Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned 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 keep silence;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And it is very (G)tempestuous around Him.
4 He (H)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My (I)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made 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, and [e]all it contains.
13 “Shall I eat the flesh of [f](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 trouble;
I shall (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)honor Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to tell of 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 [g](AD)are pleased with him,
And [h]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 “You [i](AF)let your mouth loose in evil
And your (AG)tongue frames 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 silence;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great,
You who (A)distress the righteous and accept bribes
And [a]turn aside the poor in the [b]gate.
13 Therefore at [c]such a time the prudent person (B)keeps silent, for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live;
And thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you,
(C)Just as you have said!
15 (D)Hate evil, love good,
And establish justice in the [d]gate!
Perhaps the Lord God of hosts
(E)May be gracious to the (F)remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord,
“There is (G)wailing in all the plazas,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They also call the (H)farmer to mourning
And [e](I)professional mourners to lamentation.
17 “And in all the (J)vineyards there is wailing,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.
18 Alas, you who are longing for the (K)day of the Lord,
For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be (L)darkness and not light;
19 As when a man (M)flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
[f]Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be (N)darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I (O)reject your festivals,
Nor do I [g](P)delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 “Even though you (Q)offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the (R)peace offerings of your fatlings.
23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24 “But let (S)justice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Parable of Money Usage
11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because (A)He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that (B)the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “(C)A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten [a]minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this [b]until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent [c]a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. 16 The first appeared, saying, ‘[d]Master, your [e]mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been (D)faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 The second came, saying, ‘Your [f]mina, [g]master, has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He *said to him, ‘[h]By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 (E)I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 But (F)these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and (G)slay them in my presence.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.