Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,
And called the earth (B)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone forth.
3 May our God (E)come and not be silent;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And (G)a storm whirls around Him.
4 He (H)calls the heavens above,
And the earth, to render justice to His people:
5 “Gather My (I)holy ones to Me,
Those who have cut a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. [b]Selah.
7 “(N)Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify [c]against you;
I am God, (O)your God.
8 I do (P)not reprove you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I shall take no (Q)young bull out of your house
Nor male goats out of your folds.
10 For (R)every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every (S)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [d]Mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the (T)world is Mine, as well as its fullness.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [e](U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer to God (V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (W)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (X)Call upon Me in the day of distress;
I shall (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recount My statutes
And to take (AA)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you (AB)hate discipline,
And you (AC)cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you [f](AD)are pleased with him,
And [g]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 You [h](AF)let your mouth loose in evil
And you harness your (AG)tongue for deceit.
20 You sit and (AH)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and (AI)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
The People’s Hard Hearts
7 Now it happened that in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is (A)Chislev. 2 And the town of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and [a]their men to [b](B)entreat the favor of Yahweh, 3 speaking to the (C)priests, who belong to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the (D)fifth month [c]and abstain, as I have done these many years?” 4 Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months [d]these (E)seventy years, was it actually for (F)Me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, [e]are you not eating for yourselves and are you not drinking for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words which Yahweh (G)called out by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and (H)at ease along with its cities around it, and the [f](I)Negev and the [g]Shephelah were inhabited?’”
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah saying, 9 “Thus has Yahweh of hosts said, ‘(J)Judge with true justice and show (K)lovingkindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and (L)do not oppress the widow or the [h]orphan, the sojourner or the afflicted; and do (M)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they (N)refused to give heed and [i](O)turned a stubborn shoulder and [j](P)dulled their ears from hearing. 12 And they made their (Q)hearts [k](R)diamond-hard [l]so that they could not hear the law and the (S)words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the (T)former prophets; therefore great (U)wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 And it happened that just as (V)He called and they would not listen, so (W)they called and I would not listen,” says Yahweh of hosts; 14 “but I [m](X)scattered them with a (Y)storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is (Z)desolated behind them [n]so that (AA)no one was passing through and returning, for they (AB)made the pleasant land desolate.”
5 Now I want to (A)remind you, though (B)you know all things, that [a]Jesus, (C)having once saved a people out of the land of Egypt, [b]subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And (D)angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has (E)kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as (F)Sodom and Gomorrah and the (G)cities around them, having indulged in the same way as these in gross sexual immorality and having (H)gone after [c]strange flesh, are exhibited as an [d](I)example in undergoing the (J)punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, (K)defile the flesh, and reject authority, and blaspheme [e]glorious ones. 9 But (L)Michael (M)the archangel, when he, disputing with the devil, was arguing about (N)the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a blasphemous judgment, but said, “(O)The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But (P)these men blaspheme the things which they do not understand; and (Q)the things which they know by instinct, (R)like unreasoning animals, by these things they are [f]destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone (S)the way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves into (T)the error of Balaam, and (U)perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the men who are [g]hidden reefs (V)in your love feasts when they feast with you (W)without fear, caring for themselves; (X)clouds without water, (Y)carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, [h]doubly dead, (Z)uprooted; 13 (AA)wild waves of the sea, casting up (AB)their own [i]shame like foam; wandering stars, (AC)for whom the [j]black darkness has been reserved forever.
14 But (AD)Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, “(AE)Behold, the Lord came with [k]many thousands of His holy ones, 15 (AF)to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which (AG)ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are (AH)grumblers, finding fault, (AI)following after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks (AJ)arrogantly, [l]flattering people (AK)for the sake of their own benefit.
Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
17 But you, (AL)beloved, (AM)must remember the words that were spoken beforehand by (AN)the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “(AO)In the last time there will be mockers, (AP)following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, [m](AQ)worldly-minded, not having the Spirit. 20 But you, (AR)beloved, (AS)building yourselves up on your most holy (AT)faith, (AU)praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, (AV)waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
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