the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
November 30 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Lamentations 3-4
Chapter 3
Hope through God's Mercy
א Alef
1 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of God's wrath.
2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.(a)
3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand
against me all day long.
ב Bet
4 He has worn away my flesh and skin;(b)
He has shattered my bones.(c)
5 He has laid siege against me,(d)
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.(e)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.(f)
ג Gimel
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(g)
He has weighed me down with chains.
8 Even when I cry out and plead for help,
He rejects my prayer.(h)
9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones;(i)
He has made my paths crooked.(j)
ד Dalet
10 He is[a] a bear waiting in ambush,
a lion in hiding.(k)
11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
He left me desolate.
12 He strung His bow(l)
and set me as the target for His arrow.
ה He
13 He pierced my kidneys
with His arrows.(m)
14 I am a laughingstock(n) to all my people,[b]
mocked by their songs(o) all day long.
15 He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.(p)
ו Vav
16 He ground my teeth on gravel(q)
and made me cower[c] in the dust.
17 My soul has been deprived[d] of peace;(r)
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 Then I thought: My future[e] is lost,
as well as my hope from the
Lord
.
ז Zayin
19 Remember[f] my affliction and my homelessness,(s)
the wormwood and the poison.(t)
20 I continually remember them
and have become depressed.[g](u)
21 Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:(v)
ח Khet
22 Because of the
Lord
's faithful love(w)
we do not perish,[h]
for His mercies never end.
23 They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!(x)
24 I say: The
Lord
is my portion,(y)
therefore I will put my hope in Him.
ט Tet
25 The
Lord
is good to those who wait(z) for Him,
to the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly(aa)
for deliverance from the
Lord
.(ab)
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke(ac)
while he is still young.
י Yod
28 Let him sit alone and be silent,(ad)
for God has disciplined him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust(ae)—
perhaps there is still hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek
to the one who would strike him;(af)
let him be filled with shame.
כ Kaf
31 For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
32 Even if He causes suffering,
He will show compassion
according to His abundant, faithful love.(ag)
33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction(ah)
or suffering on mankind.
ל Lamed
34 Crushing all the prisoners of the land[i]
beneath one's feet,
35 denying justice to a man(ai)
in the presence of the Most High,
36 or suppressing a person's lawsuit(aj)—
the Lord does not approve of these things.
מ Mem
37 Who is there who speaks and it happens,
unless the Lord has ordained it?(ak)
38 Do not both adversity and good
come from the mouth of the Most High?(al)
39 Why should any living person complain,
any man, because of the punishment for his sins?
נ Nun
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to the
Lord
.(am)
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands(an)
to God in heaven:
42 We have sinned and rebelled;
You have not forgiven.(ao)
ס Samek
43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;
You have killed without compassion.(ap)
44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.(aq)
45 You have made us disgusting filth
among the peoples.(ar)
פ Pe
46 All our enemies
open their mouths against us.(as)
47 We have experienced panic and pitfall,(at)
devastation and destruction.
48 My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.
ע Ayin
49 My eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,(au)
50 until the
Lord
looks down
from heaven and sees.(av)
51 My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.
צ Tsade
52 For no apparent reason, my enemies[j]
hunted me like a bird.(aw)
53 They dropped me alive into[k] a pit(ax)
and threw stones at me.
54 Water flooded over my head,(ay)
and I thought: I'm going to die!(az)
ק Qof
55 I called on Your name, Yahweh,
from the depths of the Pit.(ba)
56 You hear my plea:
Do not ignore my cry for relief.
57 You come near when I call on You;
You say: "Do not be afraid."
ר Resh
58 You defend my cause, Lord;(bb)
You redeem my life.(bc)
59
Lord
, You see the wrong done to me;
judge my case.
60 You see all their malice,
all their plots against me.(bd)
שׂ Sin/ שׁ Shin
61
Lord
, You hear their insults,(be)
all their plots against me.
62 The slander[l] and murmuring of my opponents
attack me all day long.
63 When they sit and when they rise, look,
I am mocked by their songs.(bf)
ת Tav
64 You will pay them back what they deserve,
Lord
,
according to the work of their hands.(bg)
65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish.[m](bh)
May Your curse be on them!
66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
under Your heavens.[n][o](bi)
Chapter 4
Terrors of the Besieged City
א Alef
1 How the gold has become tarnished,
the fine gold become dull!
