Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Locusts’ Devastation
2 Blow the trumpet[a] in Zion;
sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,
for the day of the Lord is about to come.
Indeed,[b] it is near![c]
2 It will be[d] a day of dreadful darkness,[e]
a day of foreboding storm clouds,[f]
like blackness[g] spread over the mountains.
It is a huge and powerful army[h]—
there has never been anything like it ever before,
and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come![i]
An Appeal for Repentance
12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,
“return to me with all your heart—
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Tear your hearts,[a]
not just your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal love[b]—often relenting from calamitous punishment.[c]
14 Who knows?
Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve,[d]
and leave blessing in his wake[e]—
a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God![f]
15 Blow the trumpet[g] in Zion.
Announce a holy fast;
proclaim a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify an assembly!
Gather the elders;
gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her private quarters.[h]
17 Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep
from the vestibule all the way back to the altar.[i]
Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people;
please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,
to become a proverb[j] among the nations.
Why should it be said[k] among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’
The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion
58 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!
Yell as loudly as a trumpet!
Confront my people with their rebellious deeds;[a]
confront Jacob’s family with their sin.[b]
2 They seek me day after day;
they want to know my requirements,[c]
like a nation that does what is right
and does not reject the law of their God.
They ask me for just decrees;
they want to be near God.
3 They lament,[d] ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?
Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’
Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires,[e]
you oppress your workers.[f]
4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by[g] arguments, brawls,
and fistfights.[h]
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want?[i]
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,[j]
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out[k] on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
6 No, this is the kind of fast I want:[l]
I want you[m] to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed,[n]
and to break every burdensome yoke.
7 I want you[o] to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.[p]
When you see someone naked, clothe them!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood.[q]
8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise;[r]
your restoration will quickly arrive;[s]
your godly behavior[t] will go before you,
and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.[u]
9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;
you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’
You must[v] remove the burdensome yoke from among you
and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.
10 You must[w] actively help the hungry
and feed the oppressed.[x]
Then your light will dispel the darkness,[y]
and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.[z]
11 The Lord will continually lead you;
he will feed you even in parched regions.[aa]
He will give you renewed strength,[ab]
and you will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring that continually produces water.
12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;[ac]
you will reestablish the ancient foundations.
You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,
the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’[ad]
Psalm 51[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.[b]
51 Have mercy on me, O God, because of[c] your loyal love.
Because of[d] your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.[e]
2 Wash away my wrongdoing.[f]
Cleanse me of my sin.[g]
3 For I am aware of[h] my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin.[i]
4 Against you—you above all[j]—I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So[k] you are just when you confront me;[l]
you are right when you condemn me.[m]
5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.[n]
6 Look,[o] you desire[p] integrity in the inner man;[q]
you want me to possess wisdom.[r]
7 Cleanse me[s] with hyssop[t] and I will be pure;[u]
wash me[v] and I will be whiter than snow.[w]
8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven.[x]
May the bones[y] you crushed rejoice.[z]
9 Hide your face[aa] from my sins.
Wipe away[ab] all my guilt.
10 Create for me a pure heart, O God.[ac]
Renew a resolute spirit within me.[ad]
11 Do not reject me.[ae]
Do not take your holy Spirit[af] away from me.[ag]
12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance.
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey.[ah]
13 Then I will teach[ai] rebels your merciful ways,[aj]
and sinners will turn[ak] to you.
14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder,[al] O God, the God who delivers me.
Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your righteousness.[am]
15 O Lord, give me the words.[an]
Then my mouth will praise you.[ao]
16 Certainly[ap] you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it;[aq]
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.[ar]
17 The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit[as]—
O God, a humble and repentant heart[at] you will not reject.[au]
20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea[a] through us. We plead with you[b] on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God[c] made the one who did not know sin[d] to be sin for us, so that in him[e] we would become the righteousness of God.
God’s Suffering Servants
6 Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.[f] 2 For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”[g] Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation! 3 We do not give anyone[h] an occasion for taking an offense in anything,[i] so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 4 But as God’s servants,[j] we have commended ourselves in every way,[k] with great endurance, in persecutions,[l] in difficulties, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots,[m] in troubles,[n] in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit,[o] by genuine[p] love, 7 by truthful[q] teaching,[r] by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left,[s] 8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors,[t] and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet—see!—we continue to live; as those who are scourged[u] and yet not executed; 10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Pure-hearted Giving
6 “Be[a] careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people.[b] Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving,[c] do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues[d] and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth,[e] they have their reward! 3 But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.[f]
Private Prayer
5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues[g] and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward! 6 But whenever you pray, go into your inner room,[h] close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.[i]
Proper Fasting
16 “When[a] you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive[b] so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth,[c] they have their reward! 17 When[d] you fast, anoint your head[e] and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Lasting Treasure
19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth[f] and devouring insect[g] destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and devouring insect do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your[h] treasure[i] is, there your heart will be also.
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