Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent
71 (A)In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of (B)refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have (C)given the command to save me,
for you are my (D)rock and my fortress.
20 (A)What use to me is (B)frankincense that comes from (C)Sheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
(D)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(E)‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the Lord:
(F)“Behold, a people is coming (G)from the north country,
a great nation is stirring from (H)the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are (I)cruel and have no mercy;
(J)the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
(K)our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
(L)pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
(M)terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, (N)put on sackcloth,
and (O)roll in ashes;
(P)make mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you (Q)a tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and (R)test their ways.
28 (S)They are all stubbornly rebellious,
(T)going about with slanders;
they are (U)bronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The (V)bellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
(W)in vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 (X)Rejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to (A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, (B)as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them (C)from the Scriptures, 3 (D)explaining and proving that it was necessary for (E)the Christ to suffer and (F)to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And (G)some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did (H)a great many of the devout (I)Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 (J)But the Jews[a] (K)were jealous, and taking (L)some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, (M)they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against (N)the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is (O)another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.