Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 “Behold, (A)God is my salvation,
I will (B)trust and not be afraid;
For (C)the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
3 Therefore you will joyously (D)draw water
From the (E)springs of salvation.
4 And in that day you will (F)say,
“(G)Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
(H)Make known His deeds among the peoples;
[a]Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5 (I)Praise the Lord in song, for He has done [b]excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 (J)Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For (K)great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
“Those at Ease in Zion”
6 (A)Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The (B)distinguished men of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
2 Go over to (C)Calneh and look,
And go from there to (D)Hamath the great,
Then go down to (E)Gath of the Philistines.
Are [a]they better than these kingdoms,
Or is their territory greater than yours?
3 Do you (F)put off the day of calamity,
And would you (G)bring near the seat of violence?
4 Those who recline on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their (H)couches,
And (I)eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have [b]composed (J)songs for themselves,
6 Who (K)drink wine from [c]sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,
Yet they have not (L)grieved over the ruin of Joseph.
7 Therefore, they will now (M)go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the (N)sprawlers’ [d]banqueting will [e]pass away.
Great Generosity
8 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been (A)given in the churches of (B)Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the (C)wealth of their liberality. 3 For I testify that (D)according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the (E)favor [a]of participation in the [b](F)support of the [c]saints, 5 and this, not as we had [d]expected, but they first (G)gave themselves to the Lord and to us by (H)the will of God. 6 So we (I)urged (J)Titus that as he had previously (K)made a beginning, so he would also complete in you (L)this gracious work as well.
7 But just as you (M)abound (N)in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the [e]love we inspired in you, see that you (O)abound in this gracious work also. 8 I (P)am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 9 For you know (Q)the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that (R)though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 10 I (S)give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin (T)a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 11 But now finish [f]doing it also, so that just as there was the (U)readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. 12 For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable (V)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— 14 at this present time your abundance being a supply for (W)their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for (X)your need, that there may be equality; 15 as it is written, “(Y)He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.