Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Sorrows of Zion
1 How (A)lonely sits the city
That was (B)full of people!
She has become like a (C)widow
Who was once (D)great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the [a]provinces
Has become a (E)forced laborer!
2 She (F)weeps bitterly in the night
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has none to comfort her
Among all her (G)lovers.
All her friends have (H)dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
3 (I)Judah has gone into exile [b]under affliction
And [c]under [d]harsh servitude;
She dwells (J)among the nations,
But she has found no rest;
All (K)her pursuers have overtaken her
In the midst of [e]distress.
4 The roads [f]of Zion are in mourning
Because (L)no one comes to the appointed feasts.
All her gates are (M)desolate;
Her priests are groaning,
Her (N)virgins are afflicted,
And she herself [g]is (O)bitter.
5 Her adversaries have become [h]her masters,
Her enemies [i]prosper;
For the Lord has (P)caused her grief
Because of the multitude of her transgressions;
Her little ones have gone away
As captives before the adversary.
6 All her (Q)majesty
Has departed from the daughter of Zion;
Her princes have become like deer
That have found no pasture;
And they have [j](R)fled without strength
Before the pursuer.
Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy
19 Remember my affliction and my [a]wandering, the (A)wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely (B)my soul remembers
And is (C)bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have (D)hope.
22 The Lord’s (E)lovingkindnesses [b]indeed never cease,
(F)For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new (G)every morning;
Great is (H)Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (I)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I (J)have hope in Him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who (K)wait for Him,
To the [c]person who (L)seeks Him.
26 It is good that he (M)waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our [b]harps.
3 For there our captors [c](E)demanded of us [d]songs,
And (F)our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing (G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [f](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [h]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your little ones
Against the rock.
Timothy Charged to Guard His Trust
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus [a](C)by the will of God, according to the promise of (D)life in Christ Jesus,
2 To (E)Timothy, my beloved [b](F)son: (G)Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 (H)I thank God, whom I (I)serve with a (J)clear conscience [c]the way my forefathers did, (K)as I constantly remember you in my [d]prayers night and day, 4 (L)longing to see you, (M)even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 [e]For I am mindful of the (N)sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and (O)your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh (P)the gift of God which is in you through (Q)the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a (R)spirit of [f]timidity, but of power and love and [g]discipline.
8 Therefore (S)do not be ashamed of the (T)testimony of our Lord or of me (U)His prisoner, but join with me in (V)suffering for the (W)gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has (X)saved us and (Y)called us with a holy (Z)calling, (AA)not according to our works, but according to His own (AB)purpose and grace which was granted us in (AC)Christ Jesus from (AD)all eternity, 10 but (AE)now has been revealed by the (AF)appearing of our Savior (AG)Christ Jesus, who (AH)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 (AI)for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but (AJ)I am not ashamed; for I know (AK)whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to (AL)guard what I have entrusted to Him [h]until (AM)that day. 13 [i](AN)Retain the (AO)standard of (AP)sound words (AQ)which you have heard from me, in the (AR)faith and love which are in (AS)Christ Jesus. 14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who (AT)dwells in us, the [j](AU)treasure which has been entrusted to you.
5 (A)The apostles said to (B)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And (C)the Lord said, “If you [a]had faith like (D)a mustard seed, you would say to this (E)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would [b]obey you.
7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and [c]sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not say to him, ‘(F)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly [d]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and [e]afterward you [f]may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.