Psalm 129; Psalm 130; Joel 2:1–11; 2 Peter 1:12–21

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Psalm 129

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of mAscents.

Greatly1 have they pafflicted me qfrom my youth

rlet Israel now say

Greatly have they pafflicted me qfrom my youth,

syet they have not prevailed against me.

tThe plowers plowed uupon my back;

they made long their furrows.

The Lord is righteous;

he has cut vthe cords of the wicked.

May all who hate Zion

be wput to shame and turned backward!

Let them be like xthe grass on the housetops,

which ywithers before it grows up,

with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

nor do those who pass by say,

aThe blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We bbless you in the name of the Lord!


Psalm 130

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of mAscents.

Out of cthe depths I cry to you, O Lord!

O Lord, hear my voice!

dLet your ears be attentive

to ethe voice of my pleas for mercy!

If you, O Lord, should fmark iniquities,

O Lord, who could gstand?

But with you there is hforgiveness,

ithat you may be feared.

I jwait for the Lord, kmy soul waits,

and lin his word I hope;

my soul mwaits for the Lord

more than nwatchmen for othe morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, phope in the Lord!

For qwith the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

And he will rredeem Israel

from all his iniquities.


Joel 2:1–11

The Day of the Lord

jBlow a trumpet in kZion;

sound an alarm on kmy holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for lthe day of the Lord is coming; it is near,

ma day of darkness and gloom,

ma day of clouds and thick darkness!

Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains

na great and powerful people;

otheir like has never been before,

nor will be again after them

through the years of all generations.

pFire devours before them,

and behind them a flame burns.

The land is like qthe garden of Eden before them,

but rbehind them a desolate wilderness,

and nothing escapes them.

sTheir appearance is like the appearance of horses,

and like war horses they run.

tAs with the rumbling of chariots,

they leap on the tops of the mountains,

like the crackling of ua flame of fire

devouring the stubble,

nlike a powerful army

drawn up for battle.

Before them peoples are in anguish;

vall faces grow pale.

Like warriors they charge;

like soldiers they scale the wall.

They march each on his way;

they do not swerve from their paths.

They do not jostle one another;

weach marches in his path;

they burst through the weapons

and are not halted.

xThey leap upon the city,

they run upon the walls,

ythey climb up into the houses,

ythey enter through the windows zlike a thief.

10  aThe earth quakes before them;

the heavens tremble.

bThe sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

11  cThe Lord utters his voice

before dhis army,

for his camp is exceedingly great;

ehe who executes his word is powerful.

fFor the day of the Lord is ggreat and very awesome;

hwho can endure it?


2 Peter 1:12–21

12 Therefore I intend talways to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in uthe truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this vbody,1 wto stir you up by way of reminder, 14 xsince I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, yas our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word

16 For we did not follow zcleverly devised amyths when we made known to you bthe power and ccoming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but dwe were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, eThis is my beloved Son,2 with whom I am well pleased, 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on fthe holy mountain. 19 And gwe have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention has to a lamp shining in a dark place, until ithe day jdawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For kno prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God las they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.