Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
17 Do good to Your servant so I may live and obey Your Word. 18 Open my eyes so that I may see great things from Your Law. 19 I am a stranger on the earth. Do not hide Your Word from me. 20 My soul is crushed with a desire for Your Law at all times. 21 You speak sharp words to the proud, the hated ones, because they turn from Your Word. 22 Take away shame and bad feelings from me, for I have kept Your Law. 23 Even if rulers sit together and speak against me, Your servant thinks about Your Law. 24 Your Law is my joy and it tells me what to do.
25 My soul is laid in the dust. Give me new life because of Your Word. 26 I have told about my ways, and You have answered me. Teach me Your Law. 27 Make me understand the way of Your Law so I will talk about Your great works. 28 My soul cries because of sorrow. Give me strength because of Your Word. 29 Take the false way from me. Show Your loving-favor by giving me Your Law. 30 I have chosen the faithful way. I have set Your Law in front of me. 31 I hold on to Your Law, O Lord. Do not put me to shame. 32 I will run the way of Your Law, for You will give me a willing heart.
13 On that day the beautiful, pure, young women and the young men will lose their strength and fall because of thirst. 14 As for those who swear by the false gods of Samaria, saying, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’ and ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’ they will fall and never rise again.”
The Lord Judges Israel
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, “Break the tops of the pillars so that the bases shake! Break them to pieces on the heads of all the people! Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away. 2 Even if they dig into the place of the dead, My hand will take them from there. Even if they go up to heaven, I will bring them down from there. 3 Even if they hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I will find them and take them from there. Even if they hide themselves from My eyes on the bottom of the sea, there I will tell the large sea-snake to bite them. 4 Even if they are taken away to a strange land by those who hate them, there I will have the sword kill them. I will set My eyes against them to hurt them, and not to bring good to them.”
Christ Is Our Helper
2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, there is One Who will go between him and the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the One Who is right with God. 2 He paid for our sins with His own blood. He did not pay for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.
3 We can be sure that we know Him if we obey His teaching. 4 Anyone who says, “I know Him,” but does not obey His teaching is a liar. There is no truth in him. 5 But whoever obeys His Word has the love of God made perfect in him. This is the way to know if you belong to Christ. 6 The one who says he belongs to Christ should live the same kind of life Christ lived.
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