Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A prayer by David.
17 Hear my plea for justice, O Lord.
Pay attention to my cry.
Open your ears to my prayer,
⌞which comes⌟ from lips free from deceit.
2 Let the verdict of my innocence come directly from you.
Let your eyes observe what is fair.
3 You have probed my heart.
You have confronted me at night.
You have tested me like silver,
but you found nothing wrong.
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.
4 I have avoided cruelty because of your word.
In spite of what others have done,
5 my steps have remained firmly in your paths.
My feet have not slipped.
6 I have called on you because you answer me, O God.
Turn your ear toward me.
Hear what I have to say.
7 Reveal your miraculous deeds of mercy,
O Savior of those who find refuge by your side
from those who attack them.
8 Guard me as if I were the pupil in your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Hide me from wicked people who violently attack me,
from my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have shut out all feeling.
Their mouths have spoken arrogantly.
11 They have tracked me down.
They have surrounded me.
They have focused their attention on throwing me to the ground.
12 Each one of them is like a lion eager to tear ⌞its prey⌟ apart
and like a young lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Arise, O Lord; confront them!
Bring them to their knees!
With your sword rescue my life from wicked people.
14 With your power rescue me from mortals, O Lord,
from mortals who enjoy their inheritance only in this life.
You fill their bellies with your treasure.
Their children are satisfied ⌞with it⌟,
and they leave what remains to their children.
15 I will see your face when I am declared innocent.
When I wake up, I will be satisfied ⌞with seeing⌟ you.
The Lord Will Send His Servant, the Branch
3 Then he showed me Joshua, the chief priest, standing in front of the Messenger of the Lord. Satan the Accuser was standing at Joshua’s right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, silence you, Satan! I, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, silence you! Isn’t this man like a burning log snatched from a fire?”
3 Joshua was wearing filthy clothes and was standing in front of the Messenger. 4 The Messenger said to those who were standing in front of him, “Remove Joshua’s filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken your sin away from you, and I will dress you in fine clothing.”
5 So I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” They put a clean turban on his head and dressed him while the Messenger of the Lord was standing there.
6 The Messenger of the Lord advised Joshua, 7 “This is what the Lord of Armies says: If you live according to my ways and follow my requirements, you will govern my temple and watch over my courtyards. Then I will give you free access to walk among those standing here.
8 “Listen, Chief Priest Joshua and your friends sitting with you. These men are a sign of things to come: I’m going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9 “Look at the stone I have set in front of Joshua. That one stone has seven eyes.[a] I am engraving an inscription on it,” declares the Lord of Armies. “I will remove this land’s sin in a single day. 10 On that day,” declares the Lord of Armies, “each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree.”
4 God didn’t spare angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, where he has secured them with chains of darkness and is holding them for judgment.
5 God didn’t spare the ancient world either. He brought the flood on the world of ungodly people, but he protected Noah and seven other people. Noah was his messenger who told people about the kind of life that has God’s approval.
6 God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes. He made those cities an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them. 7 Yet, God rescued Lot, a man who had his approval. Lot was distressed by the lifestyle of people who had no principles and lived in sexual freedom. 8 Although he was a man who had God’s approval, he lived among the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Each day was like torture to him as he saw and heard the immoral things that people did.
9 Since the Lord did all this, he knows how to rescue godly people when they are tested. He also knows how to hold immoral people for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow their corrupt nature along the path of impure desires and who despise the Lord’s authority.
These false teachers are bold and arrogant. They aren’t afraid to insult the ⌞Lord’s⌟ glory. 11 Angels, who have more strength and power than these teachers, don’t bring an insulting judgment against them from the Lord. 12 These false teachers insult what they don’t understand. They are like animals, which are creatures of instinct that are born to be caught and killed. So they will be destroyed like animals 13 and lose what their wrongdoing earned them.
These false teachers are stains and blemishes. They take pleasure in holding wild parties in broad daylight. They especially enjoy deceiving you while they eat with you. 14 They’re always looking for an adulterous woman. They can’t stop looking for sin as they seduce people who aren’t sure of what they believe. Their minds are focused on their greed. They are cursed.
15 These false teachers have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Balaam, son of Beor. Balaam loved what his wrongdoing earned him. 16 But he was convicted for his evil. A donkey, which normally can’t talk, spoke with a human voice and wouldn’t allow the prophet to continue his insanity.
17 These false teachers are dried-up springs. They are a mist blown around by a storm. Gloomy darkness has been kept for them. 18 They arrogantly use nonsense to seduce people by appealing to their sexual desires, especially to sexual freedom. They seduce people who have just escaped from those who live in error. 19 They promise these people freedom, but they themselves are slaves to corruption. A person is a slave to whatever he gives in to.
20 People can know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and escape the world’s filth. But if they get involved in this filth again and give in to it, they are worse off than they were before. 21 It would have been better for them never to have known the way of life that God approves of than to know it and turn their backs on the holy life God told them to live.
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