Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Safety
A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord;
I pray to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my problems to him;
I tell him my troubles.
3 When I am afraid,
you, Lord, know the way out.
In the path where I walk,
a trap is hidden for me.
4 Look around me and see.
No one cares about me.
I have no place of safety;
no one cares if I live.
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my protection.
You are all I want in this life.”
6 Listen to my cry,
because I am helpless.
Save me from those who are chasing me,
because they are too strong for me.
7 Free me from my prison,
and then I will praise your name.
Then good people will surround me,
because you have taken care of me.
12 “How terrible it will be for the nation that kills people to build a city,
that wrongs others to start a town.
13 The Lord All-Powerful will send fire
to destroy what those people have built;
all the nations’ work will be for nothing.
14 Then, just as water covers the sea,
people everywhere will know the Lord’s glory.
15 “How terrible for the nation that makes its neighbors drink,
pouring from the jug of wine until they are drunk
so that it can look at their naked bodies.
16 You Babylonians will be filled with disgrace, not respect.
It’s your turn to drink and fall to the ground like a drunk person.
The cup of anger from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you.
You will receive disgrace, not respect.
17 You hurt many people in Lebanon,
but now you will be hurt.
You killed many animals there,
and now you must be afraid
because of what you did
to that land, those cities, and the people who lived in them.
The Message About Idols
18 “An idol does no good, because a human made it;
it is only a statue that teaches lies.
The one who made it expects his own work to help him,
but he makes idols that can’t even speak!
19 How terrible it will be for the one who says to a wooden statue, ‘Come to life!’
How terrible it will be for the one who says to a silent stone, ‘Get up!’
It cannot tell you what to do.
It is only a statue covered with gold and silver;
there is no life in it.
20 The Lord is in his Holy Temple;
all the earth should be silent in his presence.”
9 I wrote you in my earlier letter not to associate with those who sin sexually. 10 But I did not mean you should not associate with those of this world who sin sexually, or with the greedy, or robbers, or those who worship idols. To get away from them you would have to leave this world. 11 I am writing to tell you that you must not associate with those who call themselves believers in Christ but who sin sexually, or are greedy, or worship idols, or abuse others with words, or get drunk, or cheat people. Do not even eat with people like that.
12-13 It is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. God will judge them. But you must judge the people who are part of the church. The Scripture says, “You must get rid of the evil person among you.”[a]
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.