Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Confidence in the Lord[a]
11 I trust in the Lord for safety.
How foolish of you to say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to the mountains,[b]
2 because the wicked have drawn their bows and aimed their arrows
to shoot from the shadows at good people.
3 There is nothing a good person can do
when everything falls apart.”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
he has his throne in heaven.
He watches people everywhere
and knows what they are doing.
5 He examines the good and the wicked alike;
the lawless he hates with all his heart.
6 He sends down flaming coals[c] and burning sulfur on the wicked;
he punishes them with scorching winds.
7 The Lord is righteous and loves good deeds;
those who do them will live in his presence.
14 Those who survive will sing for joy. Those in the West will tell how great the Lord is, 15 and those in the East will praise him. The people who live along the sea will praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 16 From the most distant parts of the world we will hear songs in praise of Israel, the righteous nation.
But there is no hope for me! I am wasting away! Traitors continue to betray, and their treachery grows worse and worse. 17 Listen to me, everyone! There are terrors, pits, and traps waiting for you. 18 Anyone who tries to escape from the terror will fall in a pit, and anyone who escapes from the pit will be caught in a trap. Torrents of rain will pour from the sky, and earth's foundations will shake. 19 The earth will crack and shatter and split open. 20 The earth itself will stagger like a drunk, sway like a hut in a storm. The world is weighed down by its sins; it will collapse and never rise again.
21 A time is coming when the Lord will punish the powers above and the rulers of the earth. 22 God will crowd kings together like prisoners in a pit. He will shut them in prison until the time of their punishment comes. 23 The moon will grow dark, and the sun will no longer shine, for the Lord Almighty will be king. He will rule in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, and the leaders of the people will see his glory.
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant(A)
41 Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”
42 The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. 43 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! 44 Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. 45 But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk, 46 then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces[a] and make him share the fate of the disobedient.
47 “The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. 48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.