Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

142 ^1-2 How I plead with God, how I implore his mercy, pouring out my troubles before him. ³ For I am overwhelmed and desperate, and you alone know which way I ought to turn to miss the traps my enemies have set for me. ⁴ (There’s one—just over there to the right!) No one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. ⁵ Then I prayed to Jehovah. “Lord,” I pled, “you are my only place of refuge. Only you can keep me safe.

⁶ “Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. ⁷ Bring me out of prison so that I can thank you. The godly will rejoice with me for all your help.”

⁷ The Lord says: Where are all your wise men of days gone by? Is there not one left in all of Teman? ⁸ Flee to the remotest parts of the desert, O people of Dedan;^[a] for when I punish Edom, I will punish you! ^9-10 Those who gather grapes leave a few for the poor, and even thieves don’t take everything, but I will strip bare the land of Esau, and there will be no place to hide. Her children, her brothers, her neighbors—all will be destroyed—and she herself will perish too. ¹¹ (But I will preserve your fatherless children who remain, and let your widows depend upon me.)

^17-18 Let me say this, then, speaking for the Lord: Live no longer as the unsaved do, for they are blinded and confused. Their closed hearts are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against him, and they cannot understand his ways. ¹⁹ They don’t care anymore about right and wrong and have given themselves over to impure ways. They stop at nothing, being driven by their evil minds and reckless lusts.

²⁰ But that isn’t the way Christ taught you! ²¹ If you have really heard his voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself, ²² then throw off your old evil nature—the old you that was a partner in your evil ways—rotten through and through, full of lust and sham.

²³ Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better. ²⁴ Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. Clothe yourself with this new nature.

²⁵ Stop lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves. ²⁶ If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; ²⁷ for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil.

²⁸ If anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his for honest work so he can give to others in need. ²⁹ Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.

³⁰ Don’t cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who marks you to be present on that day when salvation from sin will be complete.^[a]

³¹ Stop being mean, bad-tempered, and angry. Quarreling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.

5 Follow God’s example in everything you do just as a much loved child imitates his father. ² Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.