Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the director: To the tune “Lilies of the Agreement.” One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us.
You lead your people[a] like sheep.
You sit on your throne above the Cherub angels.
Let us see you.
2 Shepherd of Israel, show your greatness to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Come and save your people.
3 God, accept us again.
Smile down on us and save us!
4 Lord God All-Powerful, when will you listen to our prayers?
How long will you be angry with us?
5 Instead of bread and water,
you gave your people tears.
6 You made us the target of everyone’s hatred.
Our enemies make fun of us.
7 God All-Powerful, accept us again.
Smile down on us and save us!
The Evil Plans of People
2 Trouble will come to those who make plans to sin.
They lie on their beds making their evil plans.
Then when the morning light comes, they do what they planned,
because they have the power to do what they want.
2 They want fields, so they take them.
They want houses, so they take them.
They cheat a man
and take his house and his land.
The Lord’s Plans to Punish the People
3 That is why the Lord says:
“Look, I am planning trouble against this family.
You will not be able to save yourselves.[a]
You will stop being proud,
because bad times are coming.
4 Then people will sing songs about you.
They will sing this sad song:
‘We are ruined!
The Lord took away our land and gave it to other people.
Yes, he took my land away from me.
He has divided our fields among our enemies.
5 So we will not be able to measure the land
and divide it among the Lord’s people.’”
Micah Is Asked Not to Prophesy
6 The people say, “Don’t prophesy to us.
Don’t say those bad things about us.
Nothing bad will happen to us.”
7 But people of Jacob,
I must say these things.
The Lord is losing his patience
because of the bad things you did.
If you lived right,
I could say nice words to you.
8 But you attack my people like enemies.
You steal the clothes off the backs of people walking by.
They think they are safe,
but you are there to treat them like prisoners of war.[b]
9 You have taken nice houses
away from the women of my people.
You have taken my wealth
away from their small children forever.
10 Get up and leave!
This will not be your place of rest, because you ruined it.
You made it unclean, so it will be destroyed!
It will be a terrible destruction!
11 These people don’t want to listen to me.
But if a man comes telling lies, they will accept him.
They would accept a false prophet if he comes and says,
“There will be good times in the future, with plenty of wine and beer.”
The Lord Will Bring His People Together
12 Yes, people of Jacob, I will bring all of you together.
I will bring together all those in Israel who are still living.
I will put them together like sheep in the sheep pen,
like a flock in its pasture.
Then the place will be filled
with the noise of many people.
13 The “One Who Breaks Through Walls” will push through and walk to the front of his people.
They will break through the gates and leave that city.
They will leave with their king marching before them—
with the Lord at the front of his people.
15 “Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘the terrible thing that causes destruction.’[a] You will see this terrible thing standing in the holy place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) 16 “The people in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. 17 They should run away without wasting time to stop for anything. If they are on the roof of their house, they must not go down to get anything out of the house. 18 If they are in the field, they must not go back to get a coat.
19 “During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies! 20 Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away, 21 because it will be a time of great trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again.
22 “But God has decided to make that terrible time short. If it were not made short, no one would continue living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen.
23 “Someone might say to you at that time, ‘Look, there is the Messiah!’ Or someone else might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 24 False messiahs and false prophets will come and do great miracles and wonders,[b] trying to fool the people God has chosen, if that is possible. 25 Now I have warned you about this before it happens.
26 “Someone might tell you, ‘The Messiah is there in the desert!’ But don’t go into the desert to look for him. Someone else might say, ‘There is the Messiah in that room!’ But don’t believe it. 27 When the Son of Man comes, everyone will see him. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. 28 It’s like looking for a dead body: You will find it where the vultures are gathering above.
29 “Right after the trouble of those days, this will happen:
‘The sun will become dark,
and the moon will not give light.
The stars will fall from the sky,
and everything in the sky will be changed.’[c]
30 “Then there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the people of the world will cry. Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. He will come with power and great glory. 31 He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International