Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Is My Strength and My Song
12 You[a] will say (A)in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
(B)your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for (C)the Lord God[b] is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
3 (D)With joy you[c] will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 (E)And you will say in that day:
Evil and Oppression
59 Behold, (A)the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 (B)but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 (C)For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 (D)No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
(E)they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders' eggs;
they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 (F)Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 (G)Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
(H)no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
(I)we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 (J)We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
(K)among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
(L)we moan and moan like doves;
(M)we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
(N)speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Judgment and Redemption
14 (O)Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him[a]
that there was no justice.
Thanksgiving
3 (A)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore (B)we ourselves boast about you (C)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith (D)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
5 This is (E)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be (F)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it (G)just (H)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant (I)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when (J)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven (K)with his mighty angels 8 (L)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those (M)who do not know God and on those who (N)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of (O)eternal destruction, (P)away from[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 (Q)when he comes on (R)that day (S)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our (T)testimony to you (U)was believed. 11 To this end we (V)always pray for you, that our God may (W)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every (X)work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus (Y)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.