Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Hymn of Praise
12 And (A)in that day you will say:
“O Lord, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
(B)‘For (C)Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’ ”
3 Therefore with joy you will draw (D)water
From the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say:
(E)“Praise the Lord, call upon His name;
(F)Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His (G)name is exalted.
5 (H)Sing to the Lord,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
6 (I)Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is (J)the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
Separated from God
59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not (A)shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will (B)not hear.
3 For (C)your hands are defiled with [a]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in (D)empty words and speak lies;
(E)They conceive [b]evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 (F)Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 (G)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed (H)innocent blood;
(I)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and (J)destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of (K)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
(L)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
(M)We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 (N)We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears,
And (O)moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (P)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering (Q)from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a (R)prey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the Lord saw it, and [c]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
God’s Final Judgment and Glory
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that (A)we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God (B)for your patience and faith (C)in all your persecutions and [a]tribulations that you endure, 5 which is (D)manifest[b] evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, (E)for which you also suffer; 6 (F)since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with [c]tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled (G)rest with us when (H)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 (I)These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and (J)from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, (K)to be (L)glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would (M)count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and (N)the work of faith with power, 12 (O)that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.