Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Plea for Relief from Persecutors
A (A)Contemplation[a] of David. A Prayer (B)when he was in the cave.
142 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit [b]was (C)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly (D)set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 [c]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may (E)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”
Judgment on Edom
7 (A)Against Edom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(B)“Is wisdom no more in Teman?
(C)Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom (D)vanished?
8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of (E)Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
The time that I will punish him.
9 (F)If grape-gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave some gleaning grapes?
If thieves by night,
Would they not destroy until they have enough?
10 (G)But I have made Esau bare;
I have uncovered his secret places,
And he shall not be able to hide himself.
His descendants are plundered,
His brethren and his neighbors,
And (H)he is no more.
11 Leave your fatherless children,
I will preserve them alive;
And let your widows trust in Me.”
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should (A)no longer walk as [a]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the (B)blindness of their heart; 19 (C)who, being past feeling, (D)have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you (E)put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and (F)be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you (G)put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Spirit
25 Therefore, putting away lying, (H)“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for (I)we are members of one another. 26 (J)“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 (K)nor give [b]place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather (L)let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something (M)to give him who has need. 29 (N)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but (O)what is good for necessary [c]edification, (P)that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And (Q)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (R)Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [d]clamor, and (S)evil speaking be put away from you, (T)with all malice. 32 And (U)be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (V)forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Walk in Love
5 Therefore(W) be imitators of God as dear (X)children. 2 And (Y)walk in love, (Z)as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God (AA)for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.