Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Terrible Visitation
2 (A)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the (B)day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
2 A day of (C)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a (D)great and mighty people;
There has (E)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“(A)Return to Me with all your heart,
And with (B)fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And (C)rend your heart and not (D)your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is (E)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And (F)relenting of evil.
14 Who knows (G)whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a (H)blessing behind Him,
Even (I)a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
15 (J)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
(K)Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, (L)sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the (M)bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep (N)between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “(O)Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a (P)reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
‘(Q)Where is their God?’”
Observances of Fasts
58 “(A)Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their (B)transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 “Yet they (C)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done (D)righteousness
And (E)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight (F)in the nearness of God.
3 ‘Why have we (G)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not [a]notice?’
Behold, on the (H)day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and (I)strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to (J)make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing [b]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out (K)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an (L)acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To (M)loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to (N)let the oppressed go free
And (O)break every yoke?
7 “Is it not to (P)divide your bread [c]with the hungry
And (Q)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the (R)naked, to cover him;
And not to (S)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 “Then your (T)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (U)recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your (V)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the (W)Lord will be your rear guard.
9 “Then you will (X)call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you (Y)remove the yoke from your midst,
The [d](Z)pointing of the finger and (AA)speaking wickedness,
10 And if you [e](AB)give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the [f]desire of the afflicted,
Then your (AC)light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 “And the (AD)Lord will continually guide you,
And (AE)satisfy your [g]desire in scorched places,
And (AF)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a (AG)watered garden,
And like a (AH)spring of water whose waters do not [h]fail.
12 “Those from among you will (AI)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will (AJ)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the (AK)breach,
The restorer of the [i]streets in which to dwell.
A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when [a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (A)Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of (B)Your compassion (C)blot out my transgressions.
2 (D)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And (E)cleanse me from my sin.
3 For [b]I (F)know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 (G)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is (H)evil in Your sight,
So that (I)You [c]are justified [d]when You speak
And [e]blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was (J)brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire (K)truth in the [f]innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will (L)make me know wisdom.
7 [g]Purify me (M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
[h]Wash me, and I shall be (N)whiter than snow.
8 [i]Make me to hear (O)joy and gladness,
Let the (P)bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 (Q)Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 (R)Create [j]in me a (S)clean heart, O God,
And renew [k]a (T)steadfast spirit within me.
11 (U)Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your (V)Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the (W)joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a (X)willing spirit.
13 Then I will (Y)teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will [l]be (Z)converted to You.
14 Deliver me from (AA)bloodguiltiness, O God, (AB)the God of my salvation;
Then my (AC)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, [m](AD)open my lips,
That my mouth may (AE)declare Your praise.
16 For You (AF)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a (AG)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
20 Therefore, we are (A)ambassadors for Christ, (B)as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be (C)reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who (D)knew no sin to be (E)sin on our behalf, so that we might become the (F)righteousness of God in Him.
Their Ministry Commended
6 And (G)working together with Him, (H)we also urge you not to receive (I)the grace of God in vain— 2 for He says,
“(J)At the acceptable time I listened to you,
And on the day of salvation I helped you.”
Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— 3 (K)giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4 but in everything (L)commending ourselves as [a](M)servants of God, (N)in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in (O)beatings, in imprisonments, in (P)tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in (Q)hunger, 6 in purity, in (R)knowledge, in (S)patience, in kindness, in the (T)Holy Spirit, in (U)genuine love, 7 in (V)the word of truth, in (W)the power of God; by (X)the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 by glory and (Y)dishonor, by (Z)evil report and good report; regarded as (AA)deceivers and yet (AB)true; 9 as unknown [b]yet well-known, as (AC)dying [c]yet behold, (AD)we live; as [d]punished [e]yet not put to death, 10 as (AE)sorrowful yet always (AF)rejoicing, as (AG)poor yet making many rich, as (AH)having nothing [f]yet possessing (AI)all things.
Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men (A)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they (B)may be honored by men. (C)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and (D)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to (E)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [d](F)so that they may be seen by men. (G)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, (H)go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and (I)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)
16 “(A)Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [a]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. (B)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, (C)anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your (D)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
19 “(E)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves (F)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for (G)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.