Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.
71 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 (B)In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;
(C)Extend Your ear to me and help me.
3 (D)Be to me a rock of (E)dwelling to which I may continually come;
You have given the (F)commandment to save me,
For You are (G)my rock and my fortress.
4 (H)Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the [a]grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
5 For You are my (I)hope;
Lord [b]God, You are my (J)confidence from my youth.
6 I have (K)leaned on You since my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [c]of You.
20 (A)For what purpose does (B)frankincense come to Me from Sheba,
And the [a](C)sweet cane from a distant land?
(D)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, (E)I am [b]placing stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
(F)Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and [c]friend will perish.”
The Enemy from the North
22 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, there is (G)a people coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be stirred up from the (H)remote parts of the earth.
23 They seize (I)bow and spear;
They are (J)cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice (K)roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Lined up as a man for the battle
Against you, daughter of Zion!”
24 We have (L)heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
(M)Anguish has seized us,
Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.
25 (N)Do not go out into the field,
And (O)do not walk on the road;
For the enemy has a sword,
(P)Terror is on every side.
26 Daughter of my people, (Q)put on sackcloth
And (R)roll in ashes;
[d](S)Mourn as for an only son,
A most bitter mourning.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come against us.
27 “I have (T)made you an assayer and an examiner among My people,
So that you may know and put their way to the test.”
28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
(U)Going about as a slanderer;
They are (V)bronze and iron.
They are, all of them, corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the (W)wicked are not [e]separated.
30 (X)They call them rejected silver,
Because the (Y)Lord has rejected them.
Paul in Thessalonica
17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to (A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And (B)according to Paul’s custom, he [a]visited them, and for three (C)Sabbaths reasoned with them from (D)the Scriptures, 3 [b]explaining and [c]giving evidence that the [d]Christ (E)had to suffer and (F)rise from the dead, and saying, “(G)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the [e]Christ.” 4 (H)And some of them were persuaded and joined (I)Paul and Silas, [f]along with a large number of the (J)God-fearing (K)Greeks and [g]a significant number of the (L)leading women. 5 But (M)the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and they attacked the house of (N)Jason and were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they began (O)dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset [h](P)the world have come here also; 7 [i]and Jason (Q)has welcomed them, and they all act (R)contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had received a [j]pledge from (S)Jason and the others, they released them.
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