Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 O Lord, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)Judge of the earth,
Render recompense (E)to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord,
How long shall the (F)wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All who do wickedness (H)vaunt themselves.
5 They (I)crush Your people, O Lord,
And (J)afflict Your heritage.
6 They (K)slay the widow and the [d]stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “[e]The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”
8 Pay heed, you (M)senseless among the people;
And when will you understand, (N)stupid ones?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [f]does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, [g]does He not see?
10 He who [h](P)chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who (Q)teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord (R)knows the thoughts of man,
[i]That they are a mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You chasten, O [j]Lord,
And (T)whom You teach out of Your law;
13 That You may grant him (U)relief from the (V)days of adversity,
Until (W)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For (X)the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He (Y)forsake His inheritance.
15 For [k](Z)judgment [l]will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart [m]will follow it.
16 Who will (AA)stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me (AB)against those who do wickedness?
17 If (AC)the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has slipped,”
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts [n]multiply within me,
Your (AE)consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a [o](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which devises [p]mischief by decree?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [q]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [r]the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my (AJ)stronghold,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their wickedness upon them
And will [s](AM)destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will [t]destroy them.
Drought and a Prayer for Mercy
14 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in regard to the (A)drought:
2 “Judah mourns
And (B)her gates languish;
They sit on the ground (C)in mourning,
And the (D)cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
3 “Their nobles have (E)sent their [a]servants for water;
They have come to the (F)cisterns and found no water.
They have returned with their vessels empty;
They have been (G)put to shame and humiliated,
And they (H)cover their heads.
4 “Because the (I)ground is [b]cracked,
For there has been (J)no rain on the land;
The (K)farmers have been put to shame,
They have covered their heads.
5 “For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young,
Because there is (L)no grass.
6 “The (M)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals,
Their eyes fail
For there is (N)no vegetation.
7 “Although our (O)iniquities testify against us,
O Lord, act (P)for Your name’s sake!
Truly our (Q)apostasies have been many,
We have (R)sinned against You.
8 “O (S)Hope of Israel,
Its (T)Savior in (U)time of distress,
Why are You like a stranger in the land
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
9 “Why are You like a man dismayed,
Like a mighty man who (V)cannot save?
Yet (W)You are in our midst, O Lord,
And we are (X)called by Your name;
Do not forsake us!”
10 Thus says the Lord to this people, “Even so they have (Y)loved to wander; they have not (Z)kept their feet in check. Therefore the Lord does (AA)not accept them; now He will (AB)remember their iniquity and call their sins to account.”
17 “You will say this word to them,
‘(A)Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin (B)daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow,
With a sorely (C)infected wound.
18 ‘If I (D)go out to the country,
Behold, those [a]slain with the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
Behold, diseases of famine!
For (E)both prophet and priest
Have [b]gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”
19 Have You completely (F)rejected Judah?
Or have [c]You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that we (G)are beyond healing?
We (H)waited for peace, but nothing good came;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20 We (I)know our wickedness, O Lord,
The iniquity of our fathers, for (J)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not despise us, (K)for Your own name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the (L)throne of Your glory;
Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the [d](M)idols of the nations who (N)give rain?
Or can the heavens grant showers?
Is it not You, O Lord our God?
Therefore we [e](O)hope in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, (A)Satan has [a]demanded permission to (B)sift you like wheat; 32 but I (C)have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, (D)strengthen your brothers.” 33 (E)But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”
Jesus’ Arrest
54 (A)Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but (B)Peter was following at a distance. 55 (C)After they had kindled a fire in the middle of (D)the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. 56 And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” 58 A little later, (E)another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” 59 After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, (F)for he is a Galilean too.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 (G)The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “(H)Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
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