The stones of the temple[a] lie scattered
at the corner of every street.(a)
ב Bet
2 Zion's precious people—
once worth their weight in pure gold(b)—
how they are regarded as clay jars,
the work of a potter's hands!
ג Gimel
3 Even jackals offer their breasts
to nurse their young,
but my dear people have become cruel
like ostriches(c) in the wilderness.
ד Dalet
4 The nursing infant's tongue
clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst.(d)
Little children beg for bread,
but no one gives them any.
ה He
5 Those who used to eat delicacies
are destitute in the streets;
those who were reared in purple garments(e)
huddle in garbage heaps.
ו Vav
6 The punishment of my dear people
is greater than that of Sodom,(f)
which was overthrown in an instant
without a hand laid on it.
ז Zayin
7 Her dignitaries were brighter than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies[b] were more ruddy than coral,
their appearance like sapphire.[c]
ח Khet
8 Now they appear darker than soot;(g)
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become dry like wood.
ט Tet
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
than those slain by hunger,
who waste away, pierced with pain
because the fields lack produce.
י Yod
10 The hands of compassionate women
have cooked their own children;(h)
they became their food
during the destruction of my dear people.(i)
כ Kaf
11 The
Lord
has exhausted His wrath,
poured out His burning anger;
He has ignited a fire in Zion,
and it has consumed her foundations.(j)
ל Lamed
12 The kings of the earth
and all the world's inhabitants did not believe
that an enemy or adversary
could enter Jerusalem's gates.(k)
מ Mem
13 Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the guilt of her priests,
who shed the blood of the righteous
within her.(l)
נ Nun
14 Blind, they stumbled in the streets,(m)
defiled by this blood,(n)
so that no one dared
to touch their garments.
ס Samek
15 "Stay away! Unclean!" people shouted at them.
"Away, away! Don't touch us!"(o)
So they wandered aimlessly.(p)
It was said among the nations,
"They can stay here no longer."
פ Pe
16 The
Lord
Himself has scattered them;
He regards them no more.
The priests are not respected;
the elders find no favor.
ע Ayin
17 All the while our eyes were failing
as we looked in vain for assistance;(q)
we watched from our towers
for a nation[d] that refused to help.
צ Tsade
18 Our steps were closely followed
so that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end drew near;(r) our time ran out.
Our end had come!
ק Qof
19 Those who chased us were swifter
than eagles in the sky;(s)
they relentlessly pursued us over the mountains
and ambushed us in the wilderness.
ר Resh
20 The
Lord
's anointed,[e] the breath of our life,[f](t)
was captured in their traps.
We had said about him,
"We will live under his protection among the nations."
שׂ Sin
21 So rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,(u)
you resident of the land of Uz!(v)
Yet the cup(w) will pass to you as well;
you will get drunk and expose yourself.
ת Tav
22 Daughter Zion, your punishment is complete;
He will not lengthen your exile.[g]
But He will punish your iniquity, Daughter Edom,
and will expose your sins.(x)
Psalms 146
Chapter 146
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the
Lord
.(a)
2 I will praise the
Lord
all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(b)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in man, who cannot save.(c)
4 When his breath[a] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(d)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the
Lord
his God,(e)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(f)
He remains faithful forever,(g)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(h)
The
Lord
frees prisoners.(i)
8 The
Lord
opens the eyes of the blind.(j)
The
Lord
raises up those who are oppressed.[b](k)
The
Lord
loves the righteous.(l)
9 The
Lord
protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(m)
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.(n)
10 The
Lord
reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(o)
Hallelujah!
Galatians 4:21-31
Chapter 4
21 Tell me, those of you who want to be under the law, don't you hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham(u) had two sons, one by a slave(v) and the other by a free woman. 23 But the one by the slave was born according to the impulse of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. 24 These things are illustrations,[f] for the women represent the two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai(w) and bears children into slavery—this is Hagar.(x) 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia(y) and corresponds to the present Jerusalem,(z) for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above(aa) is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:(ab)
Rejoice, childless woman,
(ac)
who does not give birth.
Burst into song and shout,
you who are not in labor,
for the children of the desolate are many,
more numerous than those
of the woman who has a husband.
(ad)[g]
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac,(ae) are children of promise.(af) 29 But just as then the child born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit,(ag) so also now.(ah) 30 But what does the Scripture say?
Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman. (ai)[h]
31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.(aj)
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