Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Reign of the Lord's Anointed
2 (A)Why do (B)the nations rage[a]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his (C)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (D)burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who (E)sits in the heavens (F)laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his (G)wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have (H)set my King
on (I)Zion, my (J)holy hill.”
12 “But they say, (A)‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to (B)the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says the Lord:
(C)Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done (D)a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?[a]
Do the mountain waters run dry,[b]
the cold flowing streams?
15 (E)But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to (F)false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
(G)in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
(H)not the highway,
16 making their land (I)a horror,
a thing (J)to be hissed at forever.
(K)Everyone who passes by it is horrified
(L)and shakes his head.
17 (M)Like the east wind (N)I will scatter them
before the enemy.
(O)I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they said, (P)“Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, (Q)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. (R)Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19 Hear me, O Lord,
and (S)listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 (T)Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet (U)they have dug a pit for my life.
(V)Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (W)deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless (X)and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 (Y)May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For (Z)they have dug a pit to take me
(AA)and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet (AB)you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
(AC)Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
The Mystery of Godliness
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
(A)He[a] was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated[b] by the Spirit,[c]
(B)seen by angels,
(C)proclaimed among the nations,
(D)believed on in the world,
(E)taken up in glory.
Some Will Depart from the Faith
4 Now (F)the Spirit expressly says that (G)in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to (H)deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of (I)liars whose consciences are seared, 3 (J)who forbid marriage and (K)require abstinence from foods (L)that God created (M)to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (N)everything created by God is good, and (O)nothing is to be rejected if it is (P)received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy (Q)by the word of God and prayer.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.