Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Tsadhe.
137 (A)Righteous are You, O Lord,
And upright are Your judgments.
138 You have commanded Your testimonies in (B)righteousness
And exceeding (C)faithfulness.
139 My (D)zeal has [a]consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
140 Your [b](E)word is very [c]pure,
Therefore Your servant (F)loves it.
141 I am small and (G)despised,
Yet I do not (H)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (I)Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have [d]come upon me,
Yet Your commandments are my (J)delight.
144 Your (K)testimonies are righteous forever;
(L)Give me understanding that I may live.
5 “(A)Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! (B)Wonder!
Because I am doing (C)something in your days—
You would not believe if [a]you were told.
6 “For behold, I am (D)raising up the Chaldeans,
That [b]fierce and impetuous people
Who march [c]throughout the earth
To [d](E)seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and (F)feared;
Their (G)justice and [e]authority [f]originate with themselves.
8 “Their (H)horses are swifter than leopards
And [g]keener than (I)wolves in the evening.
Their [h]horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an (J)eagle swooping down to devour.
9 “All of them come for violence.
[i]Their horde of (K)faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10 “They (L)mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They (M)laugh at every fortress
And (N)heap up rubble to capture it.
11 “Then they will sweep through like the (O)wind and pass on.
But they will be held (P)guilty,
They whose (Q)strength is their god.”
12 Are You not from (R)everlasting,
O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, O Lord, have (S)appointed them to judge;
And You, O (T)Rock, have established them to correct.
13 Your eyes are too (U)pure to [j]approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You (V)look with favor
On those who deal (W)treacherously?
Why are You (X)silent when the wicked (Y)swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans (Z)bring all of them up with a hook,
(AA)Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [k]burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through (AB)these things their [l]catch is [m]large,
And their food is [n]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their (AC)net
And continually (AD)slay nations without sparing?
Growth in Christian Virtue
1 [a]Simon Peter, a (A)bond-servant and (B)apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received (C)a faith of the same [b]kind as ours, [c]by (D)the righteousness of (E)our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 (F)Grace and peace be multiplied to you in (G)the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His (H)divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true (I)knowledge of Him who (J)called us [d]by His own glory and [e]excellence. 4 [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent (K)promises, so that by them you may become (L)partakers of the divine nature, having (M)escaped the (N)corruption that is in (O)the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith (P)supply (Q)moral [g]excellence, and in your moral excellence, (R)knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, (S)self-control, and in your self-control, (T)perseverance, and in your perseverance, (U)godliness, 7 and in your godliness, (V)brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor (W)unfruitful in the true (X)knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is (Y)blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his (Z)purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His (AA)calling and (AB)choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never (AC)stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into (AD)the eternal kingdom of our (AE)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be (AF)abundantly (AG)supplied to you.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.