Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Help against the Sinful
7 O Lord my God, in You I have put my trust. Save me from all those who come for me, and keep me safe. 2 Or they will tear me like a lion, carrying me away where there is no one to help. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, and there is guilt on my hands, 4 if I have done wrong to him who was at peace with me, or without a reason have robbed him who worked against me, 5 let him who hates me come for me and catch me. Let him break me under his feet until I die, and lay my honor in the dust.
6 Rise up in Your anger, O Lord. Rise up against the anger of those who hate me. Awake, my God, and help me. Prove what is right. 7 Let the people gather around You, and rule over them from Your throne. 8 May the Lord judge which people are guilty or not. O Lord, judge in my favor if I am right with You, and if I am without blame. 9 Let the sins of the sinful stop. But build up those who are right with You. For the God Who is right and good tests both the hearts and the minds. 10 I am kept safe by God, Who saves those who are pure in heart.
11 God is always right in how He judges. He is angry with the sinful every day. 12 If a man is not sorry for his sins and will not turn from them, God will make His sword sharp. He will string His bow and make it ready. 13 He takes up His sword and the bow of death. And He makes arrows of fire.
14 See how the sinful man thinks up sins and plans trouble and lies start growing inside him. 15 He has dug out a deep hole, and has fallen into the hole he has dug. 16 The trouble he makes will return to him. When he hurts others it will come down on his own head. 17 I will give thanks to the Lord because He is right and good. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
A Call to Turn from Sin
5 Hear this word, O people of Israel, this song of sorrow which I sing for you: 2 “The young pure woman Israel has fallen, and she will not rise again. She is left alone on her land. There is no one to raise her up.” 3 For the Lord God says, “The city of Israel that sends out a thousand soldiers will have a hundred left. And the one that sends out a hundred will have ten left.”
4 The Lord says to the people of Israel, “Look for Me and live. 5 But do not look for Bethel. Do not go to Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be taken away to a strange land, and Bethel will come to nothing.” 6 Look for the Lord and live, or He will break out like fire in the family of Joseph. It will destroy, and no one in Bethel will be able to stop it. 7 You turn what is right into something bitter. You throw what is right and good down to the earth.
8 The Lord made the stars of Pleiades and Orion. He changes darkness into morning, and turns day into night. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth. The Lord is His name. 9 He destroys the strong, so that the strong city is laid waste.
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His shining-greatness, He will sit down on His throne of greatness. All the angels will be with Him. 32 All the nations of the earth will be gathered before Him. He will divide them from each other as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on His right side, but the goats He will put on His left side.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right side, ‘Come, you who have been called by My Father. Come into the holy nation that has been made ready for you before the world was made. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me water to drink. I was a stranger and you gave Me a room. 36 I had no clothes and you gave Me clothes to wear. I was sick and you cared for Me. I was in prison and you came to see Me.’
37 “Then those that are right with God will say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? When did we see You thirsty and give You a drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and give You a room? When did we see You had no clothes and we gave You clothes? 39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and we came to You?’ 40 Then the King will say, ‘For sure, I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of My brothers, you have done it to Me.’
41 “Then the King will say to those on His left side, ‘Go away from Me! You are guilty! Go into the fire that lasts forever. It has been made ready for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry but you did not give Me food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give Me water to drink. 43 I was a stranger but you did not give Me a room. I had no clothes but you did not give Me clothes. I was sick and in prison but you did not come to see Me.’
44 “Then they will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger? When did we see You without clothes or sick or in prison and did not care for You?’ 45 Then He will say to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go to the place where they will be punished forever. But those right with God will have life that lasts forever.”
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.