Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(A special psalm and a prayer by David when he was in the cave.)
A Prayer for Help
1 (A) I pray to you, Lord.
I beg for mercy.
2 I tell you all my worries
and my troubles,
3 and whenever I feel low,
you are there to guide me.
A trap has been hidden
along my pathway.
4 Even if you look,
you won't see anyone
who cares enough
to walk beside me.
There is no place to hide,
and no one who really cares.
5 I pray to you, Lord!
You are my place of safety,
and you are my choice
in the land of the living.
Please answer my prayer.
I am completely helpless.
6 Help! They are chasing me,
and they are too strong.
7 Rescue me from this prison,
so I can praise your name.
And when your people notice
your wonderful kindness to me,
they will rush to my side.
Habakkuk's Prayer
3 This is my prayer:[a]
2 I know your reputation, Lord,
and I am amazed
at what you have done.
Please turn from your anger
and be merciful;
do for us what you did
for our ancestors.
3 You are the same Holy God
who came from Teman
and Paran[b] to help us.
The brightness of your glory
covered the heavens,
and your praises were heard
everywhere on earth.
4 Your glory shone like the sun,
and light flashed from your hands,
hiding your mighty power.
5 Dreadful diseases and plagues
marched in front
and followed behind.
6 When you stopped,
the earth shook;
when you stared,
nations trembled;
when you walked
along your ancient paths,
eternal mountains and hills
crumbled and collapsed.
7 The tents of desert tribes
in Cushan and Midian[c]
were ripped apart.
8 Our Lord, were you angry
with the monsters
of the deep?[d]
You attacked in your chariot
and wiped them out.
9 Your arrows were ready
and obeyed your commands.[e]
You split the earth apart
with rivers and streams;
10 mountains trembled
at the sight of you;
rain poured from the clouds;
ocean waves roared and rose.
11 The sun and moon stood still,
while your arrows and spears
flashed like lightning.
12 In your furious anger,
you trampled on nations
13 to rescue your people
and save your chosen one.[f]
You crushed a nation's ruler
and stripped his evil kingdom
of its power.[g]
14 His troops had come like a storm,
hoping to scatter us
and glad to gobble us up.
To them we were refugees
in hiding—
but you smashed their heads
with their own weapons.[h]
15 Then your chariots churned
the waters of the sea.
Habakkuk's Response to God's Message
5 (A) Don't forget what happened to those people the Lord rescued from Egypt. Some of them did not have faith, and he later destroyed them. 6 You also know about the angels[a] who didn't do their work and left their proper places. God chained them with everlasting chains and is now keeping them in dark pits until the great day of judgment. 7 (B) We should also be warned by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah[b] and the nearby towns. Their people became immoral and committed all sorts of sexual sins. Then God made an example of them and punished them with eternal fire.
8 The people I am talking about are behaving just like those dreamers who destroyed their own bodies. They reject all authority and insult angels. 9 (C) Even Michael, the chief angel, didn't dare to insult the devil, when the two of them were arguing about the body of Moses.[c] All Michael said was, “The Lord will punish you!”
10 But these people insult powers they don't know anything about. They are like senseless animals that end up getting destroyed, because they live only by their feelings. 11 (D) Now they are in for real trouble. They have followed Cain's example[d] and have made the same mistake that Balaam[e] did by caring only for money. They have also rebelled against God, just as Korah did.[f] Because of all this, they will be destroyed.
12 These people are filthy minded, and by their shameful and selfish actions they spoil the meals you eat together. They are like clouds blown along by the wind, but never bringing any rain. They are like leafless trees, uprooted and dead, and unable to produce fruit. 13 Their shameful deeds show up like foam on wild ocean waves. They are like wandering stars forever doomed to the darkest pits of hell.
14 (E) Enoch was the seventh person after Adam, and he was talking about these people when he said:
Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of holy angels 15 to judge everyone. He will punish all those ungodly people for all the evil things they have done. The Lord will surely punish those ungodly sinners for every evil thing they have ever said about him.
16 These people grumble and complain and live by their own selfish desires. They brag about themselves and flatter others to get what they want.
More Warnings
17 My dear friends, remember the warning you were given by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 (F) They told you that near the end of time, selfish and godless people would start making fun of God. 19 And now these people are already making you turn against each other. They think only about this life, and they don't have God's Spirit.
20 Dear friends, keep building on the foundation of your most holy faith, as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray. 21 And keep in step with God's love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life.
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