Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 17
A Prayer for Protection
A Davidic prayer.
1 Lord, hear a just cause;(A)
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.(B)
2 Let my vindication come from You,
for You see what is right.(C)
3 You have tested my heart;(D)
You have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;(E)
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[a]
4 Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips[b]
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(F)
5 My steps are on Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(G)
6 I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;(H)
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7 Display the wonders of Your faithful love,(I)
Savior of all who seek refuge(J)
from those who rebel against Your right hand.[c]
8 Protect me as the pupil of Your eye;(K)
hide me in the shadow of Your wings(L)
9 from[d] the wicked who treat me violently,[e]
my deadly enemies who surround me.(M)
10 They have become hardened;[f](N)
their mouths speak arrogantly.(O)
11 They advance against me;[g] now they surround me.(P)
They are determined[h]
to throw me to the ground.(Q)
12 They are[i] like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(R)
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.(S)
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.(T)
14 With Your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.(U)
Fourth Vision: High Priest and Branch
3 Then he showed me Joshua(A) the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord,(B) with Satan[a](C) standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord[b] said to Satan: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”(D)
3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy[c] clothes(E) as he stood before the Angel.(F) 4 So the Angel of the Lord[d] spoke to those[e] standing before Him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then He said to him, “See, I have removed your guilt from you,(G) and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”
5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban(H) on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him in garments while the Angel of the Lord was standing nearby.
6 Then the Angel of the Lord charged Joshua: 7 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, you will both rule My house and take care of My courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.
8 “Listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your colleagues sitting before you; indeed, these men are a sign that I am about to bring My servant, the Branch.(I) 9 Notice the stone(J) I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes.(K) I will engrave an inscription on it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will take away the guilt of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.”(L) This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
4 For if God didn’t spare(A) the angels who sinned but threw them down into Tartarus[a](B) and delivered them to be kept in chains[b] of darkness until judgment;(C) 5 and if He didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah,(D) a preacher of righteousness, and seven others,[c](E) when He brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah(F) to ashes and condemned them to ruin,[d] making them an example to those who were going to be ungodly;[e](G) 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot,(H) distressed by the unrestrained behavior of the immoral 8 (for as he lived among them, that righteous man tormented himself day by day with the lawless deeds he saw and heard(I))— 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue(J) the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,(K) 10 especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.(L)
Bold, arrogant people! They do not tremble when they blaspheme the glorious ones; 11 however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord.[f] 12 But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—speak blasphemies about things they don’t understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed, 13 suffering harm as the payment for unrighteousness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions[g] as they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery(M) and are always looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!(N) 15 They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path(O) and have followed the path of Balaam,(P) the son of Bosor,[h] who loved the wages of unrighteousness(Q) 16 but received a rebuke for his transgression: A donkey that could not talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s irrationality.(R)
17 These people are springs without water, mists driven by a whirlwind. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.(S) 18 For by uttering boastful, empty words,(T) they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped[i] from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.(U) 20 For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,(V) they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.(W) 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness(X) than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command(Y) delivered(Z) to them.(AA)
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