Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer of an Old Man
71 I have a safe place in you, O Lord. Let me never be ashamed. 2 Because You are right and good, take me out of trouble. Turn Your ear to me and save me. 3 Be a rock to me where I live, where I may always come and where I will be safe. For You are my rock and my safe place. 4 O my God, take me from the hand of the sinful, from the hand of the wrong-doer and the man without pity. 5 For You are my hope, O Lord God. You are my trust since I was young. 6 You have kept me safe from birth. It was You Who watched over me from the day I was born. My praise is always of You.
20 Why does special perfume come to Me from Sheba, or sweet spices from a far away land? I will not receive your burnt gifts on the altar in worship. The gifts you give on the altar are not pleasing to Me.” 21 So the Lord says, “See, I am laying things in front of these people, and they will fall over them. Fathers and sons will fall together, and neighbor and friend will die.”
Armies from the North
22 The Lord says, “See, a people is coming from the north country. A great nation is being raised up from the farthest parts of the earth. 23 They take hold of bow and spear. They are hard on people and have no pity. Their voice sounds like the sea. They ride on horses, dressed as a man for battle against you, O people of Zion!” 24 We have heard about it. Our hands fall weak. Suffering has taken hold of us, like the pain of a woman giving birth. 25 Do not go out into the field, and do not walk on the road. For the one who hates us has a sword. Fear is all around us. 26 O daughter of my people, dress in cloth made from hair and roll in ashes. Have sorrow as if you lost your only son. Cry with a bitter cry. For all at once the destroyer will come upon us.
27 “I have asked you to test My people, that you may know and test their ways.” 28 All of them are strongwilled in turning to their own way, going about telling stories to hurt people. They are brass and iron. All of them are sinful. 29 Air is blown hard on the fire to burn up the lead. It is of no use because the sinful ones are not taken away. 30 They are called waste silver, because the Lord has turned away from them.
Paul and Silas Start a Church in Thessalonica
17 After Paul and Silas had gone through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to the city of Thessalonica. The Jews had a place of worship there. 2 Paul went in as he always did. They gathered together each Day of Rest for three weeks and he taught them from the Holy Writings. 3 He showed them that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead. He said, “I preach this Jesus to you. He is the Christ.” 4 Some of them put their trust in Christ and followed Paul and Silas. There were many Greek people and some leading women who honored God among those who had become Christians.
The Jews Make It Hard for Paul and Silas
5 The Jews who did not put their trust in Christ became jealous. They took along some sinful men from the center of town where people gather and brought them out on the street. These angry men started all the people in the city to cry out with loud voices. They went to the house of Jason hoping to find Paul and Silas there and bring them out to the people. 6 But they did not find them there. Then they dragged Jason and some other Christians out in front of the leaders and cried out, “These men who have been making trouble over all the world have come here also. 7 And Jason has taken them in. They say there is another King called Jesus. They are working against the laws made by Caesar.”
8 When the people and city leaders heard this, they were troubled. 9 Then they made Jason and the others pay some money and let them go.
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