Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God the Refuge of the Righteous
94 O Lord God, (A)to whom vengeance belongs—
O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O (B)Judge of the earth;
[a]Render punishment to the proud.
3 Lord, (C)how long will the wicked,
How long will the wicked triumph?
4 They (D)utter speech, and speak insolent things;
All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.
5 They break in pieces Your people, O Lord,
And afflict Your heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger,
And murder the fatherless.
7 (E)Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob [b]understand.”
8 Understand, you senseless among the people;
And you fools, when will you be wise?
9 (F)He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
10 He who [c]instructs the [d]nations, shall He not correct,
He who teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord (G)knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man whom You (H)instruct, O Lord,
And teach out of Your law,
13 That You may give him [e]rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not [f]cast off His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
15 But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
18 If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
20 Shall (I)the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,
Have fellowship with You?
21 They gather together against the life of the righteous,
And condemn (J)innocent blood.
22 But the Lord has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought on them their own iniquity,
And shall [g]cut them off in their own wickedness;
The Lord our God shall cut them off.
Sword, Famine, and Pestilence
14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.
2 “Judah mourns,
And (A)her gates languish;
They (B)mourn for the land,
And (C)the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were (D)ashamed and confounded
(E)And covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is parched,
For there was (F)no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But [a]left because there was no grass.
6 And (G)the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
7 O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it (H)for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
8 (I)O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one (J)who cannot save?
Yet You, O Lord, (K)are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!
10 Thus says the Lord to this people:
17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:
(A)‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
(B)For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18 If I go out to (C)the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and (D)priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
The People Plead for Mercy
19 (E)Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that (F)there is no healing for us?
(G)We looked for peace, but there was no good;
And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness
And the iniquity of our (H)fathers,
For (I)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
(J)Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22 (K)Are there any among (L)the idols of the nations that can cause (M)rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
(N)Are You not He, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(A)
31 [a]And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, (B)Satan has asked for you, that he may (C)sift you as wheat. 32 But (D)I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, (E)strengthen your brethren.”
33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps Bitterly(A)
54 (B)Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. (C)But Peter followed at a distance. 55 (D)Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
57 But he denied [a]Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
58 (E)And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”
But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
59 (F)Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a (G)Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, [b]the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then (H)Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, (I)“Before the rooster [c]crows, you will deny Me three times.” 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.