Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.

¹ ¶ I shall cry unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice shall I ask the LORD for mercy.

² I shall pour out my complaint before him; before him I shall tell of my trouble.

³ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou didst know my path. In the way in which I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.

⁴ ¶ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no one that would know me; I had no refuge; no one cared for my soul.

⁵ I cried unto thee, O LORD; I said, Thou art my hope and my portion in the land of the living.

⁶ Attend unto 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 praise thy name; the righteous shall feast with me; when thou shalt have weaned me.

¹⁵ For the day of the LORD is near upon all the Gentiles: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

¹⁶ For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the Gentiles drink continually; they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

¹⁷ ¶ But in Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and it shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

¹⁸ And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

¹⁹ And those of the south shall possess the mount of Esau and the plains of the Palestinians, and they shall also possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria; and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

²⁰ And the captives of this host of the sons of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who shall be in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

²¹ And saviours shall come up unto Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said unto him, Why dost thou speak unto them in parables?

¹¹ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given.

¹² For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have in abundance; but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that which he has.

¹³ Therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

¹⁴ And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive;

¹⁵ for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted, and I should heal them.

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

¹⁷ For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them.