Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, the (A)nations have [a]invaded (B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your (C)holy temple;
They have (D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the (E)dead bodies of Your servants for food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;
And there was (F)no one to bury them.
4 We have become a (G)reproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and derision to those around us.
5 (H)How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your (I)jealousy (J)burn like fire?
6 (K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which (L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which (M)do not call upon Your name.
7 For they have (N)devoured Jacob
And (O)laid waste his [b]habitation.
The Sin and Treachery of Judah
8 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will (A)bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. 2 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the (B)host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered (C)or buried; (D)they will be as dung on the face of the ground. 3 And (E)death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the (F)places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of hosts.
4 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord,
“Do men (G)fall and not get up again?
Does one turn away and not [a]repent?
5 “Why then has this people, Jerusalem,
(H)Turned away in continual apostasy?
They (I)hold fast to deceit,
They (J)refuse to return.
6 “I (K)have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
(L)No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a (M)horse charging into the battle.
7 “Even the stork in the sky
(N)Knows her seasons;
And the (O)turtledove and the swift and the thrush
Observe the time of their [b]migration;
But (P)My people do not know
The ordinance of the Lord.
8 “(Q)How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9 “The wise men are (R)put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have (S)rejected the word of the Lord,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 “Therefore I will (T)give their wives to others,
Their fields to [c]new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is (U)greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices deceit.
11 “They (V)heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
12 “Were they (W)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They certainly were not ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush;
Therefore they shall (X)fall among those who fall;
At the (Y)time of their punishment they shall be brought down,”
Says the Lord.
31 (A)What then shall we say to these things? (B)If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who (C)did not spare His own Son, but (D)delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against (E)God’s elect? (F)God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who (G)condemns? Christ Jesus is He who (H)died, yes, rather who was [a](I)raised, who is (J)at the right hand of God, who also (K)intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from (L)the love of [b]Christ? Will (M)tribulation, or distress, or (N)persecution, or (O)famine, or (P)nakedness, or (Q)peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“(R)For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly (S)conquer through (T)Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither (U)death, nor life, nor (V)angels, nor principalities, nor (W)things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from (X)the love of God, which is (Y)in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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