Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
50 The mighty God, the Lord, has summoned all mankind from east to west!
2 God’s glory-light shines from the beautiful Temple[a] on Mount Zion. 3 He comes with the noise of thunder,[b] surrounded by devastating fire; a great storm rages round about him. 4 He has come to judge his people. To heaven and earth he shouts, 5 “Gather together my own people who by their sacrifice upon my altar have promised to obey me.”[c] 6 God will judge them with complete fairness, for all heaven declares that he is just.
7 O my people, listen! For I am your God. Listen! Here are my charges against you: 8 I have no complaint about the sacrifices you bring to my altar, for you bring them regularly. 9 But it isn’t sacrificial bullocks and goats that I really want from you. 10-11 For all the animals of field and forest are mine! The cattle on a thousand hills! And all the birds upon the mountains! 12 If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you—for all the world is mine and everything in it. 13 No, I don’t need your sacrifices of flesh and blood. 14-15 What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled. I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.
16 But God says to evil men: Recite my laws no longer and stop claiming my promises, 17 for you have refused my discipline, disregarding my laws. 18 You see a thief and help him, and spend your time with evil and immoral men. 19 You curse and lie, and vile language streams from your mouths. 20 You slander your own brother. 21 I remained silent—you thought I didn’t care—but now your time of punishment has come, and I list all the above charges against you. 22 This is the last chance for all of you who have forgotten God, before I tear you apart—and no one can help you then.
23 But true praise is a worthy sacrifice; this really honors me. Those who walk my paths will receive salvation from the Lord.
12 For many and great are your sins. I know them all so well. You are the enemies of everything good; you take bribes; you refuse justice to the poor. 13 Therefore, those who are wise will not try to interfere with the Lord in the dread day of your punishment.
14 Be good, flee evil—and live! Then the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will truly be your Helper, as you have claimed he is. 15 Hate evil and love the good; remodel your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Hosts will have mercy on his people who remain.
16 Therefore the Lord God says this: “There will be crying in all the streets and every road. Call for the farmers to weep with you too; call for professional mourners to wail and lament. 17 There will be sorrow and crying in every vineyard, for I will pass through and destroy. 18 You say, ‘If only the Day of the Lord were here, for then God would deliver us from all our foes.’ But you have no idea what you ask. For that day will not be light and prosperity, but darkness and doom! How terrible the darkness will be for you; not a ray of joy or hope will shine. 19 In that day you will be as a man who is chased by a lion and is met by a bear, or a man in a dark room who leans against a wall and puts his hand on a snake. 20 Yes, that will be a dark and hopeless day for you.
21 “I hate your show and pretense—your hypocrisy of ‘honoring’ me with your religious feasts and solemn assemblies. 22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and thank offerings. I will not look at your offerings of peace. 23 Away with your hymns of praise—they are mere noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is.
24 “I want to see a mighty flood of justice—a torrent of doing good.
11 And because Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.
12 “A nobleman living in a certain province was called away to the distant capital of the empire to be crowned king of his province. 13 Before he left he called together ten assistants and gave them each $2,000 to invest while he was gone. 14 But some of his people hated him and sent him their declaration of independence, stating that they had rebelled and would not acknowledge him as their king.
15 “Upon his return he called in the men to whom he had given the money, to find out what they had done with it, and what their profits were.
16 “The first man reported a tremendous gain—ten times as much as the original amount!
17 “‘Fine!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good man. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, and as your reward, you shall be governor of ten cities.’
18 “The next man also reported a splendid gain—five times the original amount.
19 “‘All right!’ his master said. ‘You can be governor over five cities.’
20 “But the third man brought back only the money he had started with. ‘I’ve kept it safe,’ he said, 21 ‘because I was afraid you would demand my profits, for you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and even confiscating the crops that others plant.’ 22 ‘You vile and wicked slave,’ the king roared. ‘Hard, am I? That’s exactly how I’ll be toward you! If you knew so much about me and how tough I am, 23 then why didn’t you deposit the money in the bank so that I could at least get some interest on it?’
24 “Then turning to the others standing by he ordered, ‘Take the money away from him and give it to the man who earned the most.’
25 “‘But, sir,’ they said, ‘he has enough already!’
26 “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘but it is always true that those who have, get more, and those who have little, soon lose even that. 27 And now about these enemies of mine who revolted—bring them in and execute them before me.’”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.