Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Song of Praise for Being Kept Safe

21 O Lord, in Your strength the king is glad! How great is his joy in Your saving power! ² You have given him the desire of his heart. You have not kept from him anything that he has asked for. ³ For You meet him with gifts of good things. You set a crown of pure gold on his head. ⁴ He asked You for life and You gave it to him, a long life forever and ever. ⁵ His honor is great because of Your help. You have given him greatness and power. ⁶ You have given him honor and respect forever. And You make him glad with the joy of being with You.

⁷ For the king trusts in the Lord. Because of the loving-kindness of the Most High, he will not be shaken. ⁸ Your hand will find all who fight against You. Your right hand will find those who hate You. ⁹ You will make them like a stove of fire in the time of Your anger. The Lord will eat them up in His anger. And the fire will destroy them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their children from the earth, and their sons from the children of men. ¹¹ For they planned much trouble against You. They have made sinful plans that will come to nothing. ¹² For You will make them turn their backs when You take up Your bow against them. ¹³ Be honored in Your strength, O Lord. We will sing and praise Your power.

The Earth Will Be Punished

24 See, the Lord will lay the earth waste. He will destroy it, turn its ground up-side-down, and send its people everywhere. ² What happens to the people will happen to the religious leader. What happens to the man servant will happen to his owner. The woman servant will be like her owner. The buyer will be like the seller. The giver will be like the receiver. The one who lets another use his money will be like the one who uses it. ³ All the earth will be laid waste and destroyed, for the Lord has said this.

⁴ The earth cries in sorrow and wastes away. The world becomes weak with sorrow and wastes away, together with the honored people of the earth. ⁵ The earth has been made unclean by its people. They have sinned and not obeyed the laws, and have broken the agreement that was to be forever. ⁶ So the earth is cursed and those who live in it suffer for their guilt. So the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

⁷ The new wine dries up and the vine wastes away. All the glad in heart are in sorrow. ⁸ The happiness of the music-makers stops. The noise of those filled with joy stops. The happiness of the harp stops. ⁹ They do not drink wine with singing. Strong drink tastes bad to those who drink it. ¹⁰ The city of trouble is broken down. Every house is shut up so no one may go in. ¹¹ There is a crying out in the streets about the wine. All joy turns to darkness. The happiness of the earth is gone. ¹² The city is laid waste. The gate is broken to pieces. ¹³ For this is how it will be on the earth among the nations. It will be like the shaking of an olive tree, and like what is left after the grapes have been gathered. ¹⁴ They raise their voices. They call out for joy. They cry out from the west about the wonderful power of the Lord. ¹⁵ So honor the Lord in the east. Honor the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea. ¹⁶ From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Praise the One Who is right and good.” But I say, “I waste away! I waste away! It is bad for me! The false ones are not faithful. Yes, their way is very false.”

Paul Tells Them to Live Holy Lives

4 Christian brothers, we ask you, because of the Lord Jesus, to keep on living in a way that will please God. I have already told you how to grow in the Christian life. ² The Lord Jesus gave us the right and the power to tell you what to do. ³ God wants you to be holy. You must keep away from sex sins. ⁴ God wants each of you to use his body in the right way by keeping it holy and by respecting it. ⁵ You should not use it to please your own desires like the people who do not know God. ⁶ No man should do wrong to his Christian brother in anything. The Lord will punish a person who does. I have told you this before. ⁷ For God has not called us to live in sin. He has called us to live a holy life. ⁸ The one who turns away from this teaching does not turn away from man, but from God. It is God Who has given us His Holy Spirit.

⁹ You do not need anyone to write to you about loving your Christian brothers. God has taught you to love each other. ¹⁰ You love all the Christians in all the country of Macedonia. But we ask you to love them even more. ¹¹ Do your best to live a quiet life. Learn to do your own work well. We told you about this before. ¹² By doing this, you will be respected by those who are not Christians. Then you will not be in need and others will not have to help you.