Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
92 A song to sing on the Lord’s Day.[a]
It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods.
2 Every morning tell him, “Thank you for your kindness,” and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness. 3 Sing his praises, accompanied by music from the harp and lute and lyre. 4 You have done so much for me, O Lord. No wonder I am glad! I sing for joy.
12 But the godly shall flourish like palm trees and grow tall as the cedars of Lebanon. 13 For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own garden and are under his personal care. 14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green. 15 This honors the Lord and exhibits his faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in him!
8 Now go and write down this word of mine concerning Egypt, so that it will stand until the end of time, forever and forever, as an indictment of Israel’s unbelief. 9 For if you don’t write it, they will claim I never warned them. “Oh no,” they’ll say, “you never told us that!”
For they are stubborn rebels. 10-11 They tell my prophets, “Shut up—we don’t want any more of your reports!” Or they say, “Don’t tell us the truth; tell us nice things; tell us lies. Forget all this gloom; we’ve heard more than enough about your ‘Holy One of Israel’ and all he says.”
12 This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel:
Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in frauds and lies and won’t repent, 13 therefore calamity will come upon you suddenly, as upon a bulging wall that bursts and falls; in one moment it comes crashing down. 14 God will smash you like a broken dish; he will not act sparingly. Not a piece will be left large enough to use for carrying coals from the hearth, or a little water from the well. 15 For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says: Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength; but you’ll have none of this.
16 “No,” you say. “We will get our help from Egypt; they will give us swift horses for riding to battle.” But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! 17 One of them will chase a thousand of you! Five of them will scatter you until not two of you are left together. You will be like lonely trees on the distant mountaintops.
16 “I have told you these things so that you won’t be staggered by all that lies ahead.[a] 2 For you will be excommunicated from the synagogues, and indeed the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me. 4 Yes, I’m telling you these things now so that when they happen you will remember I warned you. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.