Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 52[a]
Prayer for Help against Calumniators
1 For the director.[b] A maskil of David. 2 When Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”
3 Why do you boast of your evil deeds,
you champion of malice?[c]
All day long 4 you plot harm;
your tongue is like a sharpened razor,
you master of deceit.
5 [d]You love evil rather than good,
and lies rather than truthful speech. Selah
6 You wallow in destructive talk,
you tongue of deceit.
7 [e]This is the reason why God will crush you
and destroy you once and for all.
He will snatch you from your tent[f]
and uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
8 The righteous will see and be afraid;
they will mock him:
9 “This is the man
who refused to accept God as his refuge.
Rather, he placed his trust in his abundant riches
and gathered strength by his crimes.”
10 [g]But I am like a green olive tree[h]
in the house of God.
I place my trust forever and ever
in the kindness of God.
11 I will praise you forever
for what you have done,[i]
and in the presence of the saints
I will proclaim the goodness of your name.
Chapter 22
1 Thus said the Lord to me: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and there deliver this message: 2 Listen to the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, as you sit on the throne of David—you, your officials, and your people who enter through these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord: Act justly and with righteousness, and rescue the victim from the hand of his oppressor. Do not ill-treat aliens, orphans, and widows, or show violence toward them, or shed innocent blood in this place.
4 If you will indeed be faithful in carrying out these commands, then the kings who succeed to the throne of David will continue to enter through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots or on horseback—they, their officials, and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, then I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this palace will become a ruin.
6 For thus says the Lord concerning the palace of the king of Judah:
Although you are like Gilead to me,
like a peak of Lebanon,
I swear that I will turn you into a desert,
an uninhabited city.
7 I will send forth destroyers to annihilate you,
each man equipped with his weapons.
They will cut down your finest cedars
and cast them into the fire.
8 People from many nations will pass by this city, and they will ask one another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this manner with this great city?” 9 And the answer will be given, “Because they abandoned their covenant with the Lord, their God, in order to worship other gods and serve them.”
43 A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit.[a]“No healthy tree can bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotting tree bear healthy fruit. 44 Every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes or grapes from brambles. 45 A good man produces good from the store of goodness in his heart, whereas an evil man produces evil from the store of evil within him. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart.
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