Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ ¶ Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble?

² The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

³ For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire and blesses the covetous, whom the LORD abhors.

⁴ The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, does not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

⁵ His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he puffs at them.

⁶ He has said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity.

⁷ His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

⁸ He sits in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places he murders the innocent: his eyes are secretly set against the poor.

⁹ He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lies in wait to catch the poor: he catches the poor when he draws him into his net.

¹⁰ He crouches and hides himself, and many are those who fall under his power.

¹¹ He has said in his heart, God has forgotten; he hides his face; he will never see it.

¹² ¶ Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand; forget not the humble.

¹³ In what does the wicked irritate God? He has said in his heart, Thou wilt not require accountability.

¹⁴ Thou hast seen it, for thou dost behold mischief and spite to requite it with thy hand: the poor commits himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵ Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man; seek out his wickedness until thou find none.

¹⁶ The LORD is King for ever and ever; the Gentiles are perished out of his land.

¹⁷ LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart; thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

¹⁸ to judge the fatherless and the oppressed that the man of the earth may no longer oppress.

²⁷ Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt even call unto them; but they will not answer thee.

²⁸ Therefore thou shalt say unto them, This is the nation that did not hear the voice of the LORD their God, nor receive chastisement; the faith is lost and was cut off from their mouth.

²⁹ ¶ Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD has cast off and forsaken the nation of his wrath.

³⁰ For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, said the LORD; they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to pollute it.

³¹ And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command them, neither did it come into my heart.

³² Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no longer be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Tophet, for there shall be no other place.

³³ And the carcasses of this people shall be food for the fowls of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth; and there shall be no one to chase them away.

³⁴ Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

⁶ And it came to pass also on another sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.

⁷ And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against him.

⁸ But he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, Rise up and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

⁹ Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good or to do evil? to save a person or to destroy them?

¹⁰ And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so, and his hand was restored whole as the other.

¹¹ And they were filled with madness and talked one with another about what they might do to Jesus.