Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Prophet’s Grief over the People’s Suffering
18 My joy is gone,
grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.
19 Listen! the cry of the daughter of my people,
far and wide in the land!
“Is the Lord no longer in Zion,
is her King no longer in her midst?”
Why do they provoke me with their idols,
with their foreign nonentities?(A)
20 “The harvest is over, the summer ended,
but we have not yet been saved!”
21 I am broken by the injury of the daughter of my people.
I am in mourning; horror has seized me.(B)
22 Is there no balm in Gilead,[a]
no healer there?
Why does new flesh not grow
over the wound of the daughter of my people?(C)
23 Oh, that my head were a spring of water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
over the slain from the daughter of my people!
Chapter 9
The Corruption of the People
1 Oh, that I had in the wilderness
a travelers’ lodging!
That I might leave my people
and depart from them.
They are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
Psalm 79[a]
A Prayer for Jerusalem
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.(A)
2 They have left the corpses of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of those devoted to you for the beasts of the earth.(B)
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and no one is left to do the burying.(C)
4 We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.(D)
II
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous anger keep burning like fire?(E)
6 Pour out your wrath on nations that do not recognize you,
on kingdoms that do not call on your name,(F)
7 For they have devoured Jacob,
laid waste his dwelling place.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers;
let your compassion move quickly ahead of us,
for we have been brought very low.(G)
III
9 Help us, God our savior,
on account of the glory of your name.
Deliver us, pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.(H)
III. Problems of Discipline
Chapter 2
Prayer and Conduct. 1 [a]First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,(A) 2 for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. 3 This is good and pleasing to God our savior,(B) 4 who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.(C)
5 For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and the human race,
Christ Jesus, himself human,(D)
6 who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony[b] at the proper time.(E) 7 For this I was appointed preacher and apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.(F)
Chapter 16
The Parable of the Dishonest Steward.[a] 1 Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2 He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ 3 The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 [b]He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ 7 Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors[c] of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ 8 And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
Application of the Parable.[d] “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.[e](A) 9 I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,[f] so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.(B) 10 [g]The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.(C) 11 If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13 No servant can serve two masters.[h] He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”(D)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.