Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The fool says in his heart,^[c]
    “There is no God.”
People are depraved and their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does what is right.
² The Lord^[d] looks down from heaven
    upon the entire human race,
to see if there are any who act with wisdom,
    if even a single one seeks God.
³ But they have all left the right path;
    all alike are corrupt.
There is no one who does what is right,
    not even one.^[e]
4 Have all these evildoers^[f] no understanding?
    They devour my people as they eat bread,
    and they never call upon the Lord.
⁵ But later they will be filled with terror,
    for God is on the side of the righteous.^[g]
6 They sought to crush the hopes of the poor,^[h]
    but the Lord is their refuge.
⁷ Who will accomplish the salvation of Israel
    that is to come out of Zion?^[i]
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
    Jacob will rejoice and Israel will exult.

¹³ Behold, he advances
    like storm clouds;
    like a whirlwind are his chariots.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
    Disaster threatens us. We are lost.
¹⁴ Cleanse your heart of all wickedness
    so that you may be saved.
How long will you allow evil thoughts to lodge within you?
¹⁵ A voice from Dan^[a] declares the news
    proclaiming disaster from Mount Ephraim.
¹⁶ Announce this to the nations,
    make it known to Jerusalem:
Besiegers are coming from a distant land,
    shouting their war cry against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷ They surround her like watchmen guarding a field
    because she has rebelled against me, says the Lord.
¹⁸ Your conduct and your evil deeds
    have brought this upon you.
How bitter is your punishment!
    It has pierced the depths of your heart.
¹⁹ How great is my anguish
    that causes me to writhe in pain!
I cannot keep silent in my agony
    as my heart beats wildly.
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet
    and that of the battle cry.
²⁰ One disaster follows upon another;
    the entire land lies in ruins.
My tents are suddenly destroyed,
    everything that offered me shelter.
²¹ How long must I see the standard raised
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²⁹ At the shouts of horsemen and archers
    every city takes to flight.
Some people crawl into the thickets
    while others scale the rocks.
All the cities are abandoned,
    with no one to live in them.
³⁰ What are you doing, you who are doomed,
    by clothing yourself in purple,
adorning yourself with ornaments of gold
    and shading your eyes with cosmetics?
You are beautifying yourself in vain,
    for your lovers despise you,
    and they only seek your life.
³¹ I hear cries like those of a woman in labor,
    the anguished groans of one bearing her first child.
They are the screams of daughter Zion gasping for breath
    as she stretches forth her hands and cries out,
“Woe is me; I am dying.
    I sink exhausted before my murderers.”

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.
¹² The hired hand,
who is not the shepherd
nor the owner of the sheep,
sees the wolf approaching,
and he leaves the sheep and runs away,
while the wolf catches and scatters them.
¹³ He runs away
because he is only a hired hand
and he has no concern for the sheep.
¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd.
I know my own,
and my own know me,
¹⁵ just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father.
And I lay down my life for the sheep.
¹⁶ “I have other sheep too
that do not belong to this fold.
I must lead them as well,
and they will hear my voice.
Thus, there will only be one flock,
one shepherd.
¹⁷ “This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life
in order to take it up again.
¹⁸ No one takes it away from me.
I lay it down of my own free will.
And as I have the power to lay it down,
I have the power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”