Wednesday in Season after Pentecost

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Malachi 3:5-12

Verse 5. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. Verse 6. “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. Verse 7. Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’ Verse 8. Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. Verse 9. You are cursed with a curse, yet you— the whole nation— are still robbing Me. Verse 10. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. Verse 11. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts. Verse 12. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

PSALM

Psalm 83

A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.

See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads.

With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish,

saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

For with one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against You—

the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,

of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, of Philistia with the people of Tyre.

Even Assyria has joined them, lending strength to the sons of Lot.

Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,

who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God.”

Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind.

As fire consumes a forest, as a flame sets the mountains ablaze,

so pursue them with Your tempest, and terrify them with Your storm.

Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD.

May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.

May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

2 Chronicles 30:13-27

Verse 13. In the second month, a very great assembly gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Verse 14. They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley. Verse 15. And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. Verse 16. They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splattered the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites. Verse 17. Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD. Verse 18. A large number of the people— many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun— had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone Verse 19. who sets his heart on seeking God — the LORD, the God of his fathers — even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” Verse 20. And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. Verse 21. The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD. Verse 22. And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. Verse 23. The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy. Verse 24. For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly, and a great number of priests consecrated themselves. Verse 25. Then the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced along with the priests and Levites and the whole assembly that had come from Israel, including the foreigners who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah. Verse 26. So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel. Verse 27. Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.

PSALM

Psalm 130

A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!

O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.

If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.

I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning— more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance.

And He will redeem Israel from all iniquity.

SECOND READING

Mark 2:1-12

Verse 1. A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home, Verse 2. they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them. Verse 3. Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men. Verse 4. Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat. Verse 5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Verse 6. But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts, Verse 7. “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Verse 8. At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked. Verse 9. “Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? Verse 10. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic, Verse 11. “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” Verse 12. And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”