Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 65[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.
65 Praise awaits you,[b] O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
2 You hear prayers;[c]
all people approach you.[d]
3 Our record of sins overwhelms me,[e]
but you forgive[f] our acts of rebellion.
4 How blessed[g] is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.[h]
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.[i]
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.[j]
All the ends of the earth trust in you,[k]
as well as those living across the wide seas.[l]
6 You created the mountains by your power,[m]
and demonstrated your strength.[n]
7 You calmed the raging seas[o]
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.[p]
8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;[q]
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.[r]
9 You visit the earth and give it rain;[s]
you make it rich and fertile.[t]
God’s streams are full of water;[u]
you provide grain for the people of the earth,[v]
for you have prepared the earth in this way.[w]
10 You saturate[x] its furrows,
and soak[y] its plowed ground.[z]
With rain showers you soften its soil,[aa]
and make its crops grow.[ab]
11 You crown the year with your good blessings,[ac]
and you leave abundance in your wake.[ad]
12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,[ae]
and the hills are clothed with joy.[af]
13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.
The Locusts’ Devastation
2 Blow the trumpet[a] in Zion;
sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,
for the day of the Lord is about to come.
Indeed,[b] it is near![c]
2 It will be[d] a day of dreadful darkness,[e]
a day of foreboding storm clouds,[f]
like blackness[g] spread over the mountains.
It is a huge and powerful army[h]—
there has never been anything like it ever before,
and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come![i]
3 Like fire they devour everything in their path;[j]
a flame blazes behind them.
The land looks like the Garden of Eden[k] before them,
but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness—
for nothing escapes them![l]
4 They look like horses;[m]
they charge ahead like war horses.
5 They sound like[n] chariots rumbling[o] over mountain tops,
like the crackling[p] of blazing fire consuming stubble,
like the noise of[q] a mighty army[r] being drawn up for battle.[s]
6 People[t] writhe in fear when they see them.[u]
All their faces turn pale with fright.[v]
7 They[w] charge[x] like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.[y]
Each one proceeds on his course;
they do not alter[z] their path.
8 They do not jostle one another;[aa]
each of them marches straight ahead.[ab]
They burst through[ac] the city defenses[ad]
and do not break ranks.
9 They rush into[ae] the city;
they scale[af] its walls.
They climb up into the houses;
they go in through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes[ag] before them;[ah]
the sky reverberates.[ai]
The sun and the moon grow dark;
the stars refuse to shine.[aj]
11 The voice of the Lord thunders[ak] as he leads his army.[al]
Indeed, his warriors[am] are innumerable;[an]
Surely his command is carried out![ao]
Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome[ap]
and very terrifying—who can survive[aq] it?
Continue in What You Have Learned
10 You, however,[a] have followed my teaching, my[b] way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings[c] that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra.[d] I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all. 12 Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse,[e] deceiving others and being deceived themselves.[f] 14 You, however, must continue[g] in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know[h] who taught you[i] 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.