Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 3[a]
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.(A)
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.(B)”[b]
3 But you, Lord, are a shield(C) around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.(D)
4 I call out to the Lord,(E)
and he answers me from his holy mountain.(F)
5 I lie down and sleep;(G)
I wake again,(H) because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear(I) though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.(J)
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.(A)
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.(B)
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](C)
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(D)
to seize dwellings not their own.(E)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;(F)
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter(G) than leopards,
fiercer than wolves(H) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners(I) like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.(J)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps(K) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(L) and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”(M)
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?(N)
My God, my Holy One,(O) you[c] will never die.(P)
You, Lord, have appointed(Q) them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,(R) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(S) to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(T)
Why then do you tolerate(U) the treacherous?(V)
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(W)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(X) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(Y)
he catches them in his net,(Z)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense(AA) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?(AB)
Trials and Temptations
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,(A) 3 because you know that the testing of your faith(B) produces perseverance.(C) 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature(D) and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,(E) who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.(F) 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,(G) because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded(H) and unstable(I) in all they do.
9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.(J) 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.(K) 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat(L) and withers(M) the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.(N) In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
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