Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 142[a]
A Prayer in Time of Trouble
1 A maskil of David, when he was in the cave.[b] A prayer.
2 With my own voice I cry to the Lord;
with my own voice I beseech the Lord.
3 Before him I pour out my complaint,
tell of my distress in front of him.
4 When my spirit is faint within me,(A)
you know my path.(B)
As I go along this path,
they have hidden a trap for me.(C)
5 I look to my right hand to see(D)
that there is no one willing to acknowledge me.
My escape has perished;
no one cares for me.
6 I cry out to you, Lord,
I say, You are my refuge,(E)
my portion in the land of the living.(F)
7 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am brought very low.(G)
Rescue me from my pursuers,
for they are too strong for me.
8 Lead my soul from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous shall gather around me[c]
because you have been good to me.
Chapter 3
Hymn About God’s Reign
1 Prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet. According to Shigyonot.[a]
2 O Lord, I have heard your renown,
and am in awe, O Lord, of your work.
In the course of years revive it,[b]
in the course of years make yourself known;
in your wrath remember compassion!
His glory covered the heavens,
and his praise filled the earth;
4 his splendor spread like the light.
He raised his horns high,(B)
he rejoiced on the day of his strength.
5 Before him went pestilence,
and plague[e] followed in his steps.
6 He stood and shook the earth;
he looked and made the nations tremble.
Ancient mountains were shattered,
the age-old hills bowed low,
age-old orbits[f] collapsed.
7 The tents of Cushan trembled,
the pavilions of the land of Midian.[g]
8 Was your anger against the rivers, O Lord?
your wrath against the rivers,
your rage against the sea,[h](C)
That you mounted your steeds,
your victorious chariot?
9 You readied your bow,
you filled your bowstring with arrows.
Selah
You split the earth with rivers;
10 at the sight of you the mountains writhed.
The clouds poured down water;
the deep roared loudly.
The sun[i] forgot to rise,
11 the moon left its lofty station,(D)
At the light of your flying arrows,
at the gleam of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you marched on the earth,
in fury you trampled the nations.
13 You came forth to save your people,
to save your anointed one.[j]
You crushed the back of the wicked,
you laid him bare, bottom to neck.
Selah
14 [k]You pierced his head with your shafts;
his princes you scattered with your stormwind,
as food for the poor in unknown places.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses
amid the churning of the deep waters.
16 I hear, and my body trembles;
at the sound, my lips quiver.
Decay invades my bones,
my legs tremble beneath me.
I await the day of distress
that will come upon the people who attack us.
The False Teachers. 5 (A)I wish to remind you, although you know all things, that [the] Lord who once saved a people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe.[a] 6 (B)The angels too, who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains, in gloom, for the judgment of the great day.[b] 7 Likewise, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual promiscuity and practiced unnatural vice,[c] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.(C)
8 Similarly, these dreamers[d] nevertheless also defile the flesh, scorn lordship, and revile glorious beings. 9 Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment[e] upon him but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”(D) 10 But these people revile what they do not understand and are destroyed by what they know by nature like irrational animals.(E) 11 Woe to them!(F) They followed the way of Cain, abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.[f] 12 These are blemishes on your love feasts,[g] as they carouse fearlessly and look after themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead and uprooted.(G) 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameless deeds, wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.
14 [h]Enoch, of the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied also about them when he said,(H) “Behold, the Lord has come with his countless holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict everyone for all the godless deeds that they committed and for all the harsh words godless sinners have uttered against him.” 16 These people are complainers, disgruntled ones who live by their desires; their mouths utter bombast as they fawn over people to gain advantage.(I)
Exhortations. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,(J) 18 for they told you,(K) “In [the] last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires.”[i] 19 These are the ones who cause divisions; they live on the natural plane, devoid of the Spirit.(L) 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the holy Spirit.(M) 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.(N)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.