Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 77[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry out to God[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention[c] to me.
2 In my time of trouble I sought[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.[e]
I[f] refused to be comforted.
3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”[g] (Selah)
4 You held my eyelids open;[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.[i]
5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.[j]
6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.[k]
7 I asked,[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise[m] failed forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High[n] might become inactive.[o]
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.[p]
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13 [q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.[r]
What god can compare to our great God?[s]
14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
15 You delivered[t] your people by your strength[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16 The waters[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea[x] shook with fear.[y]
17 The clouds poured down rain;[z]
the skies thundered.[aa]
Yes, your arrows[ab] flashed about.
18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.[ac]
19 You walked through the sea;[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,[ae]
but left no footprints.[af]
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, foreigners[b] have invaded your chosen land;[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.[e]
4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[f]
5 How long will this go on, O Lord?[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage[h] burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.[j]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,[l]
for we are in serious trouble.[m]
9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.[o]
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations.[p]
11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners.[q]
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die.[r]
12 Pay back our neighbors in full.[s]
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.[t]
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.[u]
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.[v]
Introduction
1 This[a] is the Lord’s message that came to Joel[b] the son of Pethuel:
A Locust Plague Foreshadows the Day of the Lord
2 Listen to this, you elders;[c]
pay attention,[d] all inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life[e]
or in the lifetime[f] of your ancestors?[g]
3 Tell your children[h] about it,
have your children tell their children,
and their children the following generation.[i]
4 What the gazam-locust left the ‘arbeh-locust consumed,[j]
what the ‘arbeh-locust left the yeleq-locust consumed,
and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed.[k]
5 Wake up, you drunkards,[l] and weep!
Wail, all you wine drinkers,[m]
because the sweet wine[n] has been taken away[o] from you.[p]
6 For a nation[q] has invaded[r] my land,
mighty and without number.
Their teeth are lion’s teeth;
they have the fangs of a lioness.[s]
7 They[t] have destroyed my vines;[u]
they have turned my fig trees into mere splinters.
They have completely stripped off the bark[v] and thrown it aside;
the twigs are stripped bare.[w]
A Call to Lament
8 Wail[x] like a young virgin[y] clothed in sackcloth,
lamenting the death of[z] her husband to be.[aa]
9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple[ab] of the Lord anymore.[ac]
So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.
10 The crops of the fields[ad] have been destroyed.[ae]
The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.
The fresh wine has dried up;
the olive oil languishes.
11 Be distressed,[af] farmers;
wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.
For the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine has dried up;
the fig tree languishes—
the pomegranate, date, and apple[ag] as well.
In fact,[ah] all the trees of the field have dried up.
Indeed, the joy of the people[ai] has dried up!
13 Get dressed[aj] and lament, you priests.
Wail, you who minister at the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God,
because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple of your God anymore.[ak]
15 The merchants who sold[a] these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep[b] and mourn, 16 saying,
“Woe, woe, O great city—
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,[c]
and adorned with gold,[d] precious stones, and pearls—
17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”[e]
And every ship’s captain,[f] and all who sail along the coast[g]—seamen, and all who[h] make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18 and began to shout[i] when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up,[j] “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning,[k]
“Woe, Woe, O great city—
in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth—
because in a single hour she has been destroyed!”[l]
20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has pronounced judgment[m] against her on your behalf!)[n]
21 Then[o] one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force[p]
Babylon the great city will be thrown down[q]
and it will never be found again!
22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you[r] again.
No[s] craftsman[t] who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill[u] will never be heard in you again.
23 Even the light from a lamp
will never shine in you again!
The voices of the bridegroom and his bride
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,
because all the nations[v] were deceived by your magic spells![w]
24 The[x] blood of the saints and prophets was found in her,[y]
along with the blood[z] of all those who had been killed on the earth.”
12 He[a] said also to the man[b] who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet,[c] don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. 13 But when you host an elaborate meal,[d] invite the poor, the crippled,[e] the lame, and[f] the blind.[g] 14 Then[h] you will be blessed,[i] because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid[j] at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When[k] one of those at the meal with Jesus[l] heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone[m] who will feast[n] in the kingdom of God!”[o] 16 But Jesus[p] said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet[q] and invited[r] many guests.[s] 17 At[t] the time for the banquet[u] he sent his slave[v] to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 But one after another they all[w] began to make excuses.[x] The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field,[y] and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’[z] 19 Another[aa] said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen,[ab] and I am going out[ac] to examine them. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another[ad] said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’[ae] 21 So[af] the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious[ag] and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly[ah] to the streets and alleys of the city,[ai] and bring in the poor,[aj] the crippled,[ak] the blind, and the lame.’ 22 Then[al] the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’[am] 23 So[an] the master said to his[ao] slave, ‘Go out to the highways[ap] and country roads[aq] and urge[ar] people[as] to come in, so that my house will be filled.[at] 24 For I tell you, not one of those individuals[au] who were invited[av] will taste my banquet!’”[aw]
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