Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

1 How hath she sat alone, The city abounding with people! She hath been as a widow, The mighty among nations! Princes among provinces, She hath become tributary!

² She weepeth sore in the night, And her tear [is] on her cheeks, There is no comforter for her out of all her lovers, All her friends dealt treacherously by her, They have been to her for enemies.

³ Removed hath Judah because of affliction, And because of the abundance of her service; She hath dwelt among nations, She hath not found rest, All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits.

⁴ The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted -- and she hath bitterness.

⁵ Her adversaries have become chief, Her enemies have been at ease, For Jehovah hath afflicted her, For the abundance of her transgressions, Her infants have gone captive before the adversary.

⁶ And go out from the daughter of Zion doth all her honour, Her princes have been as harts -- They have not found pasture, And they go powerless before a pursuer.

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my mourning, Wormwood and gall!

²⁰ Remember well, and bow down doth my soul in me.

²¹ This I turn to my heart -- therefore I hope.

²² The kindnesses of Jehovah! For we have not been consumed, For not ended have His mercies.

²³ New every morning, abundant [is] thy faithfulness.

²⁴ My portion [is] Jehovah, hath my soul said, Therefore I hope for Him.

²⁵ Good [is] Jehovah to those waiting for Him, To the soul [that] seeketh Him.

²⁶ Good! when one doth stay and stand still For the salvation of Jehovah.

137 By rivers of Babylon -- There we did sit, Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion.

² On willows in its midst we hung our harps.

³ For there our captors asked us the words of a song, And our spoilers -- joy: `Sing ye to us of a song of Zion.'

⁴ How do we sing the song of Jehovah, On the land of a stranger?

⁵ If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, my right hand forgetteth!

⁶ My tongue doth cleave to my palate, If I do not remember thee, If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.

⁷ Remember, Jehovah, for the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Those saying, `Rase, rase to its foundation!'

⁸ O daughter of Babylon, O destroyed one, O the happiness of him who repayeth to thee thy deed, That thou hast done to us.

⁹ O the happiness of him who doth seize, And hath dashed thy sucklings on the rock!

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, according to a promise of life that [is] in Christ Jesus,

² to Timotheus, beloved child: Grace, kindness, peace, from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord!

³ I am thankful to God, whom I serve from progenitors in a pure conscience, that unceasingly I have remembrance concerning thee in my supplications night and day,

⁴ desiring greatly to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that with joy I may be filled,

⁵ taking remembrance of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, that dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that also in thee.

⁶ For which cause I remind thee to stir up the gift of God that is in thee through the putting on of my hands,

⁷ for God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind;

⁸ therefore thou mayest not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but do thou suffer evil along with the good news according to the power of God,

⁹ who did save us, and did call with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, that was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the times of the ages,

¹⁰ and was made manifest now through the manifestation of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who indeed did abolish death, and did enlighten life and immortality through the good news,

¹¹ to which I was placed a preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of nations,

¹² for which cause also these things I suffer, but I am not ashamed, for I have known in whom I have believed, and have been persuaded that he is able that which I have committed to him to guard -- to that day.

¹³ The pattern hold thou of sound words, which from me thou didst hear, in faith and love that [is] in Christ Jesus;

¹⁴ the good thing committed guard thou through the Holy Spirit that is dwelling in us;

⁵ And the apostles said to the Lord, `Add to us faith;'

⁶ and the Lord said, `If ye had faith as a grain of mustard, ye would have said to this sycamine, Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea, and it would have obeyed you.

⁷ `But, who is he of you -- having a servant ploughing or feeding -- who, to him having come in out of the field, will say, Having come near, recline at meat?

⁸ but will not [rather] say to him, Prepare what I may sup, and having girded thyself about, minister to me, till I eat and drink, and after these things thou shalt eat and drink?

⁹ Hath he favour to that servant because he did the things directed? I think not.

¹⁰ `So also ye, when ye may have done all the things directed you, say -- We are unprofitable servants, because that which we owed to do -- we have done.'