f](H)vessel in sanctification and (I)honor, 5 not in [g](J)lustful passion, like the Gentiles who (K)do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and (L)defraud his brother (M)in the matter because (N)the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also (O)told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For (P)God has not called us for (Q)the purpose of impurity, but [h]in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who (R)gives His Holy Spirit to you.
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