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.
14 Why are we sitting still?
(A)Assemble yourselves, and let us (B)go into the fortified cities
And let us perish there,
Because the Lord our God has doomed us
And given us (C)poisoned water to drink,
For (D)we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We (E)waited for peace, but no good came;
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16 From (F)Dan is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his (G)stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and (H)devour the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.
17 “For behold, I am (I)sending serpents against you,
Adders, for which there is (J)no charm,
And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
2 [a](A)Oh that I had in the desert
A wayfarers’ lodging place;
That I might leave my people
And go from them!
For all of them are (B)adulterers,
An assembly of (C)treacherous men.
3 “They (D)bend their tongue like their bow;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they (E)proceed from evil to evil,
And they (F)do not know Me,” declares the Lord.
4 “Let everyone (G)be on guard against his neighbor,
And (H)do not trust any brother;
Because every (I)brother deals [b]craftily,
And every neighbor (J)goes about as a slanderer.
5 “Everyone (K)deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth,
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They (L)weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 “Your (M)dwelling is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they (N)refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Behold, I will refine them and (O)assay them;
For (P)what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8 “Their (Q)tongue is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one (R)speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he (S)sets an ambush for him.
9 “(T)Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.
“On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?
10 “For the (U)mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing,
And for the pastures of the (V)wilderness a dirge,
Because they are (W)laid waste so that no one passes through,
And the lowing of the cattle is not heard;
Both the (X)birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a (Y)heap of ruins,
A haunt of (Z)jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a (AA)desolation, without inhabitant.”
The Widow’s Mite
41 (A)And He sat down opposite (B)the treasury, and began observing how the people were (C)putting [a]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two [b]small copper coins, which amount to a [c]cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all [d]the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their [e]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [f]all she had (D)to live on.”
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