Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
142 (0) A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer:
2 (1) With my voice I cry to Adonai,
with my voice I plead to Adonai for mercy.
3 (2) Before him I pour out my complaint,
before him I tell my trouble.
4 (3) When my spirit faints within me,
you watch over my path.
By the road that I am walking
they have hidden a snare for me.
5 (4) Look to my right, and see
that no one recognizes me.
I have no way of escape;
nobody cares for me.
6 (5) I cried out to you, Adonai;
I said, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
7 (6) Listen to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
8 (7) Lead me out of prison,
so that I can give thanks to your name;
in me the righteous will be crowning themselves,
because you will have treated me generously.
3 This is a prayer of Havakuk the prophet about mistakes:
2 Adonai, I have heard the report about you.
Adonai, I am awed by your deeds.
Bring your work to life in our own age,
make it known in our own time;
but in anger, remember compassion.
3 God comes from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Pa’ran. (Selah)
His splendor covers the sky,
and his praise fills the earth.
4 His brightness is like the sun,
rays come forth from his hand —
that is where his power is concealed.
5 Before him goes pestilence,
and close behind, the plague.
6 When he stands up, the earth shakes;
when he looks, the nations tremble,
the eternal mountains are smashed to pieces,
the ancient hills sink down;
the ancient paths are his.
7 I saw trouble in the tents of Kushan
and the tent hangings shaking in the land of Midyan.
8 Adonai, is it against the rivers,
against the rivers that your anger is inflamed?
Is your fury directed at the sea?
Is that why you ride on your horses,
and drive your chariots to victory?
9 You brandish your naked bow
and order it filled with arrows. (Selah)
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains see you and tremble;
a torrent of water streams by;
the deep thunders forth,
as it raises enormous waves.
11 The sun and moon stand still in the sky
at the light of your arrows speeding by,
at the gleam of your glittering spear.
12 In fury you stride across the land,
in anger you trample the nations.
13 You come out to save your people,
to save your anointed one;
you crush the head of the house of the wicked,
uncovering its foundation all the way to the neck.
14 With their own rods you pierce the head of their warriors,
who come like a whirlwind to scatter us,
who rejoice at the prospect
of devouring the poor in secret.
15 You tread down the sea with your horses,
churning up the mighty waters.
16 When I heard, my whole body trembled,
my lips shook at the sound;
weakness overcame my limbs,
my legs gave way beneath me.
But I wait calmly for the day of trouble,
when it comes upon our assailants.
5 Since you already know all this, my purpose is only to remind you that Adonai, who once delivered the people from Egypt, later destroyed those who did not trust. 6 And the angels that did not keep within their original authority, but abandoned their proper sphere, he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for the Judgment of the Great Day. 7 And S’dom, ‘Amora and the surrounding cities, following a pattern like theirs, committing sexual sins and perversions, lie exposed as a warning of the everlasting fire awaiting those who must undergo punishment.
8 Likewise, these people, with their visions, defile their own flesh, despise godly authority and insult angelic beings. 9 When Mikha’el, one of the ruling angels, took issue with the Adversary, arguing over the body of Moshe, he did not dare bring against him an insulting charge, but said, “May Adonai rebuke you.” 10 However, these people insult anything they don’t understand; and what they do understand naturally, without thinking, like animals — by these things they are destroyed!
11 Woe to them, in that they have walked the road of Kayin, they have given themselves over for money to the error of Bil‘am, they have been destroyed in the rebellion of Korach. 12 These men are filthy spots at your festive gatherings meant to foster love; they share your meals without a qualm, while caring only for themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; trees without fruit even in autumn, and doubly dead because they have been uprooted; 13 savage sea-waves heaving forth their shameful deeds like foam; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14 Moreover, Hanokh, in the seventh generation starting with Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, “Look! Adonai came with his myriads of holy ones 15 to execute judgment against everyone, that is, to convict all the godless for their godless deeds which they have done in such a godless way, and for all the harsh words these godless sinners have spoken against him.”
16 These people are grumblers and complainers, they follow their evil passions, their mouths speak grandiosities, and they flatter others to gain advantage.
17 But you, dear friends, keep in mind the words spoken in advance by the emissaries of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 18 They told you, “During the acharit-hayamim there will be scoffers following their own godless passions.” 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are controlled by their impulses, because they don’t have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, and pray in union with the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 Thus keep yourselves in God’s love, as you wait for our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to give you the mercy that leads to eternal life.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.