Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ Arrogance pours from their mouths;
    all these troublemakers brag of their exploits.
⁵ They have broken Your people to pieces, O Eternal One,
    and brought ruin to Your future generations.
⁶ They slay a widow, kill a newcomer,
    and murder an orphan.
⁷ Then they say, “The Eternal can’t see what we’re up to;
    the God of Jacob’s people pays no attention to us.”

⁸ Think, brainless people;
    stupid people, when will you get it?
⁹ Does the God who set the ear in its place not hear?
    Does the God who made the eye not see?
¹⁰ Does the God who teaches the nations
    and guides humanity to knowledge,
    not exercise just correction?
¹¹ The Eternal knows the highest thoughts of the wise,
    and they are worthless.^[a]

¹² How fortunate are those You discipline, O Eternal One,
    those You train by Your divine law;
¹³ You relieve them in times of distress,
    until a grave is dug for evildoers.
¹⁴ The Eternal will not abandon His people;
    He will not turn away from those He redeemed
¹⁵ Because justice is coming for those who do what is right
    and all the good-hearted will pursue it.

¹⁶ Who will back me up when evildoers come against me?
    Who is willing to take my side against the wicked?
¹⁷ If the Eternal had not come to my rescue,
    my soul would have descended to the land where death silences every voice.
¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is slipping!”
    Your unfailing love, O Eternal One, held me up.
¹⁹ When anxiety overtakes me and worries are many,
    Your comfort lightens my soul.
²⁰ Can wicked tyrants be Your allies?
    Will You align with rulers who create havoc with unjust decrees?
²¹ They have joined forces against the life of the just-living, the right-seeking,
    and have sentenced the innocent to death.
²² But the Eternal has been my citadel;
    my God, a sure safe haven.
²³ He will fold their wickedness back upon them,
    and because they are malicious, He will silence them.
    The Eternal, our True God, will scatter them.

² Eternal One: Judah mourns and her cities grow weak;
        her people collapse to the ground in grief.
        The cries of Jerusalem echo through the city.
³     The nobles send their servants for water that is not there.
        They come to cisterns only to return home with their jars empty.
    They have all been shamed, humiliated,
        so they cover their heads.
⁴     The fields are dry and the ground is cracked because there is no rain.
        The farmers suffer shame; they, too, cover their heads.
⁵     Even the animals of the field struggle:
        the devoted doe walks away from her newborn fawn,
        all because there is no grass to be found.
⁶     The wild donkeys stand on barren hills panting like jackals in the dry heat.
        With no plants to eat, their bodies weaken—their eyes grow dim.

⁷ People (to God): We know our guilt cries out against us,
        but O Eternal One, step in now and do something!
    For the sake of Your own good name, help us.
        It’s true—our betrayals are many, so much have we sinned against You.
⁸     But O Hope of Israel, her Savior in times of trouble, don’t forget us!
        Why are You acting like a stranger here in Your own land,
    Treating us like some traveler who’s only staying for the night?
⁹     Why do You seem surprised,
        like a warrior who cannot defend us?
    But we know You are here, among us even now.
        Eternal One—we are Your people.
    You know us by name;
        do not disown us!

Jeremiah: May my eyes fill with tears day and night.
    Let me not stop crying for what I see:
        for my tender virgin daughter—my people—
    Has suffered a crushing blow.
        I see her now with a serious, gaping wound.
¹⁸     If I go to the countryside, I see the bodies of those cut down in war;
        if I walk into the city, I see the misery brought on by famine.
    And yet the prophets and priests go about their business in blissful ignorance,
        unaware of what they are doing.

¹⁹     (to God) Have You abandoned Judah completely?
        Do You now hate Zion?
    Why have You wounded us beyond healing?
        We longed for peace, but nothing good ever came.
        We hoped for healing, but only terror came our way.
²⁰     We admit our wickedness, O Eternal One.
        We confess the sins of our ancestors.
        We know we, too, have sinned against You.
²¹     For the sake of Your good name, do not disown us;
        do not dishonor the throne of Your glory.
    O God, remember Your people!
        Do not break Your covenant with us.
²²     Do any of the foreign idols bring the rain?
        Do the showers fall from heaven by themselves?
    No. They come from You, Eternal One our God.
        That is why our hope is in You, for You alone do all this.