Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the (A)Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 Be (B)merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would (C)hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
(D)I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
(E)Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because (F)God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a [a]branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [b]ready to perform My word.”
13 And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”
And I said, “I see (A)a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me:
“Out of the (B)north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For behold, I am (C)calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and (D)each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
16 I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because (E)they have forsaken Me,
Burned (F)incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own (G)hands.
17 “Therefore (H)prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
(I)Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
18 For behold, I have made you this day
(J)A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and (A)wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this (B)your day, the things that (C)make for your (D)peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will (E)build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 (F)and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and (G)they will not leave in you one stone upon another, (H)because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.