Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
An Old Person’s Prayer
71 In you, Lord, is my protection.
Never let me be ashamed.
2 Because you do what is right, save and rescue me;
listen to me and save me.
3 Be my place of safety
where I can always come.
Give the command to save me,
because you are my rock and my strong, walled city.
4 My God, save me from the power of the wicked
and from the hold of evil and cruel people.
5 Lord, you are my hope.
Lord, I have trusted you since I was young.
6 I have depended on you since I was born;
you helped me even on the day of my birth.
I will always praise you.
Jerusalem Is Surrounded
6 “Run for your lives, people of Benjamin!
Run away from Jerusalem!
Blow the war trumpet in the town of Tekoa!
Raise the warning flag over the town of Beth Hakkerem!
Disaster is coming from the north;
terrible destruction is coming to you.
2 Jerusalem, I will destroy you,
you who are fragile and gentle.
3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against Jerusalem.
They will set up their tents all around her,
each shepherd taking care of his own section.”
4 They say, “Get ready to fight against Jerusalem!
Get up! We will attack at noon!
But it is already getting late;
the evening shadows are growing long.
5 So get up! We will attack at night.
We will destroy the strong towers of Jerusalem!”
6 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Cut down the trees around Jerusalem,
and build an attack ramp to the top of its walls.
This city must be punished.
Inside it is nothing but slavery.
7 Jerusalem pours out her evil
as a well pours out its water.
The sounds of violence and destruction are heard within her.
I can see the sickness and hurts of Jerusalem.
8 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn my back on you
and make your land an empty desert
where no one can live.”
9 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Gather the few people of Israel who are left alive,
as you would gather the last grapes on a grapevine.
Check each vine again,
like someone who gathers grapes.”
10 To whom can I speak? Whom can I warn?
Who will listen to me?
The people of Israel have closed ears,
so they cannot hear my warnings.
They don’t like the word of the Lord;
they don’t want to listen to it!
11 But I am full of the anger of the Lord,
and I am tired of holding it in.
“Pour out my anger on the children who play in the street
and on the young men gathered together.
A husband and his wife will both be caught in his anger,
as will the very old.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
along with their fields and wives,
because I will raise my hand
and punish the people of Judah,” says the Lord.
13 “Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for money.
Even the prophets and priests
all tell lies.
14 They tried to heal my people’s serious injuries
as if they were small wounds.
They said, ‘It’s all right, it’s all right.’
But really, it is not all right.
15 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act,
but they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.
So they will fall, along with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them,” says the Lord.
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stand where the roads cross and look.
Ask where the old way is,
where the good way is, and walk on it.
If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.
But they have said, ‘We will not walk on the good way.’
17 I set watchmen over you
and told you, ‘Listen for the sound of the war trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 So listen, all you nations,
and pay attention, you witnesses.
Watch what I will do to the people of Judah.
19 Hear this, people of the earth:
I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah
because of the evil they plan.
They have not listened to my messages
and have rejected my teachings.
3 Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying.
God Is like a Father
4 You are struggling against sin, but your struggles have not yet caused you to be killed. 5 You have forgotten the encouraging words that call you his children:
“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
6 The Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as his child.” Proverbs 3:11–12
7 So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father’s discipline. God is treating you as children. All children are disciplined by their fathers. 8 If you are never disciplined (and every child must be disciplined), you are not true children. 9 We have all had fathers here on earth who disciplined us, and we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits so we will have life. 10 Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us, so we can become holy as he is. 11 We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful at the time, but later, after we have learned from it, we have peace, because we start living in the right way.
Be Careful How You Live
12 You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again. 13 Keep on the right path, so the weak will not stumble but rather be strengthened.
14 Try to live in peace with all people, and try to live free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord. 15 Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace and begins to cause trouble among you. A person like that can ruin many of you. 16 Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.