Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God Judges

94 O Lord, the God Who punishes, God Who punishes, let Your light shine! ² Rise up, You Judge of the earth. Pay what is owed to the proud. ³ How long will the sinful, O Lord, how long will the sinful be full of joy? ⁴ They pour out proud words. All those who do wrong, talk about themselves as if they are great people. ⁵ They crush Your people, O Lord. They bring trouble upon Your chosen nation. ⁶ They kill the woman whose husband has died and the stranger. They kill the children who have no parents. ⁷ And they say, “The Lord does not see. The God of Jacob does not care.”

⁸ Listen, you foolish ones among the people. You fools, when will you understand? ⁹ He Who made the ear, does He not hear? He Who made the eye, does He not see? ¹⁰ He Who punishes nations so they might give up sin, will He not speak strong words to them? Is He not the One Who teaches man all he knows? ¹¹ The Lord knows the thoughts of man. He knows that they are empty.

¹² Happy is the man who is punished until he gives up sin, O Lord, and whom You teach from Your Law. ¹³ You give him rest from days of trouble, until a hole is dug for the sinful. ¹⁴ For the Lord will not turn away from His people. He will not leave His chosen nation. ¹⁵ For what is decided will be right and good. And all those whose hearts are right will follow it. ¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the sinful? Who will take a stand for me against those who do wrong?

¹⁷ If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have been among the dead. ¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is going out from under me,” Your loving-kindness held me up, O Lord. ¹⁹ When my worry is great within me, Your comfort brings joy to my soul. ²⁰ Can a sinful throne that brings trouble by its laws be a friend to You? ²¹ They join together against the life of those who are right and good. They send those who are not guilty to their death. ²² But the Lord has been my strong place, my God, and the rock where I am safe. ²³ He has brought back their own sin upon them and will destroy them for their wrong-doing. The Lord our God will destroy them.

No Water—No Food

14 The Word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah when there was no water: ² “Judah is full of sorrow and her gates are weak. Her people sit on the ground in sorrow, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. ³ Their men of honor have sent their servants for water. They have come to the wells and found no water, and returned with their jars empty. They have been put to shame and troubled, and covered their heads. ⁴ The ground is dried up because there has been no rain on the land. The farmers have been put to shame and have covered their heads. ⁵ Even the deer in the field leaves her young one which has just been born, because there is no grass. ⁶ The wild donkeys stand on the open hill-tops. They breathe hard for air like wild dogs. Their eyes become weak because there is nothing to eat.

⁷ “Even when our sins speak against us, O Lord, do something for the good of Your name. For we have fallen away from You many times. We have sinned against You. ⁸ You are the Hope of Israel, the One Who saves it in time of trouble. Why are You like a stranger in the land? Why are You like a traveler who has set up his tent for the night? ⁹ Why are You like a man surprised, like a strong man who cannot save? Yet You are among us, O Lord, and we are called by Your name. Do not leave us!”

¹⁰ The Lord says this about these people, “They have loved to go their own way. They have not held their feet back. So the Lord is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their wrong-doing and punish their sins.”

¹⁷ You will say to them, ‘Let my eyes flow with tears without stopping night and day. For my people have been crushed with a very hard beating. ¹⁸ If I go out to the country, I see those killed by the sword! Or if I go into the city, I see diseases because of hunger! For both the man who speaks for God and the religious leader have gone around and around in the land they do not know.’”

The People Cry to the Lord

¹⁹ Have You nothing at all to do with Judah any more? Do You hate Zion? Why have You punished us so that we cannot be healed? We waited for peace, but nothing good came. We waited for a time of healing, but there is much trouble. ²⁰ We know that we are sinful, O Lord, and we know the sin of our fathers. For we have sinned against You. ²¹ For the good of Your name do not hate us. Do not put to shame the throne of Your shining-greatness. Remember and do not break Your agreement with us. ²² Are there any among the false gods of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens give rain? Is it not You, O Lord our God? So we hope in You. For You are the One Who has done all these things.

Jesus Tells How Peter Will Lie about Him ^(A)

³¹ The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has wanted to have you. He will divide you as wheat is divided from that which is no good. ³² But I have prayed for you. I have prayed that your faith will be strong and that you will not give up. When you return, you must help to make your brothers strong.” ³³ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison and to die with You!”

⁵⁴ Then they led Jesus away to the house of the head religious leader. Peter followed a long way behind Him.

Peter Said He Did Not Know Jesus ^(A)

⁵⁵ They built a fire in the yard and sat down. Peter sat down with them. ⁵⁶ One of the servant-girls saw Peter as he sat by the fire and looked right at him. She said, “This man was with Jesus also.” ⁵⁷ Peter lied and said, “Woman, I do not know Him.” ⁵⁸ After awhile another person saw him and said, “You are one of them also.” Peter said, “No, sir, I am not.” ⁵⁹ About an hour later another person said the same thing, “For sure, this man was with Jesus also because he is from Galilee.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Sir, I do not know what you are saying.” And at once, while he was talking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. He remembered the Lord had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will say three times that you do not know Me.” ⁶² Peter went outside and cried with a troubled heart.