Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (A)the [a]nations restless
And the peoples (B)plotting in vain?
2 The (C)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
(D)Against the Lord and against His [b](E)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s (F)tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”
4 He who [c]sits in the heavens (G)laughs,
The Lord (H)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (I)anger
And (J)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed (K)My King
Upon Zion, (L)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will announce the [d]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (M)My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
8 Ask it of Me, and (N)I will certainly give (O)the [e]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (P)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [f](Q)break them with a [g]rod of iron,
You shall (R)shatter them like [h]earthenware.’”
10 Now then, you kings, (S)use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you [i]judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with [j](T)reverence
And rejoice with (U)trembling.
12 [k]Kiss (V)the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For (W)His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who (X)take refuge in Him!
12 But (A)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will [a]persist in the (B)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘(C)Just ask among the nations,
Who ever heard anything like [b]this?
The (D)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (E)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the rock of the open country alone?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever dried up?
15 For (F)My people have forgotten Me,
(G)They burn incense [c]to worthless gods.
And they [d]have stumbled in their ways,
In the (H)ancient roads,
To walk on paths,
Not on a (I)highway,
16 To make their land a (J)desolation,
An object of perpetual (K)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (L)shake his head.
17 Like an (M)east wind I will (N)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [e]show them (O)My back and not My face
(P)In the day of their disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let’s (Q)devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the (R)Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor (S)advice by the wise, nor the divine (T)word by the prophet! Come, and let’s (U)strike at him with our tongue, and let’s (V)pay no attention to any of his words.”
19 Give Your attention to me, Lord,
And listen to [f]what my opponents are saying!
20 (W)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (X)dug a pit for [g]me.
Remember how I (Y)stood before You
To speak good in their behalf,
So as to turn Your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, (Z)give their children over to famine
And turn them over to the [h]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (AA)childless and (AB)widowed.
Let their men also be slaughtered to death,
Their (AC)young men struck and killed by the sword in battle.
22 May a (AD)cry be heard from their houses
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(AE)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (AF)hidden snares for my feet.
23 But You, Lord, know
All their [i]deadly schemes against me;
(AG)Do not [j]forgive their wrongdoing
Or wipe out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be [k](AH)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (AI)time of Your anger!
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but [a]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one should act in (A)the household of God, which is the (B)church of (C)the living God, the (D)pillar and support of the truth. 16 Beyond question, great is (E)the mystery of godliness:
He who was (F)revealed in the flesh,
Was [b](G)vindicated [c]in the Spirit,
(H)Seen by angels,
(I)Proclaimed among the nations,
(J)Believed on in the world,
(K)Taken up in glory.
Abandonment of Faith
4 But (L)the Spirit explicitly says that (M)in later times some will [d]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (N)deceitful spirits and (O)teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (P)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 who (Q)forbid marriage and advocate (R)abstaining from foods which (S)God has created to be (T)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (U)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (V)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (W)the word of God and prayer.
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