Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
On the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have ended in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been struck like [b]grass and has (I)withered,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [c]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [d]cling to my flesh.
6 I resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the ruins.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have taunted me all day long;
Those who [e](O)deride me [f]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And (Q)mixed my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have (S)lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a [g](T)lengthened shadow,
And [h]I (U)wither away like [i]grass.
12 But You, Lord, [j](V)remain forever,
And Your [k](W)name remains to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [l]take pleasure in her stones,
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [m]So the [n](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And (AC)all the kings of the earth, Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)turned His attention to the prayer of the [o]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
8 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your (A)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners (B)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of (C)your dreams which you dream. 9 For they (D)prophesy falsely to you in My name; (E)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.
10 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When (F)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My (G)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the (H)plans that I [a]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for [b](I)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a (J)hope. 12 Then you will (K)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will (L)listen to you. 13 And you will (M)seek Me and find Me when you (N)search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will let Myself be (O)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will (P)restore your fortunes and (Q)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will (R)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’
15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up (S)prophets for us in Babylon’— 16 for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did (T)not go with you into exile— 17 this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the (U)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like (V)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will (W)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a (X)curse and an object of horror and [c](Y)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have (Z)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by (AA)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. 20 ‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have (AB)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are (AC)prophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes. 22 Because of them a (AD)curse will be [d]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon (AE)roasted in the fire,’ 23 because they (AF)acted [e]foolishly in Israel, and (AG)committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely (AH)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who (AI)knows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’”
24 While [a]Paul was stating these things in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! [b]Your great (A)learning is [c]driving you insane.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not insane, (B)most excellent Festus; on the contrary, I am speaking out with [d]truthful and rational words. 26 For the king [e](C)knows about these matters, and I also speak to him with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a [f]corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “[g]In a short time you are going to persuade me to [h]make a (D)Christian of myself.” 29 And Paul said, “I would [i]wish to God that even [j]in a short or long time not only you, but also all who hear me this day would become such as I myself am, except for these (E)chains.”
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