Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
He Lowers One and Lifts Another
Psalm 75
1 For the music director: “Do not Destroy,” a psalm of Asaph, a song.
2 We praise You, we praise God,
for Your Name is near.
People declare Your wonders.
3 “When I appoint a set time,
I Myself will judge uprightly.
4 When the earth wavers with living on it,
I Myself hold its pillars firm. Selah
5 I say to the arrogant, ‘No more boasting!’
And to the wicked,
‘Do not be lifting up your horn.’
6 Do not lift your horn up high.
Do not speak with outstretched neck.”
7 For exaltation comes
not from the east nor from the west,
nor even from the desert.
8 For God is the Judge:
He lowers one and lifts up another.
9 For in the hand of Adonai is a cup of foaming wine mixed with spices,
and He pours it out.
Surely all the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it down to the dregs.[a]
10 But I—I will declare it forever,
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
11 I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
Downfall of Disobedient Jerusalem
3 Oy to the oppressive city—
filthy and defiled!
2 She did not obey;
she took no correction.
She did not trust in Adonai.
She did not draw near to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lions.
Her judges are wolves of the night,
leaving nothing but bones for morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless,
treacherous men.
Her kohanim have profaned what is holy.
They do violence to Torah.
5 Adonai is righteous in her midst.
He will do no injustice.
Morning by morning He brings His justice to light.
He does not fail.
Yet the unjust knows no shame.
6 I have cut off nations.
Their towers have become desolate.
I have destroyed their streets.
with no one passing by.
Their cities are laid waste,
with no one—none living there.
7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
you will accept correction,
so her dwelling place would not be cut off—
all that I appointed against her.’
But they arose early
and made all their deeds corrupt.
8 Therefore, wait for me, declares Adonai,
for the day when I rise up for plunder:
for My decision is to assemble nations,
to gather kingdoms,[a]
to pour out My fury upon them—
all My burning anger.
For in the fire of My wrath
all the earth will be consumed.
The Future Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9 For then I will restore to the people pure speech,
so that all of them
may call upon the Name of Adonai
and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,
My worshipers, the daughter of My scattered ones
will bring My offering.
11 On that day you will not be ashamed
because of all your deeds by which you rebelled against Me.
For then I will remove from your midst
your proud, arrogant ones,
and you will never again be haughty
on My holy mountain.
12 But I will leave among you
a people meek and humble.
They will take refuge in the Name of Adonai.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no injustice
nor will they tell lies,
nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths.[b]
For they will graze and lie down
and no one will make them afraid.
Midrash on Abraham’s Two Sons
21 Tell me, you who want to be under Torah, don’t you understand[a] the Torah? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. [b] 23 But one—the son by the slave woman—was born naturally;[c] while the other—the son by the free woman—was through the promise. 24 Now these things are being treated allegorically, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, giving birth to slavery—this is Hagar. 25 But this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free—she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren woman
who bears no children.
Break forth and shout,
you who suffer no labor pains.
For more are the children of the desolate
than of the one who has a husband.”[d]
28 Now you, brothers and sisters—like Isaac, you are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Ruach, so it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son”[e] of the free woman. 31 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.
Freedom Based on Favor
5 For freedom, Messiah set us free—so stand firm, and do not be burdened by a yoke of slavery again.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.